On 27-28 October 2020, the 2nd edition of the Modern Distribution Congress, an event gathering the management staff of the trade, processing and distribution sectors, took place. During this year’s edition of the Congress, which was carried out as an online broadcast, participants listened to speeches by government representatives as well as presentations and debates with the participation of presidents of international trade and FMCG companies, technology companies and market experts.
The event was officially opened by Renata Juszkiewicz, President of the Management Board of the Polish Trade and Distribution Organisation, who emphasised the industry’s contribution to the fight against the pandemic: With its actions so far, trade has proved that it stands guard over the safety of Poles. The trade industry has made every effort to protect its employees and consumers from being infected with COVID-19. Retail chains have implemented maximum safety measures and a sanitary regime exceeding the guidelines of the Chief sanitary Inspectorate and for this purpose, incurred expenses of 350 million PLN in the period of March-September 2020. In the current legal and sanitary state, retail outlets are very well prepared and thanks to the implemented procedures and strict adherence to safety rules, customers and store employees can feel safe. Trade is also a guarantee of supplying Polish families with food and necessary products. The industry is focusing its efforts on maintaining continuity of supply”.
President Juszkiewicz also read a letter from the Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki. „Like many industries, the retail industry is facing the challenges of COVID-19. As a government, we are doing everything we can to connect public health and the economy. We strive to ensure that the smallest possible percentage of Polish entrepreneurs and employees feel the financial effects of the pandemic. There are no easy solutions in the current situation. Today, fighting the pandemic, and at the same time, defending the economy and jobs, is the Polish raison d’etat. The Polish retail sector has been undergoing constant transformation since the beginning of the transformation of the economy. Recent months have transformed this process, which is visible in the changing behaviour of consumers.” – Prime Minister Morawiecki wrote. Participants then heard speeches by Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, President of the Polish People’s Party.
Christian Verschueren, CEO of EuroCommerce, gave a keynote speech on the challenges for European trade after COVID-19.
The substantive part began with a discussion on the COVID pandemic and its impact on the transformation of the industry. Then, experts analysed the issues related to consumer behaviour after COVID-19, the main ecological trends and environmentally friendly solutions as part of the New Green Deal thematic block, as well as current promotion management standards.
On the second day of the congress, debates focused on issues such as trends in the area of cashless payments, the rapid development of e-commerce and m-commerce, accelerated digitisation of trade and the supply chain in the face of new challenges.
Speakers of the 2nd edition of the Modern Distribution Congress included:
- Sebastian Anioł, Vice-President, Inpost
- Radosław Dac, Director of Purchasing, Auchan Retail Poland
- Łukasz Dwulit, Head of Global Expansion, Central Europe and Israel, Alibaba Group
- Anna Grabowska, Vice-President of the Board for Commercial Affairs, Żabka Poland
- Mieczysław Groszek, President, Poland Cashless Foundation
- Beata Jankowiak, Director of the Marketing Department, Member of the Board, Jeronimo Martins Poland
- Renata Juszkiewicz, President of the Board, Polish Trade and Distribution Organisation
- Jakub Kiwior, Visa Managing Director in the Central and Eastern Europe Region, Visa
- Barbara Kowalska, Director of the Quality and Sustainable Development Department, Carrefour Poland
- Paweł Krawczyk, Development Leader, Decathlon
- Adrian Kurowski, Director of Visa in Poland, Visa
- Marek Lipka, Member of the Board, Carrefour Poland
- Marcin Łojewski, Member of the Board, Kaufland Polska Markety
- Jean-Philippe Magre, President of the Board, E.Leclerc
- Michał Nowaczyk, Member of the Board for Administration / CFO, Lidl Poland
- Małgorzata Piekarska, Brand, Customer and Digital Director, Auchan Poland
- Bartłomiej Pucek, Country Digital Manager, IKEA Retail Poland
- Robert Rękas, President of the Board, Lewiatan Holding
- Aleksandra Robaszkiewicz, Head of Corporate Communications & CSR, Lidl Poland
- Michał Sacha, Marketing, Digital, IT, e-commerce and Financial Services Director, Carrefour Poland
- Michał Sadecki, President of the Board, Polish Supermarkets Group
- Tomasz Suchański, President of the Board, Żabka Poland
- Paweł Świętochowski, Manager of Business Relations and Social projects, President of the Castorama Foundation, Castorama Poland
- Christian Verschueren, Director-General, EuroCommerce
- Piotr Wrzeszcz, Supply Chain Director, MediaMarktSaturn Poland
- Przemysław Żbikowski, Commercial Manager, Merlin Group S.A.
A full list of speakers can be found at https://dystrybucja.pl/en/speakers/
Partners of the 2nd Modern Distribution Congress
Strategic Partners: Accenture, Cloudity, Enefit, Limitless Technologies, SAS Institute, Vis
Partners: Good Valley, Fanuc, BNP Paribas, dLK Legal, Polska Bezgotówkowa, Prologis, Rekopol
Partners: Nielsen, Deloitte, Polityka Insight
Supporting Partner: JTI
Sponsors: Worldline/SIX Payments, Kross Rental
Main Honorary Patron: UOKiK
The full list can be found at https://dystrybucja.pl/en/partners/
The organiser of the congress is the Modern Distribution Foundation, co-organisers – the Polish Trade and Distribution Organisation and MMC Poland.
We invite you to view the full photo gallery of the event at https://dystrybucja.pl/en/2nd-edition-of-the-modern-distribution-congress/