Back to the Future

Back to the future

July 2019, we are looking back on eventful, labour-intensive and exciting 6 months.

What did we learn from 2019 so far? Whether at events, fairs or in discussions with other logistic experts, we repeatedly heard the motto of all supply chain professionals: Back to the future.

What exactly does it mean? Of course, we are all talking about latest innovations and how our market, global trade and digitalization will continue. But time and again we have heard about a standstill in recent years. There has been much discussion and few actions. But this year feels like a awakening. Back to the future. We are happy to contribute to this and are striving for the next step.

Already at the beginning of the year our team­­ – consisting of logisticans supply chain experts and communication fans – realized: 2019 will turn to be the year of events and fairs.

From January to June there should be six fairs at which w exhibit. Not an easy take! In fact, it is rather a time-consuming, often also exhausting and instructive time with man ups and downs. If you are interested in how we approach this task, you can read here how to make trade fair planning easy.

Can’t see the horizon from all these events

While we are on the subject, what has been going on in this first half year?

In January it all started with a quick start on 07.01.2019: our long-time partner DTB ( left) invited us  to exhibit at their booth at PromoTex. PromoTex took place for the first time this year and was mainly aimed to promotion-, sport- and workwear industry. We found it really exciting and are always happy to try out new formats and present ourselves to a new audience. It remains that time will tell how PromoTex will develop over the next years.

But the first step into the fair year 2019 had been taken.

April, April – it does what’s its will. In April we were allowed to be present at the joint stand of the International Data Spaces Association at the Hannover Fair and presented a use case on the opic of “Predicted lead Times” with Telekom.

In May we got the chance to present ourselves at Textprocess with a completely redesigned exhibition stand. The months of the fairs ended with a highlight for us at the final spurt in une. In Munich we cooperated with the representation of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and exhibited at the joint stand of transport logistic for several logistics experts. As a special treat at transport logistic, we invited our customers, partners and friends to an exclusive event. Above the rooftops of Munich, we enjoined  culinary delights, cool drinks and wonderful networking opportunities. In addition to our fair, we also exhibited at the job events Stellenwerk and Reality.

What other events took place in the first half of 2019?

As in the previous year we continued in 2019 with some presentations by our founders and employees. At the Academy of fashion our colleagues Erik and Sabine introduced the fashion students to the secrets of using technology and digitization in the fashion industry. Many of our customers come from fashion and textile industry and are particularly familiar with the challenges and requirements of this market.

We were both exhibitors and representor at Executive Forum in Stuttgart with our founder Ralf Düster in a panel discussion. During this half-year Ralf also had some other moments on stage.  At the AirLogistics Network Forum he discussed air transports and their development with other logistics experts. Ralf also present with our supervisory board and his founding colleagues at the Berlin talks, which are organised by Hachmeister+ Partner and focus on digital change. Only with a good collaboration between all parties involved in the supply chain real transparency can be achieved. This is our hobbyhorse and our philosophy. Maintaining close cooperation with our customers is just as much a part of this as fulfilling their tailor-made requirements. So, it goes without saying that we take part in their own events and promote an intensive partnership.

In May Christian and Carolyn took part in the On Partner Summit in Switzerland and in June our founders and the supervisory board were guests at the Katag executive conference under the motto “Let’s talk about #future”.

A look into the future

For us, training is part of the special contact we maintain with our customers. It goes without saying that we also fly to our customer’s production countries to familiarize suppliers and producers with our software.  At the beginning of the year, our colleagues flew to Vietnam and issued certificates for successful training courses. In the course of the first half of the year, we also flew to Shenzhen and Shanghai in China. These training courses ensure that all users work more safely and routinely with OSCA and come a step closer to digitalization.

Our American team also had a lot to do in the USA. With the new Drive Medical we had some appointments and so our globetrotters already travelled to the east coast at the beginning of the year. Workshops and trainings followed and many exciting days.

At the end of the first half of the year we crowned our American business with a contribution to the new conference format SCIT (Supply Chain, Innovation & Technology, organized by TNYSCM at Microsoft’s headquarters in NYC). Guido, founder of Setlog and company designer of our new supply network, introduced this to other innovative startups and companies that are rethinking supply chains.

Let your creativity run wild

For more than a year we have been enjoying our numerous blog series, which are specialized in our special topics, describe our experiences at events or simply give a glimpse into the world behind Setlog’s scenes. What can you look forward to every month with us? For example, our Do’s and Dont’s in Supply Chain Management. In short, concise words, different SCM technology categories are outlined. The biggest mistakes are how to measure the success of an SCM system, which schedule errors to avoid and much more.

With our VCM software, we contribute to making the world of production and working conditions in global procurement more sustainable and social. In this half year, we have also launched a blog series on the topic of sustainability. There we deal with topics such as fashion Revolution Day and what sustainability really means in our society.

And what else have we put into words?

For example, our reasons for the monthly Meetup Digital Innovation Ruhr. Just the fun of getting together, or more? If you want to know who you are dealing with at Setlog you can now enjoy our employee presentations. Whether IT, Marketing, CFO or Support – we shed light on the different departments that make our company what it is and give an exclusive insight into the people who make up Setlog.

All in all, it was a very eventful half year. One thing was clearly in the focus during these 6 months: The future of the supply chain and the technologies that drive it forward.

What was your first half of 2019 like?