The University of Melbourne hosted its 2023 Melbourne Supply Chain Conference to analyse the latest trends impacting the Australian supply chain. Talks and demonstrations for the event centred around how the latest technologies intersect with supply chain sustainability and resilience.
Over 100 attendants were given the chance to experience first-hand virtual warehouse picking with Körber’s automation solutions. The VR helps to visualise how robots and automation can save time and space on the warehouse floor, improving picking capacity for businesses looking to support higher volumes.
Nikki Jones, Körber Director of Marketing APAC, said that the event was a fantastic example of collaboration between education and industry.
“Körber was thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with students across various faculties, as well as industry experts and like-minded businesses to showcase the current trends, opportunities and challenges in today’s supply chain.
We were glad to see the virtual reality demonstration was well-received and gave attendants a glimpse into how our automated picking systems are helping businesses reach new heights in the e-commerce era,” Jones said.
According to one of the event organisers, Dr George Panas, Department of Management and Marketing University of Melbourne – who has 25 years of management experience in industry and consulting – the event displayed how industry collaboration is crucial to support the future of Australian supply chains.
“Collaboration between Universities and industry is vital and mutually beneficial. In 2023, our collaboration efforts have centred around bringing real-life, practical supply chain experiences to students, via conferences, site visits, guest speakers etc. There is further potential to collaborate on many fronts in the future, including student projects, internships and joint research,” Panas said.
The conference successfully facilitated the sharing of ideas between students, academics and industry leaders, allowing students to translate learnings in the lecture halls into real-world situations.
“Our aim at the conference was to inspire students to consider a career in supply chain management. Körber and their technology solutions provide a great platform to do that – showcasing innovative, cutting-edge solutions that can inspire our students. Körber has consistently been a strong partner in helping us here at the University of Melbourne inspire the next generation of supply chain leaders,” Panas added.