"Many major issues seem to have receded behind the effects of the pandemic. But they are not: structural challenges in the economy, national egoisms, climate change, the transport transition, the digital transformation - they are all still there," said Prof. Thomas Wimmer, Chairman of the BVL Executive Board, in his opening speech. However, all players in the logistics sector have one thing in common: "We want to use the opportunities presented by the crisis to make supply chains more robust, for example the digitalization push, the review of sourcing strategies and the primacy of cost minimization."

The congress, which usually brings together around 3,200 participants in Berlin, was to be held this year as a hybrid format with fewer participants and an exhibition on site in Berlin as well as additional streaming of the content. It will now take place purely digitally for the participants. Out of a sense of responsibility for the health of all those involved, the BVL's top committees decided to cancel the face-to-face event in Berlin after intensive consultations around a week before the congress opened. The majority of the content of the congress will now be offered in a purely digital format, with further parts to follow as webinars. The exhibition and networking events have been completely canceled.

"The coronavirus development is worrying many people. The situation is therefore completely different today than it was in the summer, when the BVL committees decided to hold the congress from October 21 to 23, 2020 as a hybrid event with a high proportion of on-site attendance," says Wimmer. The BVL's Executive Board and management are extremely sorry that the in-person event has been canceled and hope that the conditions will be safer again next year. A statement by Messe München with regard to its leading logistics trade fair gives cause for optimism: "We are expecting the global logistics industry with all participants from industry, trade and services in May 2021 at transport logistic in Munich. As of today, more than 80 percent of exhibitors have already registered again," says Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München GmbH and member of the BVL Advisory Board.