Success in any business starts and ends with the extent to which an organisation meets the expectations and needs of its customers.
As headwinds increase across the freight and logistics industry it has never been more important to grasp rapidly evolving client needs and position our businesses to deliver. From the “where is it now?” demands of individual e-commerce customers to the increasingly sophisticated expectations of large-scale clients, we must find ways to meet the demands of customers that are increasingly attuned to rapid delivery, and unforgiving of those who prove unable to provide it.
80 per cent of Australians now engage in some degree of online shopping, and that figure is expected to continue growing exponentially.
For the logistics industry, a singular challenge associated with this growth is that household consumers increasingly expect delivery to be part of the advertised price.
Already, around 65 per cent of purchases come with ‘free’ shipping, and research suggests that close to 60 per cent of Australians will abandon an online shopping cart if presented with higher-than-anticipated delivery costs when checking out.
At the same time, the personal ethics of consumers – particularly among younger cohorts – are influencing purchase decisions. Today, customers actively seek out information regarding the freshness and provenance of the food on their tables. This is especially true of increasingly sophisticated markets in South East Asia; a region that Australian producers are geographically well-placed to service.
These consumers also want to feel reassured that the products they use in their day-to-day lives have been transported to them in a way that minimises environmental impacts, from packaging to pollution, from waste reduction to carbon emissions. Responding to and reconciling these competing demands – better and faster services at lower environmental and dollar cost – are an enormous challenge for the logistics industry.
Successfully and efficiently meeting the challenge begins with focussing on the future and ensuring that Australia is equipped with high quality freight transport infrastructure that embraces technology and facilitates the faster, safer and greener movement of freight through supply chains, whether it is destined for domestic consumers or for export markets.
It is rare for a genuine greenfield opportunity for a globally-significant freight and logistics hub to emerge in a major Australian city. Yet, that is precisely what is now emerging in Western Sydney – and the Australian Logistics Council is preparing to showcase it as part of ALC Forum 2020.
For the first time, we will present the nation’s premier logistics industry event in this flourishing economic region that is already home to one in ten Australians – and is set to attract another half a million residents by 2031.
On March 18-19, ALC Forum 2020 will connect business leaders, government representatives, investors, infrastructure owners, educational institutions and leading logistics companies with the business opportunities that now abound in Western Sydney through Australia’s supply chains.
With freight infrastructure including the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal and Western Sydney Airport set to transform supply chains, ALC Forum 2020 is your chance to connect with those who are designing the future – and make sure your business understands what that future means for you.
With an estimated two thirds of the world’s population within half a day’s flight from Western Sydney, the new airport is set to become a key gateway for Australian producers taking their goods to emerging international markets.
ALC Forum 2020 will explore how some of the best-practice approaches to planning, building and optimising freight infrastructure in Western Sydney can be deployed across other parts of Australia, enhancing the efficiency, safety, sustainability and resilience of the national supply chain.
Other elements of the ALC Forum 2020 program are set to examine the challenges and opportunities for the freight sector nation-wide in productivity, safety and building a sustainable workforce.
By attending, you’ll hear insights from leading political figures, researchers and key industry leaders as they share their perspectives on emerging trends in freight movement and discuss the policy and regulatory reforms needed to accommodate a freight task that will increase by 35 per cent by 2040.
The program will also drill down to examine specific issues relevant to freight movement across all modes – road, rail, maritime/ports, and air – as well as diving into policy matters that cut across all forms of freight transport, including competition policy, land use planning and the impact technology is having on day-to-day operations.
ALC Forum 2020 is the one industry event that connects the whole supply chain at the most senior levels – service providers, infrastructure owners, investors and customers.
If you only make one investment in the future of your business or career in 2020, this should be it.
Be part of the conversation that sets the future of your industry.
Visit www.austlogistics.com.au/ALCForum2020 today to secure your place.