Loughborough University welcomes supply chain leaders for UK SCALE Centre Symposium 2026

A person presenting in front of a UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence Centre banner

Loughborough University welcomed leaders from across industry, academia and policy to the UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Centre Symposium 2026 on Thursday 25 June.

Hosted at Holywell Park Conference Centre, the Symposium explored the theme “Hope not hype – Effective digitalisation for better supply chain solutions”, focusing on how AI and digital technologies can support more resilient, productive and sustainable supply chains.

The event was hosted by the UK SCALE Centre, part of the MIT Global SCALE Network, and brought together speakers and attendees to explore how organisations can move beyond digital ambition and turn insight into practical action.

Reflecting on the event, Professor Jan Godsell, Dean of Loughborough Business School and Director of the UK SCALE Centre, said: “Hope not hype means that we are using digital technologies and AI to deliver true business value, not just adopting technology for the sake of adopting technology.”

Professor Godsell also highlighted the role of the Symposium within the Centre’s wider innovation cycle, which brings together discovery events, roundtables and research activity across the year before sharing insights with the wider supply chain community.

The programme featured contributions from Vice Admiral Sir Andy Kyte, Dr Viktor Dörfler, Fawad Qureshi, Dr Nandini Chakravorti, Tom Coker, Dr Yasmine Sabri, Neil Ashworth, Rachel Noll, Professor Donato Masi and Andy Birtwistle.

Live illustration from the UK SCALE Centre Symposium
Live illustration of the UK SCALE Centre Symposium 2026, captured by Graphic Change.

Across keynote sessions, industry case studies, workshops and panel discussions, a recurring message was that AI is an amplifier. It can strengthen decision-making, visibility and resilience, but can also expose or intensify weaknesses around poor data, fragmented systems, weak governance and cultural barriers.

Vice Admiral Sir Andy Kyte, Chief of Defence Logistics and Support at the Ministry of Defence, spoke about the value of bringing different sectors together to address shared supply chain challenges.

He said: “Ultimately, we are all facing the same challenges. Their focus might be slightly different, the scale might be different, but if you look at it through the lens of supply chains, we are all looking at how do we digitise, how do we exploit AI, how do we build greater resilience and agility?”

Attendees explored AI and digitalisation through the lenses of sustainability, resilience and productivity, with discussions covering data foundations, responsible innovation, predictive technologies, people and culture change, and the need for collaboration across the supply chain ecosystem.

The afternoon workshop invited attendees to consider what digitally integrated supply chains could look like by 2031, and what practical steps are needed now to build more connected, intelligent and resilient supply chains.

Feedback from attendees reflected a strong appetite for continued collaboration, with many highlighting the importance of trust, leadership, culture change and data-led decision-making in shaping the future of supply chains.

Professor Godsell added: “Ultimately, UK SCALE is about bringing together that community to shape the futures of supply chain in a way that is value-adding both to those individual entities, but to the UK and to the broader global supply chain ecosystem.”

The Symposium forms part of the UK SCALE Centre’s wider mission to strengthen supply chain innovation, collaboration and talent development across industry and academia.

Watch highlights from the UK SCALE Centre Symposium 2026 below.

Find out more about the UK SCALE Centre, including our research, events and opportunities to collaborate.