The 2025 Microlise Transport Conference was the biggest and best yet as more than 1,000 delegates from across the country descended on the Coventry Building Society Arena on 18 March.
The event came the day after the glittering Microlise Driver of the Year awards, which were hosted by Irish comedian Ed Byrne at the same venue. Graham Pagett of Unipart Logistics was crowned the Overall Driver of the Year, while drivers from companies including Aldi, Maritime Transport and Schenk UK also walked away with honours.
The coveted Driver Excellence award was won by Tesco and demonstrates the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to keep supermarkets up and down the country stocked.
Over the course of both events, sustainable transport charity Transaid raised almost £7,000 through its raffles, silent auction and coffee stand.
At 7.30am, early birds were rewarded with a networking breakfast and an exhibition hall full of industry suppliers showcasing their innovative products to make the road transport industry safer and more efficient or profitable.
TAKING CENTRE STAGE
The conference was hosted by renowned BBC technology journalist Kate Russell, who warmed the audience up with some thought-provoking, interactive questions.
On-the-spot research found that the majority of attendees felt that meeting sustainability targets was the biggest challenge facing the industry today.
Additionally, changes in labour laws affecting driver hours was the regulatory change that was seen as having the most significant impact on attendees’ business operations.
Russell then introduced Microlise CEO Nadeem Raza to the stage and he welcomed delegates with the remarkable statistic that the safety of three-quarters of HGV drivers and those with whom they share the road in the UK are supported by Microlise products.
The conference’s first presentation was given by Richard Leonard from National Highways, who took a deep dive into the role of the strategic road network (SRN) in connecting UK industry.
These motorways and A-roads have four essential economic roles: to support SRN-reliant sectors, strategic connectivity, planning and placemaking and social value and prosperity.
Leonard gave examples of the SRN’s importance when it came to projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing and National Highways’ plan for Road Investment Strategy 3. Advocacy for roads, he argued, is vital.
Next to take to the stage was Iain Forbes from the Department for Transport. He described how freight is critical to enabling the wider economy to deliver the government’s five missions – kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, take back our streets, break down barriers to opportunity and build an NHS fit for the future – that were made in its pre-election manifesto.
The world of electric vehicles and building a sustainable transport ecosystem through energy innovation was the subject of Welch Group managing director Chris Welch’s presentation. He talked about how this was the next step along the company’s history of innovation after his great-grandfather founded the haulier firm in the 1930s.
CYBERSECURITY
Before a remarkable mock police investigation and trial – which was hosted by Charlotte Le Maire from LMP Legal and focused on the potentially fatal consequences of ignoring in-vehicle technology – cybersecurity took its place on the agenda.
A panel discussion featuring Nadeem Raza, Johnty Mongan of Gallaghers, David Brown of NCC Group, Daniel Brind from Yusen Logistics Europe and Paul Crichard from Serco was one of the most eagerly anticipated sessions of the day.
Raza spoke with candour about an incident on 31 October 2024 involving Microlise’s systems and was praised by Mongan for the way in which his company handled the incident with “utter finesse”. Crichard also put on record his respect for Microlise after its openness and honesty in the aftermath of the incident.
A temperature check of the audience revealed that almost 60% of attendees had been impacted by a cyber incident within the last two years, while Brown informed the audience of some hard-hitting facts about how much the highly organised cybercrime market is worth.
It became clear that many companies do not have a plan on how to deal with a cyber-incident and that, according to Mongan, cyber security does not get the respect it deserves, especially in the digital era in which we all live.
He questioned why we do not have cyber drills in the same way we might have a fire drill and painted a vivid picture of the global insurance claims landscape if a company such as Microsoft was breached.
Meanwhile, Raza highlighted the importance of more minor systems and how companies can still be adversely affected when they do not work as they should. He also pledged to share his company’s learnings from last year’s incident as a way of helping the wider industry.
WORKSHOP WONDERS
The conference’s four workshop theatres kicked off at 8.30am on the day. Compliance Corner, Skills Showcase and Innovation Insights all kept the alliterative theme going with their expert and leading presentations on how to keep pace with industry trends.
Meanwhile, the Microlise Masterclass featured members of the conference host’s product team presenting Microlise’s view of the future.
Charlotte Porter gave an impactful demonstration of Microlise One as she dug deep into the power of product integration, while the transport management system of the future and, of course, AI in transport and logistics were also covered.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The delegates spoken to after the event felt that the conference gave them a lot of food for thought about the constantly changing world of road logistics.
One delegate felt that the conference provided “informative, industry-leading information”, while another praised it as “… the best for networking and learning new ideas”.
The theme continued, with another delegate who described the conference as was “informative, relevant and… well organised”, and another who said it was an “amazing day, with so much compliance information to take in”.
The innovative positioning of two of the principal events on the main stage was seen as a highlight for many attendees, with one of them summing up the feeling of many as they commented “absolutely excellent conference! Loved the cybersecurity panel and the way the police investigation and court case were re-enacted”.
SEE YOU NEXT TIME
The world of transport and logistics moves quickly. Two years ago, we might never have imagined just how quickly the subject of AI and machine learning would come to dominate the conversation. Yet they are now comfortably mainstays of the industry which will not be disappearing any time soon.
Who knows what the next big thing in the industry will be? What we do know is that whatever twists and turns it might take, Microlise will once again be first with the expert knowledge and understanding at next year’s Transport Conference. We are already looking forward to it.
