3rd Luxembourg-Poland Business Conference Focuses on Future of Logistics

On Tuesday 30 November 2021, the Luxembourg-Poland Chamber of Commerce (LPCC) held its 3rd Luxembourg-Poland Business Conference, on the theme of "Future of Logistics", at the Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

Artur Sosna, President of the LPCC, welcomed around 40 delegates and attendees. Piotr Wojtczak, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Luxembourg, inaugurated the event with a brief recap of the logistics sector and a summary of the long-lasting bilateral economic cooperation between Poland and the Grand Duchy. Ambassador Wojtczak took special note of the cooperation on a rail motorway between Bettembourg-Dudelange and west-central Polish city of Swarzędz, launched by the CLIP lntermodal and CFL multimodal at the beginning of February 2021. He expressed gratitude to the organisers of this event, the LPCC and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, and wished for further engagement in the logistics sector.

Cindy Tereba, Director of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the LPCC advisory board, took stock of the importance of logistics in light of the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasised the need for mutual collaboration and cooperation.

Franz Fayot, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, highlighted the exceptional growth in Luxembourg-Poland trade in recent years and the mutually beneficial role of the logistics sector.

Paweł Stelmaszczyk, Policy Officer at DG Move, Mobility and Transport agency at European Commission, provided a synopsis of the regulatory frameworks and support from the DG Move for new avenues.

The first panel discussion on the European Green Deal and the contribution of a Luxembourg-Poland dual-hub strategy was moderated by Malik Zeniti, Director of the Cluster for Logistics Luxembourg a.s.b.l.. Panelists included Tomasz Szymczak, Acting CEO of Warsaw Modlin Airport, Teodor Łukasz Kula, Chief Business Development Officer at Done Deliveries, and a representative from CFL multimodal. The discussion provided an outlook on the change and challenges ahead for the logistics sector in terms of compliance and innovation with regard to the European Green Deal. The panelists emphasised the need to minimise the carbon footprint and the need for innovative and transformative ways for energy efficiency in the logistics sector.

A second panel on logistics and supply chain challenges in terms of digitalisation was moderated by Marianne Hoffmann, Project Manager at the Department for Industry, New Technologies and Research at Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy. Panelists Philippe Hemard, Founder & Change Enabler at PHC, Prof. Dr. Benny Mantin, Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LCL) at the University of Luxembourg, and Witold Ferenc, Founder of the Open Checkout, discussed the different possibilities of data management and digitalisation challenges in supply change. The panelists agreed that innovation is crucial in light of new challenges faced by logistics and supply chain managers.

Artur Sosna then gave the closing remarks before a networking cocktail.