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RFS 2027 PROGRAMME

Real challenges. Real operators. Real answers.

Five content stages integrated across the RFS show floor, giving you the flexibility to move between retailer case studies, technology demonstrations, meetings and the exhibition throughout both days.

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Morning Plenary

8:45 AM Welcome to Country

  • Examining the global forces reshaping retail supply chains, from geopolitics and climate risk to changing regulation
  • Evaluating how organisations are balancing resilience, cost and customer expectations in an increasingly volatile environment
  • Applying practical strategies for reducing disruption while maintaining operational performance
  • Preparing leadership teams for the external challenges likely to shape the next decade
Todd Soller

Todd Soller US Flag

Chief Supply Chain Officer
Patagonia (US)

  • Assessing how cost-of-living pressure, lower confidence and price sensitivity are changing basket size and purchase frequency
  • Identifying which shifts in consumer behaviour should influence demand planning, inventory positioning and fulfilment capacity
  • Reconsidering the balance between value, convenience, promotions and customer experience as consumers become more selective
  • Preparing for more fragmented and unpredictable demand without overcommitting inventory, capacity or investment
  • Connecting orders, inventory, fulfilment locations, warehouse operations and carriers to create a single view of every order journey
  • Identifying fulfilment blind spots that lead to late orders, failed promises, cancellations and unnecessary customer service contacts
  • Using real-time data to spot exceptions earlier, optimise order routing and intervene before fulfilment issues reach the customer
  • Turning fulfilment visibility into faster decisions, better delivery performance and a more consistent customer experience

11:00 AM Morning refreshments

  • Understanding the network design principles that help high-volume FMCG transport operations remain resilient under disruption
  • Balancing cost-to-serve, service levels, capacity and sustainability across a complex national transport network
  • Connecting transport, warehouse and inventory decisions to improve visibility, freight utilisation and customer service
  • Applying practical lessons from FMCG at scale to strengthen network resilience, carrier partnerships and operational performance

Roland Simpson

Head of Transport Networks
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Rob Hango-Zada

Co-Founder and Joint Chief Executive Officer
Shippit

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Understanding how the delivery experience influences customer satisfaction, trust and repeat purchasing
  • Exploring ways to reduce friction through better communication, transparency and post-purchase support
  • Using the last mile as a competitive differentiator that strengthens long-term customer relationships

Panellists:

Lou Milicevic

Managing Director
Asendia

cara

Cara Pring

Customer Experience Director
WINC

Yasheen Nunkumar

GM Operations, Australia
Fisher & Paykel

Henri Le Comte

Head of Fulfilment & Last Mile
Metcash

  • Using cartonisation, load optimisation and warehouse data to reduce wasted space across vehicles and improve delivery efficiency
  • Connecting warehouse, freight and transport systems to improve dispatch planning, reduce unnecessary movement and support more reliable delivery
  • Applying AI and automation to identify consolidation opportunities, improve vehicle utilisation and support lower-impact delivery decisions
  • Balancing delivery cost, emissions reduction, capacity constraints and customer service requirements across the last mile

Moderator:

Michael Blake

Chief Executive Officer
Clean Freight Council

3:30 PM Afternoon Refreshments

  • Identifying the criteria and data signals used to prioritise channels and customers when inventory is constrained
  • Integrating demand, supply and commercial inputs to make transparent, defensible allocation decisions across regions and channels
  • Implementing governance and communication practices that align sales, eCommerce, wholesale and operations around a single allocation plan

