Overview
The Warehouse of the Future: Why Logistics Shapes Modern Life - HYBRID
When: 13th April 2026
In Person - 18:30 for Registration and Refreshments (Event to start at 19:00) - 20:45
Online- 19:00- 20:45
Where: Jubilee Building room 31, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH and Zoom
Speakers: Clare Bottle FCILT, Chief Executive, UKWA
Warehouses are among the least visible yet most consequential pieces of modern infrastructure. They sit behind our online shopping, food supply, manufacturing systems and energy transition, shaping how economies function and how societies live.
In this lecture, Clare Bottle, CEO of the UK Warehousing Association, explores how the role of the warehouse is changing in response to major global pressures: population growth, shifting consumer behaviour, automation, labour shortages, cybersecurity, and the urgent demand for renewable energy. Drawing on more than 25 years in operational logistics, Clare examines why warehouses are no longer just places to store goods, but complex socio-technical systems that integrate property, people, technology and power.
The talk will look at:
How consumer expectations and asset-light lifestyles are reshaping supply chains
The rise of automation, AI and cybersecurity risks inside warehouses
The growing energy demands of logistics and why warehouses matter to the net-zero transition
The skills required to manage these systems, and the role of warehouse managers
The social impact of warehousing, including employment and community value
This lecture will be of interest to students of geography, economics, business, engineering, sustainability, planning, social policy and of course logistics!
Full details of the exact location will be sent before the event to those registered to attend in person. The presentation will also be available as a webinar.
Booking for Members - Free & Non-Members -£5.00
Competencies:
FM1.3 Warehousing
SUS1.1 Social, Economic and Environmental Resilience
DT2.1 Technology, Automation and Innovation
Note: If you are not a current Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, please be aware our membership team may be in touch with you using your email address provided regards membership opportunities. If you do not wish to be contacted please email and let us know at regions@ciltuk.org.uk07