In a world of trade volatility, AI disruption and mounting pressure to build supply chains that are faster, greener and more resilient, 2,000 of retail and logistics’ senior leaders chose to spend 3rd and 4th of June in one place: TAETS Event Park, Amsterdam. Editor Peter MacLeod attended the event again for Logistics Business.
Deliver Europe has established itself as an annual gathering where retail and supply chain’s most senior leaders come to do business, build relationships and confront the challenges defining the industry’s future. It is not an event you can simply buy a ticket to. It is an invitation-only, fully hosted event, and that exclusivity is the point. Every delegate is pre-qualified. Every meeting is pre-scheduled. And with 9,000 meetings taking place across the two days through the Deliver precision matchmaking platform, the result is an environment where every conversation is intentional, every introduction is relevant and every delegate leaves with a pipeline of real commercial opportunity.
“What we like about Deliver is that we have senior stakeholders that we can interact with. We have meaningful conversations… [the pre-arranged meetings] mean you can sit down, understand their use case, and get the chance to really present what you can bring to the table,” commented Arne Jeroschewski, Founder and CEO at Parcel Perform.
Those 9,000 meetings connected senior executives from Amazon, ASOS, eBay, John Lewis, Nike, Decathlon, MediaMarktSaturn, ALDI SÜd Group, URBN (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People & Nuuly), Henkel, Electrolux, Mars, Oatly, Schneider Electric, Emma – The Sleep Company, CCC Group, On, Karl Lagerfeld and LEGO – among many others – with 178 of the most innovative vendor partners in the industry, including DHL, FedEx Express, Maersk, Amazon Shipping, Ocado Intelligent Automation, Manhattan Associates, Evri, DP World, parcelLab, Asendia, Swisslog and Seven Senders.
“9,000 meetings across two days is not just a number – it represents thousands of partnerships in the making, problems being solved and relationships that will shape the industry for years to come. We are incredibly proud of what Deliver Europe has become,” commented Stéphane Tomczak, Founder & Chairman, Deliver.
The conference programme offered 70+ hours of content across the two days, featuring keynote sessions, expert panels and roundtable discussions tackling the most pressing challenges in retail supply chain. Key themes included the real-world impact of AI and digital transformation, net-zero and circular supply chain innovation, cross-chain collaboration and the future of supply chain leadership.
Roundtables brought together operational leaders from brands including Coty, Bonduelle, Decathlon and Jack Wolfskin for candid, peer-to-peer debate. Notable speakers included Kirsty Keoghan, General Manager Fashion & Luxury EU at eBay; Dane Percy, VP of Research and Development Petcare at Mars; and Stefan Hofer, COO of Emma – The Sleep Company, alongside applied futurist Tom Cheesewright, who guided discussions on the forces reshaping commerce.
Sustainability was a defining thread throughout the 2026 programme, both on the keynote stage and in the Sustainability Lounge. Erin Augustine, VP Global Sustainability at Oatly, brought the green agenda to the main stage, while the morning of day one was dedicated to the Deliver Sustainability Pulse 2026: Where the Industry Really Stands – a 60-minute focus group that proved one of the most interactive and insight-rich sessions of the event. Panellists included Taimoor Hussain, Supply Chain Director at Unilever; Radharaman Jha, VP Supply Chain at Flaconi; Tatum Bross, ESG Project Manager at Spring GDS; Henric van der Ent, Director of Supply Chain at PwC Nederland, moderated by John Acton, Co-Founder & CEO of Peer2Peer. The session drew candid contributions from the audience as well as the panel, surfacing where the industry truly stands on sustainability – and what still needs to change. The Sustainability Pulse will become a permanent fixture of the Deliver Europe programme, with findings from the 2026 session to be compiled into a report and shared across the Deliver community in the coming weeks.
Alongside the main programme, a series of exclusive experiences reflected Deliver’s commitment to meaningful connection at every level. On the evening of 2nd June, 70 of the industry’s most senior executives gathered for the exclusive Elite Dinner – invitation-only, off-agenda and widely regarded as one of the most coveted evenings in the supply chain calendar. The Women in Retail Breakfast, held on the morning of 4th June, returned for another celebrated edition, convening senior executives for honest, inspiring dialogue on leadership, career development and building inclusive cultures within retail and supply chain.
The Deliver Vendor Awards, fully voted for by attending retailers, took centre stage on the afternoon of day one, celebrating excellence across the supply chain and logistics community. This year’s winners were: GOFO (Rising Star), GLS (Customer Experience), Maersk (Brand Excellence), Parcel Perform (Game Changer) and Bring (Sustainability). The awards gave way to an unforgettable networking party to close out day one, with a dazzling disco ball performer, dancers and DJs bringing the energy – a fitting celebration of a remarkable first day.
