In October, entrepreneurs and decision-makers will come together for the 21st time at the German Logistics Congress in Berlin. Under the motto: ‘Think innovatively, act successfully’. Bundesvereinigung Logistik (BVL) expects to welcome around 2,400 participants and 240 exhibitors to the International German Logistics Conference.
The keynote speakers on the opening day include Dr Manfred Stolpe, German minister for transport, construction and housing, Dieter Ammer, CEO of Tchibo AG, and Dr Eckhard Cordes, member of the management board of DaimlerChrysler. The subsequent panel discussion on the topic ‘Location Germany – globally integrated?’ will feature, among others, Zygmunt Mierdorf, member of the management board of Metro AG, and Prof Dr Klaus F Zimmermann, president of the German Institute for Economic Research. Dr Klaus Eierhoff, CEO of Thiel Logistik AG, Dr Eckhard Cordes and Andreas Dohmen, chairman of the board of management of Cisco Systems GmbH, will also be involved in discussions.
The second day of the conference will also focus on the management of supply chains, with presentations by top US managers Bob Stoffel, CEO of the UPS Supply Chain Group, and Robert W Moffat Jr, senior vice president of IBM Integrated Supply Chain. A further highlight will be the panel of experts on new strategies for courier, express and parcel services, with participants including Dr Peter E. Kruse, member of the management board of Deutsche Post World Net, Dr Claude BÈglÈ, executive vice president of the French GeoPost Group and Hanjo Schneider, managing director of Hermes Logistik Gruppe.
Special topic sequences will be devoted to subjects ranging from strategic solutions and network concepts to research themes and will also feature a separate core technical topic.
The mail centre of Deutsche Post World Net and the Volkswagen Automobil forum will be two of the venues for the external sequences introduced last year. Poland will be the first-ever guest country at this year’s event and the increasingly international scope of the conference will be reflected not only in the presence of participants, speakers and exhibitors from around 25 countries but also by the planned discussion forum on the Chinese logistics market, featuring participants from Beijing and Shanghai.
This year, the opening gala at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin will take place under the patronage of Walter Momper, president of the House of Deputies (the Berlin Parliament). There will be performances by the troupe of the Deutsche Oper, and the highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the German Logistics Award 2004 and the Media Award for Logistcis 2004.
