The Parcel+Post Expo Conference in Amsterdam, October 1-3, will once again feature an exclusive PIP Innovation & Startup Day hosted by the Postal Innovation Platform’s (PIP) chairman, Bernhard Bukovc.
PIP ran a similar all-day session at Parcel+Post Expo 2018 in Hamburg, which saw 18 startup pitches and several expert panels. The 2019 edition will follow the same successful format, with panel discussions, startup pitches and plenty of opportunity for audience interaction.
This year’s session takes place on Tuesday 1 October in Room 2, and begins with a strong focus on Augmented Reality, with expert input from Swiss Post. There’s also a live technology demo open to all delegates: “This will be a unique experience that will allow participants to experiment with the power and possibilities of AR,” explains Bukovc.
After a mid-morning break, the session moves on to focus on the future of the customer experience, with insights from Accenture’s Brody Buhler; DPD’s group innovation director, Olaf Klargaard; Postea Group’s Elmar Toime; and Escher Group’s Melroy Coelho. “We will reflect on what customers will increasingly demand, what will be the game changers, and what will postal and logistics companies need to provide in order to win the battle for customers and the last mile,” continues Bukovc.
PIP Startup Award
The Startup Pitching Competition takes place in the afternoon, following lunch (free for conference delegates). The competition will see a range of exciting new startups, pre-selected by a jury of industry and innovation experts, pitch their latest and most innovative solutions and products. In this unique live competition, startups will have the opportunity to introduce their solutions for five minutes, followed by Q&A comments and recommendations from the judges, who include representatives from bpost, PostNL, Swiss Post and DPD among their ranks. The winner will be announced during the Parcel+Post Expo Awards reception, later the same evening.
The competing startups will be split into two groups. The first group includes: Citodi – a specialist in responsive and self-learning route optimisation; BookIT, which offers intelligent, interactive messaging; Ship2MyID, which allows anyone to ship and receive anything using a digital ID instead of a physical address; Nüweil GmbH, which offers electromobility solutions for urban areas; ProGlove – a supplier of industrial wearables that it claims are the lightest, smallest and toughest barcode scanners in the world; and Linksmart Technologies, a provider of non-clonable, trackable and surface-agnostic security labels.
The second group includes Pakadoo, which enables employees to receive private parcels directly at work; Kizy Tracking, which offers end-to-end supply chain visibility with real-time IoT data; ONO, which provides emission-free transportation of goods within cities; and Direct4.me – a Palo Alto-based startup that has partnered with pioneers in DoV (data-over-voice) technology to change the way parcels are delivered worldwide.
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a dedicated Startup Avenue on the Parcel+Post Expo show floor, where all the companies competing for the PIP Startup trophy can be found, along with even more, including Greenpack, which offers charging stations for electric vehicles; and Eddress, which provides a cloud-based solution to organize and optimize deliveries.
To attend the PIP Innovation & Startup Day, you will need to register for the Parcel+Post Expo Conference, here.
