Review of Deliver Middle East 2026

2 Day Conference In Dubai

2026 marks the inaugural year of Deliver Middle East, which took place January 21-22 in Dubai, UAE. Dubai is a great choice with an amazing new airport, plenty of hotels, solid public transport, great restaurants, and several taxi and ride hail options. A huge professional working class makes it great for networking, and the city is safe and clean. Admittedly I haven’t been to any other city in the Middle East, so I can’t really compare - what about you? Leave a comment below if you have thoughts on other cities in the Middle East.

Who Attends?

Attendees are heads of supply chain, logistics, and ecommerce from vetted brands and retailers that are buyers of logistics services. Attendees are provided with free access to the entire conference, 1 night’s free accommodation and travel subsidies to attend. Exhibitors ultimately are paying for this, and the benefit is Deliver’s unique format that ensures exhibitors have a full slate of 1:1 meetings with quality companies before they event arrive.

Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City

The conference venue and hotel was the Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, a 5-star hotel, which felt like a luxurious upgrade. Deliver wanted to make a good first year impression, and it did.

Upon arrival you’re immediately aware of the multiple restaurants, bars, pools, and even a world class Cirque du Soleil style show called La Perle at the hotel - talk about a huge hotel!

Conference Floor

Middle East had the smallest conference floor among Deliver events, which has the benefit of creating a crozier and more intimate atmosphere. Deliver Americas and Europe give off the big conference show vibe with thousands of people coming and going - most of whom you will never know - but the Dubai had a homely feeling to it, probably because of the nice carpet and comfortable lighting.

Less exhibitors mean more time listening to the content series and also more time networking.

DP World was the main sponsor of the event as their both was lively. DP World’s stand always seems similar at each Deliver, and I realized that I had seem a similar style booth when I was last in Dubai for the UPU Postal Congress. Is this just a popular modern Middle Eastern style booth?

I was surprised to find a significant number of Dubai based ecommerce logistics companies missing. I would have expected Aramex to be there given they exhibit at other Delivers and local postal group 7X was not there either. Perhaps they were waiting to see how things would turn on this year?

The People

One of Deliver’s USP’s is quality attendees and Middle East did not disappoint. Tom Meek of Taxually told us that “All the brands we’ve spoken to are $100M+” and Blue Yonder’s Justine Lacombe indicated that exhibiting was “was a no brainer. The attendees are HIGH quality.” Not a single exhibitor we spoke to was disappointed and that’s a great start for a conference.

Food Reveal

This year’s Deliver had an unexpected twist - meat! Yes after consistently attending Deliver Events for 3 years, I had come to expect vegetarian, so imagine my surprise when I saw this great big tray of chicken!

Besides lunch, breakfasts, brunch snacks, and afternoon snacks were widely abundant.

My primary complaint for big conference events have always been the hotel canteen style food. I’d love to see logistics conferences learn from events like SXSW and hit us local cuisine and food to tasty that attendees would line up for it. If I’m only in Dubai for 2 days, it would be nice to try local food.

Fortunately there was tea and coffee shop across the street and I was able to get my fill of Karak Chai, the local milk tea, for the day.

Rooftop Food, Drinks, and Music

Deliver Middle East’s Day 1 after party was at the rooftop, full of food (slightly more localized yay), full of drinks, and had a DJ. It was great to finally go outside for a little bit and watch as half the attendees froze their asses off in the Dubai winter - and I’m not being sarcastic it was really cold!

The fun is always my favourite part and where I think a lot of the real business gets done. Not because of the alcohol, but because it’s easier to get to know people when you’re relaxed and no longer on business speed dating mode.

The Market

I normally don’t blog about a hotel breakfast, but one of the biggest selling points of staying at the Hilton is The Market. I know several attendees and exhibitors that intentionally avoided more after-partying so that they could enjoy the hotel, sleep early and crush the hotel breakfast.

Final Verdict

If you’re a retailer, you should check out what’s happening in the GCC and Deliver Middle East is a great platform. A well organized event with good content, 1:1 meetings, and a comfortable luxury hotel during Dubai’s winter time is a great combination.

If you’re an exhibitor, this year’s exhibitors had great things to say. If you were on the fence before, consider trying it next year - but only if you have a Middle East angle.

Next Up: Deliver Asia, Singapore

To experience Deliver, consider attending Deliver Asia in Singapore March 4-5. I’ll be there and as usual taking meetings in and out of the venue. Suntec City has a few great spots for Teh Tarik, and if you’re not a regularly we’ll also get a Kaya Toast with our milk tea

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