Trimble Roundtable: Shifting from Disruption Prevention to Rapid Recovery in Global Logistics

From Reactive to Proactive: The New Logistics Paradigm

The logistics sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation. According to executives from Trimble Transportation and Logistics, the industry's focus has shifted away from merely preventing disruptions toward a more critical objective: recovering from them faster than competitors. This philosophy was the cornerstone of a recent virtual roundtable where company leaders outlined how their expanding carrier-shipper network is driving supply chains from reactive models to proactive ones.

The Power of Shared Data

At the heart of this transformation is data connectivity. Philipp Pfister, sector vice president for Trimble's Transporeon business, emphasized that shared information acts as a great equalizer within the network.

"Connected systems share data and shared data then can serve as an equalizer so that all parties in the network actually have the same level of information and they can all react based on the same information to the challenges that then occur," said Philipp Pfister, sector vice president for Trimble's Transporeon business.

The platform currently links more than 1,500 shippers and retailers with over 180,000 carriers globally. This creates a single global ecosystem where technology underpins faster decision-making capabilities.

Overcoming Implementation Barriers

While the technology offers significant advantages, executives acknowledged that human factors remain the primary hurdle. Anne Lielahti, who leads customer experience for Trimble's Transportation business, noted that resistance often stems from organizational complexity rather than technical limitations.

"Transformation is hard in the daily operations. It is not because of the technology. It is actually because of the amount of stakeholders involved and also the data silos that are there," said Anne Lielahti, who leads customer experience for Trimble's Transportation business. "Change is hard. So there is definitely also resistance to change."

Case Study: Nestlé

Nestlé serves as a prime example of successful transformation. Managing approximately 4 million shipments annually across a fragmented global setup, the company struggled with limited visibility and coordination issues.

"Together with Nestlé we moved them to a global platform. We integrated to their IT landscape and most importantly what we did is that we enabled the collaboration in that huge global network," Lielahti said.

The integration resulted in reduced manual steps, improved carrier coordination, enhanced regional visibility, and significantly faster reaction times during disruptions.

Case Study: Asics

For Asics, the challenge was a "trust barrier" regarding automation. Skepticism arose from manual freight auditing processes, with teams fearing a loss of control. However, the transition yielded the opposite effect.

"Instead of them losing control they actually did gain control," Lielahti said. "It was more transparency, it was better cost control and also more time for actually the high-value work with their customers."

The System of Action

Bernhard Schmaldienst, who leads product and engineering at Trimble, defined the company's value proposition as creating a "system of action" rather than just a system of record.

"Where we anchor Trimble and Transporeon solutions is we are the system of action," said Bernhard Schmaldienst, who leads product and engineering. "Those companies come out again on top that just do not know only what happened — that was the rate — but how that rate got along, like how did the negotiation go, who submitted what, when, where is the market right now, should I change something."

This capability enables real-time adjustments such as rerouting trucks, swapping carriers, or automatically rebooking time slots. Schmaldienst described the network effect using a mathematical analogy:

"This is a classical scenario where one plus one can be three," Schmaldienst said. "If you nail it for yourself then that is fine and with a network you can get approximately up to two, but you can never go full scale without really sharing there."

Market Conditions and Fraud Prevention

Regarding current market dynamics, Schmaldienst observed rising carrier rejection rates as an early indicator of capacity strain. He predicted these challenges would peak in May.

"We have not seen the spike yet and that will continue," Schmaldienst said. "The situation can change daily but in the current trend scenario we will see that situation happening specifically in May."

To combat fraud, Trimble employs a vetting process for companies participating in RFQs or tenders to ensure legitimacy. Additionally, real-time visibility tools alert operators to abnormal behaviors like unexpected detours.

Regional Differences: North America vs. Europe

The roundtable also highlighted distinct logistical landscapes between regions:

• Market Structure: The US relies heavily on freight brokerage, whereas Europe features more small carriers dealing directly with shippers.
• Regulatory Complexity: Pfister noted that while the US has widely adopted DOT standards for fuel indications, Europe faces fragmentation with 26 different types of DOTs across countries.

"In the US some standards are more widely adopted," Pfister said. "You have the DOT that provides fuel indications. In Europe you have 26 different types of DOTs because every country does this differently."

• Cultural Adoption: Schmaldienst observed a significantly higher openness to technological change in the US compared to Europe.

Strategic Guidance for Implementation

For organizations evaluating data strategies, Schmaldienst advised focusing on specific pain points where behavioral changes yield the most benefit. Lielahti stressed the necessity of aligning stakeholders and mapping current "as-is" processes to identify exceptions before launching initiatives.

Trimble's modular approach allows companies to avoid massive upfront investments by adopting a "pay what you use" model.

"You get started and basically you pay when you get the value extracted from our solution," Schmaldienst said. "We are not in there for long implementations that are heavy. We want quick implementations. We want you to have transactions that drive value for you."

Context

This article summarizes key insights from a virtual roundtable hosted by Trimble Transportation and Logistics, featuring executives Philipp Pfister, Anne Lielahti, and Bernhard Schmaldienst. The discussion centered on the evolution of supply chain resilience, moving beyond disruption prevention to rapid recovery through data sharing and network effects.

Takeaway

The future of logistics relies on a "system of action" where shared data enables real-time decision-making across a global network. Success requires overcoming cultural resistance and data silos, with immediate benefits seen in faster reaction times and enhanced control for partners like Nestlé and Asics.