David McKibbins

Global Director of Business Engagement
ASICS Oceania

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Assessing whether retailers can move beyond traditional just-in-time and just-in-case models towards more dynamic inventory strategies
  • Determining where additional inventory buffers are justified and where leaner stock models can safely be maintained
  • Using scenario modelling to understand how different inventory strategies perform under changing demand and supply conditions
  • Creating real-time inventory visibility across stores, e-commerce, warehouses, marketplaces and third-party logistics partners
  • Connecting fragmented inventory data to treat stock as one connected network rather than separate pools
  • Identifying and resolving inventory discrepancies that create overselling, stockouts, cancellations and failed customer promises
  • Identifying how changing consumer behaviour, trends, promotional activity and economic conditions are challenging traditional forecasting
  • Moving towards continuous demand planning that responds to emerging changes
  • Using earlier demand signals to identify shifts in customer behaviour before they create excess or insufficient stock
  • Combining predictive insights with planner expertise to respond to unexpected changes in demand

3:30 PM Afternoon Refreshments

  • Understanding the hidden availability and working-capital trade-offs that come with adding a second warehouse node, beyond the headline delivery-speed gains
  • Identifying the operational and data pitfalls that emerge when running multi-node fulfilment, including stock and order accuracy issues and their impact on customer experience
  • Applying a practical checklist of signals and metrics to evaluate before adding a new fulfilment node or market, using a real ecommerce-led case study across multiple regions
Patrick

Patrick Elhindi

Ecommerce Manager
Love To Dream

  • Demonstrating how AI and automation are creating more intelligent warehouse operations
  • Optimising real-time operational insights to improve inventory accuracy, labour productivity and workflow optimisation
  • Preparing warehouse operations for the next generation of autonomous decision support

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Understanding how customer proximity, community connection and market strategy can outweigh pure logistics efficiency in network design decisions
  • Identifying the trade-offs between an operationally efficient footprint and a strategically chosen location that better supports customer experience, brand presence and growth
  • Applying lessons from DHaRCO’s move from the Netherlands to France to evaluate network decisions through a commercial and customer-led, not solely operational, lens

Dave Musgrove

Chief Operating Officer
DHaRCO

  • Understanding where robotics is making the biggest difference across receiving, picking, packing and dispatch
  • Exploring how retailers are using robotics to relieve labour pressure, improve throughput and reduce bottlenecks
  • Identifying which warehouse processes are best suited to robotic automation and what it takes to justify investment
  • Understanding the strategic choices that enabled The Yoghurt Shop to move from domestic success to multi-continent export growth without diluting brand or product quality
  • Identifying the operational and supply chain implications of serving 11+ markets from a single production base, including freight capacity, lead times and risk management
  • Applying lessons from The Yoghurt Shop’s market-entry approach (partner selection, trials, consumer education, phased rollouts) to design their own export or multi-market expansion plans

Brandon Reynolds

Chief Executive Officer
The Yoghurt Shop

3:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

  • Using customer behaviour and analytics to identify friction points across the digital journey
  • Optimising website navigation, search and checkout experiences to improve customer satisfaction
  • Embedding experimentation and testing into digital commerce strategies to drive continuous improvement

Isabella Ison

Global Ecommerce Manager
Culture Kings

  • Using AI-powered search and conversational discovery to connect customers with relevant products.
  • Bringing product information, stock availability and fulfilment options into the discovery experience.
  • Improving conversion and reducing disappointment caused by unavailable products or unrealistic delivery expectations.

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Moving beyond basic segmentation through behavioural data, customer intent and deeper shopper understanding
  • Enhancing product discovery through personalised recommendations, search and dynamic digital merchandising
  • Scaling AI-driven experiences while balancing relevance, privacy and customer trust

Natasha Ritz

GM Digital Transformation
QDB Books

  • Unifying customer, order and fulfilment data to understand the complete customer journey.
  • Using real-time order status, purchase history and delivery preferences to personalise communications and service.
  • Turning connected data into better conversion, retention and customer lifetime value.
  • Connecting digital and physical channels to create a consistent customer experience across every touchpoint
  • Breaking down silos between online and offline stores through unified customer journeys and connected experiences
  • Leveraging omnichannel capabilities such as endless aisle, click & collect and store integration to better serve customers

3:30 PM Afternoon Refreshments

Discover the latest innovations transforming planning and inventory visibility, from AI-powered forecasting and real-time inventory intelligence to predictive analytics and smarter decision-making.

