The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) welcomed numerous members and Network Partners to the National Space Centre in Leicester for the Institute's annual Partnerships Day on 12 June.
This year's theme, Fit for the Future, explored the key challenges and forward-thinking solutions shaping the transport, logistics, and supply chain sectors. The day focused on how collaboration, innovation, and adaptability can help build resilient networks ready to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving world.
CILT UK Chair of the Board, Anna-Jane Hunter FCILT, said: "Collaboration is vital to everything CILT encompasses, as our strength lies in our breadth. We cover a wide range of areas, from transport and logistics to supply chains, operations management, and more. Through collaboration, we gain valuable insights into developments across sectors we may be less familiar with."
Anna-Jane's words perfectly encapsulated what the day entailed, as we welcomed a variety of keynote speakers from organisations including Unipart, the UK Space Agency, FirstBus, Shape Tomorrow, Hovis and more. All shared thought leadership and exclusive industry insights.
A space-age setting for industry innovation
Upon arrival, guests were welcomed into the Rocket Tower Room, where they networked with fellow attendees before being guided into the National Space Centre's iconic Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium. Inside, partners experienced the UK's largest full-dome planetarium, watching a short film about what it takes to be an astronaut.
Following this experience, CILT(UK), Chair Anna-Jane Hunter FCILT, warmly opened the conference, welcoming Lydia Green from the UK Space Agency as the first speaker. Lydia's presentation particularly stood out as she explained how space applications support navigation, traffic management and emissions reduction, demonstrating the relevance of such technology to the transport and logistics sector.
Sustainability and future-focused leadership
On the topic of sustainability, the event welcomed Kelly Hobson, Director of Shape Tomorrow, who delivered an eye-opening presentation about creating changemakers for a better future. This was followed by a panel hosted by Kelly, featuring CILT UK Environment & Sustainability Forum Chair, Geoff Clark and Andrew Gwilliam from FirstBus, who discussed social, economic, and environmental resilience in transport and logistics.
Technology and innovation at the forefront
The second half of the day featured insightful discussions on future technologies. Jamie Smallman from Deloitte set the stage, followed by a panel exploring innovation, automation, and supply chain technology. The panel included Professor Richard Wilding OBE, a renowned logistics expert, alongside Mike Bristowe and Phil Kirkham from Unipart, and Dan Tredget from Konica Minolta.
Building tomorrow's logistics leaders
The conference concluded with a discussion on the skills needed to build future capability for tomorrow's logistics leaders and how CILT(UK) can play a key role in supporting this development. This final session featured a panel with Adam Bassant, Logistics Director at Hovis; Tania Barker from CILT UK; and Anna-Jane Hunter.
Hailey Wood, one of CILT UK's 35 Under 35 and UK Commercial CRM Analyst at DP World, said: "One of the great advantages of our partnership with CILT is the access to information such as the Knowledge Centre, with so much data to tap into, and the opportunity to unlock really interesting conversations with other businesses and partners. It's been a truly great day."
Find out more about Network partnerships with CILT UK by visiting https://ciltuk.org.uk/Partnerships.