The leaders of 30 major UK businesses have signed a letter to Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP, urging him to ensure that the logistics industry is made a cornerstone of the government’s Industrial Strategy, which is set to be published in the coming months.
Led by business group Logistics UK, the 30 businesses, which include Amazon, Heathrow Airport and Tesco Stores, are urging Mr Reynolds to acknowledge the critical role that effective supply chains play in all parts of the economy, including the growth-driving sectors already recognised by the government. The business leaders are clear that making the transportation of goods more efficient is fundamental to growth across the whole economy, and that the logistics sector must therefore have a voice in the development of future economic plans by being represented on the new Industrial Strategy Council.
“Nothing in the economy moves without logistics: it provides our hospitals, schools, factories and shops with everything they need, everywhere, every day,” says David Wells OBE, Chief Executive of Logistics UK which co-ordinated the approach to Mr Reynolds.
“Our sector must be recognised as a key partner in the government’s economic and business growth plans. Otherwise, the plan for growth will be set up to fail before it even starts. The government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper rightly introduces the concept of ‘foundational sectors’ that provide critical inputs and infrastructure to our growth-driving sectors, and the case for recognising logistics as such a sector is undeniable.
“Effective logistics is the foundation of any successful economic activity, whatever the industry,” he continues. “To create an industrial strategy that does not improve the efficiency of the movement of goods would be a huge, missed opportunity, and throttle growth in other sectors.
