We did it again! Our 5th Annual Customer event, Xeneta Summit 2021, was a huge success with more the 250+ participants and valuable insights from industry experts. Along with multiple networking opportunities, participants benchmarked their ocean and air freight procurement and overall supply chain strategies with some of the world's largest companies. In case you missed the event, here is a quick recap:
First and foremost, we want to thank our guest speakers and customers who joined us on 20 -21 October and turned Xeneta Summit 2021 into a memorable experience. This year, we offered our customers easy online access to two days of binge-worthy freight procurement, tendering and logistics content.
Each day of the summit was specifically designed to give a holistic overview of the ocean and air freight market trends and industry outlook while helping our customers to get the most out of the Xeneta platform to navigate these trends. Participants also got a chance to connect, network and discuss innovative ideas with each other during ‘Birds of a Feather' group discussions planned throughout the summit.
Xeneta Summit 2021: First Day
We kicked off the summit with the opening remarks from Xeneta's CEO and Co-founder, Patrik Berglund and CMO, Katherine Barrios to set the stage for the 2021 summit. One of the key takeaways was how Xeneta is improving to help its customers understand industry data and make informed decisions. Going forward, our platform will provide our users with the best rate, performance and sustainability data.
This year the market proved that data is fundamental for the existence of any business as it drives decisions, not just on the operational level but strategic as well. Together with Patrik, Erik Devetak, Xeneta's CPO, showcased how we are building the Xeneta platform and connecting our industry ecosystem to enrich business decisions with actionable data.
"Because of the data we analyze and aggregate, we can see the entire market weaknesses and, therefore, guide our customers with our data for their strategic and operational decisions for years to come", says Erik.
Keynote | The Violet End of Supply Chain
By Chris Murray CBE FCILT
The discussions started with our first keynote speaker, Chris Murray CBE FCILT, who is an independent consultant and mentor at FORTE Logistics Consulting Ltd. Previously he was VP Defense and Government Services Europe, at Agility and Director of The Royal Logistics Corps in the British Army. Drawing from his extensive military and supply chain experience, he shared a slightly unfamiliar perspective about the current industry's risks and forced us to think outside the box.
While mentioning the similarities between the supply chain in the business world and the military, he advised that it is better to be effective rather than efficient because of unpredictable factors. “At the violent end of the supply chain, be better and faster than the enemy's logistician”, says Chris.
Keynote | "The Future of Maersk", they say
By Lars Mikael Jensen
Our participants also got a chance to hear Maersk’s views on the future of container shipping, the truth behind RFQs Casinos, vertical integration and sustainability during the highly anticipated keynote of the day with Lars Mikael Jensen, Head of Global Ocean Network at Maersk.
Lars also talked about Maesrk's serious commitment to the decarbonization agenda while discussing the industry's view on managing the environmental footprint. He mentioned how Maersk was one of the first few companies to set the target for 2050 and is continuously investing in uncovering carbon-neutral solutions, including alternative fuels options. He also shared his views on the RFQs casino process and how current market conditions offer an excellent opportunity to reinvent and rethink how can buyers and sellers settle rates through transparency and building trust.
Keynote | "Art of the Possible" with Virgin Atlantic Cargo
By Dominic Kennedy
Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director, Cargo at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, shared the 'Art of possible' and explained how they operationalized a cargo business with passenger airplanes without passengers and built a significant amount of resilience to successfully deploy passenger freighters over the course of the last 18 months.
While discussing Virgin Atlantic's outlook in the new norm, Dominic mentioned that he is confident about the company's new commercial business model. He believes their recovery period might last nearly 3-5 years, but the commercial experience from the last 18 months will add value to 2022 plans. Along with its expansion to more cities, the company also plans to add more capacity into the market by putting more planes in the sky while reintroducing passengers.