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

See practical innovations in action as automation and intelligent technologies reshape warehouse productivity, capacity and performance.

3:30 PM Afternoon Refreshments

Roundtable 1: How do we plan for promo spikes without blowing out working capital?

What approaches are teams using to forecast, stock and de-stock for promotions and campaigns without creating long-tail obsolescence or cash traps?

Roundtable 2: Are finance and supply chain aligned on inventory KPIs and targets?

How are organisations aligning finance and operations on inventory KPIs, targets and incentives so planning decisions support both service and capital goals?

Roundtable 3: Are we designing returns into our network or bolting them on later?

How can returns handling, triage and restocking be embedded into network design from day one to reduce cost and speed up refunds?

Roundtable 4: How do we slot and plan labour for peak without overbuilding the base?

What slotting, labour flexing and temporary automation tactics are operators using to handle peak without locking in unnecessary base cost?

Roundtable 5: Are we pricing and gating delivery options to protect margin and NPS?

How are retailers using price, thresholds and eligibility rules to steer customers to sustainable delivery options without damaging conversion or experience?

Roundtable 6: How do we operationalise a “green” last mile in a real network?

What are the practical constraints and enablers for EV fleets, urban consolidation and greener time windows in live last-mile operations?

Roundtable 7: Do we need an app?

When does an app genuinely enhance the customer experience, and when could the same experience be delivered through web without the added investment and maintenance?

Roundtable 8: How do you keep up with agentic AI?

Which developments are worth acting on now, what should eCommerce teams be testing, and how do you stay ahead without investing in every emerging trend?

  • Exploring the foundations of a closed-loop consumer experience from marketing through to fulfilment
  • Identifying how supply chain, eCommerce, marketing, stores and customer service can work together to deliver a consistent customer promise
  • Positioning order fulfilment as a source of differentiation and commercial advantage, rather than simply an operational cost
swagat

Swagat Choudhury

Global Digital Commerce Director
Mars (UK)

5:00 PM Closing remarks from the Chair and end of day 1

5:10 PM Networking Drinks

8:55 AM Opening remarks from the Chair

Morning Plenary

Leadership decisions shaping resilient, commercially sustainable fulfilment in a volatile market
  • Understanding how to evaluate automation opportunities through a customer experience and commercial value lens
  • Identifying the elements of a continuous improvement plan that sustains gains from automation and embeds them into daily operations
  • Applying lessons from Mattel’s approach to prioritise automation and CI projects that lift service, quality and productivity together

Alvaro Perezalonso

Director, Logistics - Distribution, Center
Mattel Inc (US)

  • Understanding how leaders can evaluate AI opportunities across the end-to-end value chain  
  • Prioritising investments that create genuine operational and commercial value 
  • Identifying the governance, risk, safety and capability considerations required to scale AI responsibly across frontline operations and leadership decision-making 
  • Designing the roadmap for an AI-enabled supply chain, ensuring AI and agents enhance decision-making and productivity without replacing critical human expertise 

Graham Nelson

Head of Continuous Improvement and Group Fleet
The Warehouse Group (NZ)

  • Exposing how inaccurate, incomplete or disconnected data undermines AI and automation projects before they reach production 
  • Diagnosing the data problems that affect inventory accuracy, product information, demand signals, process visibility and decision-making 
  • Demonstrating how retailers can establish reliable data ownership, governance, quality controls and integration across ERP, WMS, OMS, POS and planning systems 
  • Reframing automation as a shift in work rather than a replacement for frontline warehouse, fulfilment, planning and logistics roles
  • Identifying the new skills teams need to operate, supervise and improve AI-enabled systems, robotics and automated workflows
  • Examining how roles change when technology takes on repetitive, manual or data-intensive tasks, allowing people to focus on exceptions, judgement, customer outcomes and continuous improvement
  • Addressing workforce concerns, resistance and change fatigue through transparent communication and meaningful involvement in implementation
Panellists: 
chris

