Her Royal Highness yesterday attended the 12th Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Annual Students' Conference, which was jointly organised with Greenwich University’s Business School.
The event featured an address by The Princess Royal in her capacity as the patron of CILT, in which she highlighted the importance of efficient and effective logistics and transport as the key to successful business performance.
The Princess Royal said: "Students do need to be studying these topics, which are central to economic and environmental debates.
"I am rather hoping that business students will be asking questions of people such as Amazon, asking how they can perform as they do. As students here will be aware, businesses need to be smart, up to date and to fulfil customers' expectations."
The theme of this year's conference was: Smart Logistics and Transport and included discussions on: commercial electric powered vehicles, new delivery technology, e-commerce and contactless technology.
During the visit students and lecturers spoke to The Princess Royal of their research findings on topics including smart cities and transportation strategies, and on various aspects of supply chain management.
Industry experts shared their business insights and experiences. Conference speakers included:
- Phil Roe, Vice-President for Innovation, Strategy & Business Development, DHL (UK)
- Christopher Featherstone, Systems Engineer, Heathrow POD
- Jonathan Hill, Business Analyst, Transport for London
- Dr Steve Shaw and Dr Louise Bunce, from the universities of York and Winchester respectively
- Chris Holland, IT Business Solutions Manager, XPO Logistics
The event included welcomes and opening words from the university's Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Maguire, as well as from Jon Sibson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Business School and Dr Petros Ieromonachou, Head of Department, Systems Management and Strategy.
Professor Maguire said: "This is the fourth time that the university has been honoured to host the annual students' conference, and it is a testimony to the high calibre and energy of our students and staff who are undertaking research in this discipline.
"One of the core values of CILT is to be 'vibrant and progressive', a value which marries well with the university's determination to encourage our students to be innovative and bold."