In episode 38, Mandy Haeburn-Little is joined by two members of the Logistics UK team, the first company from the transport sector to join the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group as National Ambassadors; they are Nigel Smart, Director of IT & Development and Natalie Chapman, Head of Public Affairs.

Nigel begins the conversation by highlighting that while Logistics UK is a membership organisation, it prefers to be known as a business group. In fact, they are the only business group in the UK that represents all logistics, from road, rail, sea, and air, to the buyers of freight. Logistics UK is about representing its members by campaigning governments, ensuring their compliance, training and providing a media presence; its mission is to continue to be in the top three business groups that people turn to for advice in the logistics sector.

Natalie then explains in more detail her department's role and how they work closely with the UK and the devolved nations' governments, MPs, backbenchers and policymakers to influence political decisions. Their lobbying and advice are all evidence-based, which is why Logistics UK is heavily involved in research and reporting. But it's not just about gathering the evidence; they work hard to present the information in the correct formats for the target audience, be it politicians, media or the general public. It's about highlighting how logistics plays a critical role in underpinning the UK economy.

Mandy and Natalie go on to chat about a few of the big issues impacting the sector, such as the UK's ranking on the Logistics Productivity Index and how that has slipped 15 places since 2013 to a current global position of 19th. Also, how they are identifying investment priorities to ensure critical infrastructure is fit for purpose to help minimise congestion and delays. Natalie also talks about their work in decarbonisation and how they are leading the discussion on how we achieve net zero and what they are doing to assist with the skills shortage in the sector with initiatives such as Generation Logistics.

Nigel explains why cyber is high on the agenda at Logistics UK and notes that awareness of the threats and the general interest in cyber has noticeably increased throughout the organisation in the last year, and how they intend to pass on this knowledge to their members in the future.

Nigel also expresses the reasons why Logistics UK was keen to become a National Ambassador and how he is particularly looking forward to working with like-minded people and benefiting from the mutual learning opportunities of being involved with fellow National Ambassador companies.