For Stephane Tomczak, Founder & Chairman of DELIVER, the event’s value comes from removing chance from business meetings.

Speaking at DELIVER Europe 2026, Stephane described the DELIVER model as a more engineered approach to connection. Rather than asking attendees to rely on luck, the event is built around pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings, curated agendas and intentional matchmaking between retailers, brands and solution providers.

That structure is what makes DELIVER different from a traditional conference or trade show. Attendees arrive knowing who they are going to meet, which sessions they will attend and how their time will be used.

Reflecting on this year’s event, Stephane highlighted three key themes. The first was AI, particularly the shift towards agentic AI and more concrete industrial use cases. The second was sustainability, which he described as a continued priority for retailers and service providers despite wider market challenges. The third was the economic environment, where companies are under pressure to do more with less and find stronger value from every investment.

Stephane also looked ahead to the future of DELIVER as a global brand. With upcoming editions in Las Vegas, Dubai, Singapore and Europe, DELIVER is continuing to grow across regions while staying focused on face-to-face connection.

At the same time, the business is applying AI to its own model. Stephane pointed to future development around AI-powered matchmaking, helping ensure the right people meet and that connections between the buy side and sell side become even more precise.

For DELIVER, the future is both human and technology-enabled: a global platform built around meaningful meetings, stronger relevance and better outcomes for the retail, ecommerce, logistics and supply chain community.