Tackling Peak Season Challenges and Emerging Trends

After the great success of the first Logistics Round Table filmed in March 2024, Chris Wright from ACS Staffing Solutions teamed back up with the panel for Episode Two. Clare Bottle from UKWA kindly presented again, with Phil Courtney from John Lewis hosting the panellists at one of the John Lewis Milton Keynes warehouses. They were also joined by Charlotte Patrick, founder of the Northamptonshire Logistics Awards, and Darren Twiselton from ZigZag Global.

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ACS Staffing Solutions is a recruitment business focussing on the logistics sector. Established in 2011, ACS provides both temporary and permanent recruitment solutions across the UK and has a wealth of experience in supporting businesses in their acquisition of talent.

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These top industry leaders came together to discuss the critical challenges and opportunities in the upcoming peak trading period. With consumer behaviour constantly evolving, supply chain disruptions becoming more frequent, and the need for innovative staffing solutions at an all-time high, the panel will provide actionable insights for logistics professionals looking to stay ahead.

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‘’It's been interesting for us, and what we definitely have seen is the shift from an end consumer behaviour – there is a big paid returns movement at the moment. There is lots around should retailers charge for returns, nothing is really free.’’

Said Darren from ZigZag Global whilst discussing consumer behaviours in 2024.

He continued to say:

‘’We did a study recently where we were looking at what consumers think, and 70% of consumers said, I do not mind paying for a return, because if the alternative is the actual cost of that item at the front end, it is going to be more expensive. So yes, the consumer price point is still really key’’.

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Consumer behaviour is ultimately one of the most important elements a business should consider, as if they don’t understand their shoppers’ behaviours, how will they ever know how to market their business.

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Moving onto the topic of peak and what potential challenges could be thrown businesses way to disrupt, Phil said:

‘’Part of the key role for us as leaders and for the managers is to ensure that you give the right amount of attention to those scenarios and you plan for those situations, because almost certainly there will be something that challenges the world of logistics as we go through this peak’’.

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Phil went on to say:

‘’If anyone can tell me what that is now, that would be great. You could give me the lottery numbers for the weekend. But we do not know, and what we can assume is there will be disruption’’.

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Moving onto the benefits, or disadvantages of AI, Chris came onto the point of AI within recruitment. Chris said:

‘’We are not tended to be worried about AI at the minute in terms of is it going to replace us. I think for the main reason that, we are categorised as recruitment consultants and I think it goes a long way past just here's a job, there's a person, off you go. The consultancy aspect of it is something that has to be humans’’.

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And to conclude his statement, Chris ended his comment about AI replacing recruiters, by saying:

‘’You ain't going to get rid of us just yet’’.

Other topics discussed in the round table included supply chain resilience, staffing & workforce management and cost management. To delve deeper into the above conversations, check out the round table here:

https://youtu.be/MmrrlS9JgOs?si=vB0drrxWmTW3wC3l

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