Day 2 unwrapped: Pioneering the future of automotive logistics at ALSC Europe 2024

Jean-Christophe Deville, vice-president of Supply Chain at Toyota Motor Europe “The Chinese carmakers are doing very well, with hugely strong ambitions, but we don’t intend to just let them grow at our expense, we’re going to fight back,” Deville said. “It’s a positive stimulus to us, as these new disruptors are waking us up.”

(L to R) Richard Logan, Armin Sarstedt, Joshua Schmillen Jean-Christophe Deville, and Sascha Tilli Joshua Schmillen, Planning Excellence Director, JLR said: “Like JC said, the long-term relationships with partners is important. I think about partnerships like having a sparring partner. You see them in the gym every day, you sometimes get jabbed in the face because you’re not paying attention, they keep you on your toes, but you both have to be in it and put in the effort to grow together.”

With a lineup of industry experts and thought leaders, the day was packed with sessions that not only addressed current challenges but also charted a course for a sustainable, efficient, and technologically advanced future.

Anouck Arnaud, director of Worldwide Transport Logistics, Mercedes-Benz Group “This is where we need to work together, hence why we are doing this session,” she said. ”We have a clear ambition but we are really looking forward to the exchange afterwards [with logistics partners] because it’s something we have to do together.”

Levent Yuksel, freight operations director, JLR

This session transitioned into an interactive workshop that explored the collaborative efforts, investments, and challenges involved in scaling sustainable logistics solutions, highlighting the use of alternative fuels and zero-emissions logistics equipment.

While the first session was led by Anouk, the second session was led by Levent where everyone got together to brainstorm ideas on the future of automotive logistics.

Andreea Serbu, senior manager of external affairs at ECG “Currently there’s a lot of room for interpretation in calculating emissions”, she said. “But calculations are based on data and default values which are used across all industries.”

Carola Krause , Senior Product and Business Development Manager EMEA, TES Sustainable Battery Solutions

Roman Noack, co-founder & CEO, HELROM GmbH

Lunch provided a networking opportunity, hosted by Priority Freight, where attendees could connect and discuss the morning’s topics in greater detail.

Fabio Castello, chief logistics officer & senior vice-president of logistics at Traton Group/Scania “There was some level of collaboration and cooperation within Traton, especially when there were new initiatives and we needed to speak to our colleagues about benchmarking, but the level of collaboration was very limited and fragmented, and our processes were not aligned,” Castello said.

Dr Michael Nikolaides, senior vice-president, Production Network, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, at BMW. He said: ”I assure you, volatility will stay and we should prepare together for volatile market demand, geopolitical tensions and everything which might come. The automotive industry only works together with our partners and if we prepare and have the mindset of not being afraid of competitors coming to the market, be it from China or anywhere else in the world.”

It was then followed by a panel discussion with Dr Michael Nikolaides, Jean-Christophe Deville, Mauro Rodrigo Gonzalez, President & Chief Commercial Officer, Ascent Global Logistics and Robert Gammon, Director of Operations Planning & Vehicle Logistics, Aston Martin on how logistics and supply chain leaders are managing immediate pressures like costs, capacity, and market volatility while also laying the groundwork for future transformations in the automotive value chain.