Adele Waite, general manager of a $1.25 billion global contract for DHL, who has driven growth of return on capital employed by 740 percent for her organization, scooped the award for outstanding individual achievement.

The corporate title went to Premier Farnell – a global, multi-channel distributor whose chief executive, Harriet Green, was named in the FT's Top 50 Women in Business and which also employs a female chair and head of global supply.

It was celebratory night orchestrated by Women in Logistics (UK), a not-for-profit networking and support group which aims to aid and assist the careers of women in the sector.

Established in 2008, the group already has more than 2,800 male and female members supporting the cause – which created a sizeable task when whittling down to a final shortlist.

Ruth Waring FCILT, founder of the organization said: "We were bowled over by both the volume and caliber of entries for our first awards. It's a shame that each category can only have one winner, but Adele and Premier Farnell can be very proud of their awards, knowing that they were hotly contested and well-deserved."

Judging duties were undertaken by Dr Richard Wilding, Professor of Supply Chain Strategy at Cranfield School of Management. The eventual winners of the individual award, sponsored by The Forton Group, and the corporate award, sponsored by Hays Logistics, were chosen by public vote through the Women in Logistics website in advance of the ceremony. World Trade 100 brought you that story.

David Haslam presented the Woman of the Year award in memory of his mother, Jean Haslam. Jean was the first female and the first non-American to be voted the best transport manager in the US army and the first woman to become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport.

Those gathered on the night also enjoyed a raffle with 17 prizes and donated more than £8,000 to Transaid (www.transaid.org), the chosen charity of Women in Logistics which tackles poverty and disadvantage by building transport skills and knowledge to the developing world.

Founder Ruth Waring added: "It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening which has done a lot to raise the profile of females in the logistics industry as well as raise a huge sum for charity. I have never seen a dance floor fill up so quickly.

"It is the first awards ceremony we have organized and the feedback has been fantastic. We are looking forward to being able to honor women in the industry for many years to come – but for now we are celebrating the achievements of our two winners and the incredible work they are doing in this sector."