Keynote | 3rd Largest Forwarder, No Longer the New Kids on the Block
By Jens Bjørn Andersen
Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO, DSV, offered us an overview of today's market and his views on our industry's environmental footprint. When asked about his views on the industry's responsibility to lower carbon emissions, Jens shared that it is a golden moment for all asset owners to invest in new technologies and take collective responsibility. He also talked about how DSV is working in this direction by setting up ambitious science-backed targets for themselves.
We ended the first day of the Xeneta Summit 2021 on a high note with a panel discussion among procurement and supply chain experts from renowned companies to explore current trends and challenges affecting our industry.
Xeneta Summit 2021: Second Day
We started the second day of the summit with our signature session ‘Xeneta Ocean & Air Freight Newsdesk'. Our ocean and air freight experts Michael Braun, VP Customer Solutions and Thorsten Diephaus, Director of Strategic Accounts, welcomed industry experts such as Steve Saxon, Partner - Travel, Transportation and Logistics at McKinsey & Company, Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor at JOC. com and Niall van de Wouw, Managing Director, CLIVE, to take a deep dive into the industry trends as we discovered that prices are no longer a driving factor for supply and demand.
With the record-high ocean freight rate levels, we followed the disruptions to analyze service provider behavior on the supply side and the staggering customer demand after the COVID-19 crisis. We also explored in detail the influence of the black swan events and what the stakeholders can expect in the upcoming tender season and years to come.
At Xeneta, we want our customers to get the most of our platform. That is why we included a masterclass session to help you discover the best way to gain value from the Xeneta data to work smarter, be more productive and set your supply chain and freight procurement teams up for even more success.
Linda Kasprowicz, Customer Success Manager at Xeneta put on a trainer hat to:
- Showcase how to go beyond market monitoring for ocean and air
- Deep dive into the usage of My Spend and My Pricesfeature
- See the benefits of knowing about Capacity information
Seeing is Believing
“A good and diverse mix of speakers. The format itself made it very convenient to attend just the parts that are relevant to you, whilst also being able to review the parts on-demand that you were not able to attend live.” – Global transport and logistics company
“Great event to align with industry peers and to get an idea what to expect from the market.” – International energy company
“The organization was excellent, and also the possibility to watch the sessions afterward. Interesting subjects and guests. Thank you!” – Chemical industry company
“Quick and efficient.” – American multinational oil and gas corporation
“Great topics of discussion with experts in the industry, very valuable as we prepare our 2022 Plan.” – American multinational home appliances corporation
“Good insights into the market and excellent panels!” – German fashion company
“You draw a clear picture regarding the current logistic situation. Valuable Comments from Xeneta.” – German fashion company
“Interesting analysis and insights of key industry leaders.” – Chemical industry company
“Information direct from the source.” – Chemical industry company
“Job well done by the Xeneta team. Great graphics, backgrounds, very clear line of communication, the technology worked great! Loved the open panels for discussion too.” – Chemical industry company
“Good summary of all aspects of actual circumstances. Fluid flow of coverage from one topic to the other. Good insight from speakers.” – Canadian sports industry company
“Good initiative by Xeneta particularly at the time of a global pandemic wherein industry fundamentals are ever-changing.” –Japanese freight forwarding company
“The conference was well put together and a great platform of information.” – American e-commerce company
“Thank you for preparing a great content in a compacted way on a platform allowing excellent virtual experience. I wish I saw you live.” – British multinational consumer goods company
“Good and informative.” – German specialty chemicals company
Working Together for a Cause
We believe that the health of our world starts with safe water, and we are happy to report that this year, we had the opportunity to donate 100% of event proceeds to Water.org. We want to thank all participants who made this possible and contributed to a good cause. You are our heroes!
Xeneta Summit was packed with valuable industry insights, thanks to our renowned industry experts, keynote speakers and active participants. In case you are a Xeneta customer, you can access the full content library in the Xeneta Customer Community. If not, subscribe to our blog for more updates from our 2021 event and plans for the next in-person annual event in 2022.