Chris Donaldson

Head of Demand Planning
Specsavers

Alvaro Perezalonso

Director, Logistics -Distribution Center
Mattel Inc (US)

11:00 AM Morning refreshments

  • Exploring how responsibilities are shifting across retailers, carriers, technology providers and logistics partners
  • Understanding what creates successful delivery partnerships beyond service level agreements
  • Strengthening collaboration to improve visibility, customer communication and delivery performance

Panellists:

Ben Nowlan

Chief Executive Officer
Sherpa

Henri Le Comte

Head of Fulfilment & Last Mile
Metcash

  • Exploring how delivery data is improving routing, carrier selection and customer communication  
  • Understanding how real-time visibility enables faster responses to delivery exceptions  
  • Using analytics to improve delivery performance while reducing operational costs  

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Defining the unique operational challenges of servicing regional and remote customers, including distance, infrastructure limitations and higher delivery costs
  • Exploring how retailers are adapting last-mile networks, carrier partnerships and delivery models to improve coverage beyond major metropolitan areas
  • Identifying strategies to balance customer expectations, delivery reliability and cost efficiency
  • Understanding why visibility gaps emerge after orders leave the distribution centre and how this impacts delivery performance, customer trust and operational control   
  • Exploring how retailers are connecting fulfilment, carrier and customer data to create greater end-to-end visibility across the last-mile journey   
  • Identifying how improved tracking, exception management and real-time insights can help reduce delivery issues, improve customer communication and optimise decision-making
  • Positioning returns as reshaping customer expectations, operational costs and inventory management 
  • Exploring strategies to improve returns processing, stock recovery and reverse logistics efficiency 
  • Balancing customer convenience with commercial performance to create a better post-purchase experience 
  • Moving beyond single-number forecasts by modelling different demand, supply and disruption scenarios
  • Testing how inventory plans respond to disruption such as freight delays, demand shocks, supplier disruption and extended lead times
  • Defining trigger points for action so planners know when to adjust orders, inventory positioning, safety stock or sourcing
  • Balancing preparedness with working capital by identifying where additional inventory genuinely reduces risk, and where it simply creates excess

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Quantifying how inaccurate forecasts and poorly positioned inventory create excess stock, unnecessary storage and avoidable waste
  • Assessing how demand sensing, SKU segmentation, allocation, replenishment and slow-moving-stock strategies can reduce waste without compromising product availability
  • Connecting forecasting accuracy with the broader environmental impact of moving and holding inventory

Panellists:

Zoi Kokoti

Head of Planning
Spendless Shoes

Catherine Ferguson

Head of Merchandise Planning
Trenery

  • Connecting shipment, customs, transit-time and inventory data to give planners earlier visibility of inbound risk
  • Detecting changes in freight movements, port disruption, customs clearance and lead times
  • Using live logistics data to adjust inventory plans, delivery timing, sourcing decisions and safety-stock requirements
  • Reducing unnecessary expediting, air freight, excess inventory and service disruption by linking freight decisions with inventory planning

  • Balancing product availability, working capital and profitability as demand becomes harder to predict  
  • Calculating the true cost of holding additional inventory, including storage, working capital, markdown and obsolescence risk  
  • Assessing the commercial cost of insufficient stock, from lost sales to poor customer experience  
  • Designing differentiated inventory buffers based on demand volatility, product importance and supply risk 
  • Understanding the business case for automation, from rising fulfilment costs and complexity to new delivery expectations  
  • Navigating brownfield automation, including integrating robotics into manual picking operations and implementing Phase 1 without service disruption 
  • Measuring the impact of automation on labour efficiency, storage capacity and fulfilment speed 

Elia Ferrari Bravo

Head of Operations - Process Engineering and Automation, Ops Insights and Platform Services
The Iconic

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Determining the right role for different store formats, dedicated fulfilment areas, dark stores and micro-fulfilment centres 
  • Building practical picking, packing and staffing models that support online orders without disrupting replenishment, in-store operations or customer experience
  • Using smart order routing to match orders with store capacity, inventory, labour capability and fulfilment cost 
Panellists: 
Vivien Fu...

