CEE logistics and transport congress, EASTLOG 2008, is just around the bend, kicking off its eleventh year on April 9-11, 2008 at the TOP Hotel Prague in the Czech Republic. This year’s program introduces a number of new features including an all new layout, hi-tech partner presentations in our new Business Arena, a regional focus on Central Europe, the Transport Meeting and an expanded Logistics HR Forum.
EASTLOG organizer ATOZ EVENT, s. r. o., expects around 1000 logistics professionals from various sectors of industry and business throughout the Central European region. “This year, EASTLOG has the new look of a regional congress. Some segments of the program have undergone innovations. Some have been created this year. EASTLOG 2008 will be modern, open and interactive. Feedback on the new concept has been very positive,” said EASTLOG Project Manager, Irena Seibertová in repsonse to the question: What can people expect at EASTLOG this year.

Business arena concept
The central point of the entire EASTLOG congress will be the Business Arena with presentations by 50 major players from the field of logistics services, products and technology. It is the ideal place to talk business with companies that provide or use logistics services on the Central European market. Business Arena participants can expect a full program of events including Regional days (logistics embassies of Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, where visitors can get inside information from logistics professionals from each country), Company seminars (an overview of new services, products and solutions from specific companies), Transport Meeting, the Logistics Job Fair, Modern IT Systems in logistics (a seminar by Barco) and the RFID-EPC Round Table (a GS1 Czech Republic meeting).

Conferences: an overview of the latest trends and projects 
The EASTLOG congress features a two-day program of conferences broken down into thematic sections (logistics in retail, logistics in the automotive industry). EASTLOG will host a total of 16 presentations, panel discussions and case studies led by 35 expert speakers from the CR and abroad including Armin F. Schwolgin of Lörrach - Dual University, Ferdinand Hlobil from Cushman & Wakefield, Gérard Graufogel of PCA Slovakia, Vladimír Badic from Unilever Corporate Audit – Europe, Gergely Gesce of the Ministry of Economics and Transport of Hungary and Mark O´Bornick of Analytiqa,. Among the themes up for discussion will be the industrial real-estate market, Logistics and the ecology, Strategies for expansion onto Central and Eastern European markets, Mergers and acquisitions in logistics, When and how to automate your logistics processes, Modern freight packaging, European rail possibilities, Electronic delivery bills and receipts, Logistics in textile goods, Outsourcing logistics to the Balkans at Unilever and a case study of PSA Trnava.

Logistics HR Forum, Logistics Business Mixer
The Logistics HR Forum offers a venue for the issues facing human resources in logistics. It features a discussion forum for HR and line managers, a seminar for students of colleges/universities, vocational schools and high schools and the highly anticipated Job Fair, designed to facilitate meetings between logistics companies and potential employees and school representatives.
The 8th Logistics Business Mixer will be held in the Mercedes Forum in Prague. As is customary, the Logistics Business Mixer is the ideal place to network with over 300 logistics professionals in an informal atmosphere of entertainment, games and prizes.

Logistics center excursions and the transport meeting
Logistics center excursions this year include visits to five different operations (The European distribution center of Fiege in Bor, the DC Ahold Czech Republic in Klecany and the Philip Morris product warehouse in Kutná Hora and two more).
One of the new additions to EASTLOG this year will be the interactive Transport Meeting workshop dedicated to issues in road and rail transport. The pre-lunch block will focus on road transport and legislative issues, Economic real-estate in Czech road transport and driver shortages on the market. The afternoon block will tackle the issues of rail transport in the form of two panel discussions – the possibilities of transferring goods from road to rail and Logistics centers in the CR in relation to transport.
Gold Partners of the EASTLOG 2008 congress are BT Česká republika and ProLogis, This year’s silver partners are CCV, CN WorldWide, Cushman & Wakefield, ČESMAD BOHEMIA, ČD Cargo, DHS, GS1 Czech Republic, Immo Industry Group, Mecalux Česká republika, SEGRO, Schoeller Arca Systems and TNT Express.