Supply Chain Day in Switzerland used to be in September, but the Swiss companies in the sector have now agreed to stage their events in April, too. This high level of involvement throughout Europe is due not least to the efforts of the European Logistics Association (ELA), who for the first time launched a wide-ranging campaign to encourage its members to take part in the day of action.

For the seventh time, the Germany-based BVL International called on companies, univer-sities and organisations to let members of the public take a look behind the scenes free of charge - so that they can find out about the important work of logistics and supply chain management, and gain some insights into the diverse activities and challenges in the industry. On Supply Chain Day 2013, around 36,000 people took part in 381 events in four countries with the focus on Germany, Austria and Hungary.

Logistics and supply chain management generate turnover of 930 billion euros (2012), but the roughly 500,000 logistics service providers in Europe account for only around half of this volume. The other half is more or less hidden from public view and takes place in companies in industry and trade. In the era of globalisation, the players in the sector have to meet major challenges, driven above all by constantly increasing complexity, rising costs and ever higher expectations in terms of both ecological and social sustainability.

Supply Chain Day gives companies and organisations the chance to make the public aware of these services. Visitors can experience logistics for themselves and gain a better understanding of the industry. Last but not least, newcomers and lateral entrants can discover the diverse job opportunities in logistics and supply chain management.

The idea for Supply Chain Day came from the honorary chapter chairs who head the 30-plus regional chapters of BVL, and the day of action has been a resounding success each year since 2008. The next Supply Chain Day is on April 16, 2015.