Insights from the Sustainable Supply Chain Exhibition 2025

By Andrew Barnes (Group 54)

Recently, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the Sustainable Supply Chain Exhibition on behalf of MDS! It was inspiring to see how the supply chain – a crucial aspect of every business – embraces the global challenge of sustainability, and explores innovative solutions to tackle it. The conference was held in conjunction with Intralogistix – a leading conference in logistics and supply chain. Spending the day at the National Exhibition Centre, I got to see some exciting developments in supply chain automation and customer trends, as well as hear some interesting talks on sustainability within the supply chain.

A highlight for me was a seminar by Tim Jones, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Sustainability at DPD, who showcased the company’s sustainability journey and how investing in greener logistics can add value for customers. DPD has integrated sustainability into the core of its business practices and put its money where its mouth is by investing in an electric fleet of 4000 vehicles and spending an additional £8 million a year to fuel its truck fleet with HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil). Tim gave an insightful talk about what DPD is doing; however, a key takeaway for me was more to do with his role. Visiting the show on behalf of MDS, I entered with a career-focused mindset, reflecting on the future of supply chains and the future roles within it. Through my experience with MDS, I have had the opportunity to work as a Sustainability Specialist and now as a Customer Insights trainee. Hearing from people who have successfully blended these disciplines, such as Sustainability and Marketing, provides a great opportunity to consider potential career paths I would not have previously thought possible.

Another talk I attended was by Bhavandeep Singh Somal, Sustainability Manager at DSV. This talk on ‘Greener Logistics’ highlighted the importance of looking past just carbon dioxide emissions to consider the impacts of smaller volume, but higher impact, pollutants such as nitrous oxides and methane. Bhavandeep approached this seminar through the importance of collaboration and transparency within the supply chain to meet these mutual goals. I also attended a panel discussion on the Intralogistix side of the hall to hear about changing consumer attitudes and their influence on the supply chain. This highlighted the difficulties of smaller businesses, which struggle to compete with the efficient and quick supply chains of larger companies, such as Amazon, which consumers have come to expect. There was also discussion about the future of the high street and physical stores, as for many products, the benefits of a store outweigh the convenience of online shopping.

Walking around the exhibition centre, there was a lot of technology on show, highlighting the drive towards automation and increased health and safety. An example I have studied previously was the robots used in Ocado’s warehouses – these advanced robots have helped significantly reduce waste and speed up the picking process. Their technology, in place in the UK since 2002, has now been rolled out to many online grocers globally. Overall, this visit gave a good insight into the evolving supply chain landscape, whilst allowing me to reflect on my experience with MDS so far and the future opportunities it could lead to.