Vivien Fu

Fulfilment Availability & Network Design Manager - Australia and New Zealand
IKEA

Blair McHenry

Head of Last Mile Network Optimisation
Woolworths

Automatex
  • Building stronger cross-functional alignment before a transformation project begins 
  • Selecting and managing the right vendor partners by evaluating total value, implementation capability, integration risk, scalability and long-term performance 
  • Improving project delivery and commercial outcomes through clearer requirements, shared accountability, effective governance and practical supplier-performance measures 

Mark Franke

Head of Procurement
Kmart

  • Moving beyond points-based rewards to create more meaningful and valuable customer relationships 
  • Using behavioural insights to deliver relevant benefits, experiences and engagement opportunities 
  • Connecting digital and in-store loyalty experiences to drive repeat purchases and long-term retention 
kam

Kam Blight

Head of ecommerce
Lark Distillery

  • Exploring how AI shopping agents could move from product discovery and recommendations to purchasing and order execution
  • Connecting AI-driven interactions with product, inventory, pricing and fulfilment systems
  • Preparing commerce operations for new customer journeys while maintaining control, accuracy and trust 

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

  • Evaluating marketplaces as a long-term growth channel and identifying where they fit within the broader digital strategy   
  • Balancing marketplace reach with brand control, customer ownership, pricing and profitability   
  • Using marketplace data and customer insights to identify new opportunities, test products and expand into new markets   
  • Managing the operational and commercial complexities of scaling across multiple digital channels 
  • Connecting order, warehouse and carrier data to provide customers with accurate, proactive delivery updates. 
  • Managing delivery exceptions and service enquiries before they affect customer satisfaction. 
  • Simplifying returns and exchanges while improving retention and reducing service costs. 
  • Managing rising eCommerce costs, from customer acquisition and fulfilment expectations to technology investment 
  • Balancing customer experience ambitions with profitability, efficiency and sustainable growth 
  • Identifying where retailers should invest next to scale digital commerce effectively 

Panellists:

Emma Coyer

Digital Marketing Director
Outcast

Emily Robertson

National Business Manager of Ecommerce
Lavazza

Angus McDonald

Ecommerce Manager
KOOKAÏ

Experience the innovations reshaping last-mile delivery through smarter routing, real-time tracking and more flexible delivery solutions.

12:45 PM Networking luncheon

Step into the future of digital commerce with emerging AI, agentic shopping, immersive experiences and next-generation technologies redefining how customers discover and buy.

3:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

  • Evolving operating models as technology, automation and customer expectations change 
  • Exploring how leaders are building cross-functional alignment between supply chain, technology, commercial and customer teams 
  • Identifying the capabilities, structures and leadership approaches required for future-ready organisations 

Panellists:

Angus McDonald

Chief Operating and Strategy Officer
Bapcor

Nadine Fogale

Continuous Improvement Manager, Global Operations
Bondi Sands

  • Assessing which capabilities will become critical to supply chain competitiveness across resilience, inventory, fulfilment, data, AI, automation and workforce capability 
  • Prioritising investment based on business impact, distinguishing between capabilities that create competitive advantage and those that simply keep pace with the market 
  • Balancing investment between immediate operational pressures and long-term transformation 
  • Building a five-year investment roadmap that connects technology, infrastructure, people and operating models to the organisation’s strategic priorities 

Cedric Lemetter

Regional Head of Supply Chain
Care Pharmaceuticals

5:00 PM Closing remarks from the Chair and end of conference