Most influential women in logistics narrowed down to final shortlist

Seventeen finalists now have their eyes on just four prizes, which will celebrate the brightest and most ambitious stars from the sector as well as the company doing the most to advance the cause of women in the industry.

The winners will be chosen by a panel of industry veterans headed by Richard Wilding, Professor of Supply Chain Strategy at Cranfield School of Management, and announced at the glittering prize-giving ceremony at St John's Hotel in Solihull.

The glitzy awards and charity dinner, now in their fifth year, will once again follow on from the Women in Logistics Conference taking place earlier in the day. This year's theme is Competency and Talent Development, with speakers including supply chain leaders from Eddie Stobart, Hotel Chocolat and Westminster Business School and a keynote address by Wendy Manning, vice president customer logistics at Coca Cola Enterprises.

The day has been organised by Women in Logistics, established in 2008 to increase the number of women in the industry, improve life for those women already working in logistics and to address the gender imbalance issue.

Vice chair Melanie Longman said: "Selecting shortlists of candidates and picking just one winner per category has again been an incredibly tough task, but we are convinced that anybody taking home an award on the night will be a deserved winner.

"The conference, awards, dinner and ball have always proven to be a hugely popular fixture with our members and this year we have even more reason to celebrate after we increased membership beyond 3,600 and expanded our steering group."

The awards and charity ball will operate in support of Transaid, for which Women in Logistics has raised £35,000 since 2008. Transaid tackles poverty and disadvantage by building transport skills and knowledge to the developing world.

Attendees can choose to attend the conference, charity dinner, or both. Further details and tickets are available from http://womeninlogistics.org.uk/