What’s next for European logistics: In conversation with LinkedIn and Amazon Freight

Over the decades, the logistics industry has weathered several waves of transformation. Now, with artificial intelligence advancing rapidly and regulation moving in step, another period of structural change is underway.

That theme sat at the heart of a recent fireside chat between Amazon Freight’s UK and EU Managing Director, Chris Roe, and LinkedIn’s Head Economist for EMEA, Tamara Basic Vasiljev, which focused on how these forces could reshape European logistics in the years ahead.

Their discussion pointed to a sector that is becoming more data‑driven and more human‑centred, provided that technology and policy are put to work in the right way.

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Work, skills and who enters the freight market

AI and digital tools are fast spreading through logistics. As they do, they are reshaping both the skills needed in established roles and the routes new players can take into the market.

LinkedIn’s analysis suggests that a large share of the skills listed in today’s logistics job ads will look different by 2030. That is already visible on the ground.

Warehouse and transport roles that were once almost entirely physical now routinely involve working with handheld devices and automated equipment.

For example, today’s route planners and dispatchers are expected to understand data rather than schedules. Of course, operational know-how still matters, but it increasingly sits alongside basic data literacy and confidence with technology.

Lower barriers to entrepreneurship

At the same time, accessible technology is lowering the bar for starting and scaling a logistics business. Off‑the‑shelf tools for route optimisation, invoicing, fleet tracking, and customer communication (once reserved for larger operators) are now widely available at modest cost. This makes it easier for small carriers and specialists to plug into larger ecosystems and compete for work.

​​The result is a sector that will have a broader mix of participants: established players with deep networks, niche operators with specialised offers, and new entrants using technology to operate leaner models..

From single bets to portfolio thinking

Network strategy is shifting too, as shippers look for ways to handle disruption without losing control of cost.

Traditionally, European shippers have worked with a small stable of carriers on fixed‑term agreements. The logic was straightforward: fewer partners, less complexity. That approach delivered predictability in calmer times, but recent disruptions have shown its fragility.

Supply chain disruption, sudden changes in demand, and geopolitical uncertainty now repeat often enough to feel like a pattern rather than an exception. As a result, risk is being reassessed. More shippers are looking to spread exposure and diversify partners.

Instead of a single, locked‑in model, companies are experimenting with different contract structures and more on‑demand capacity. Flexibility and optionality are becoming as important as unit cost.

Beyond road‑only thinking

Policy is nudging change as well. The EU’s push for greener, multimodal freight is encouraging operators to think beyond a road‑first mindset. Rail corridors and inland waterways are taking on a larger role in long‑term strategies, particularly where sustainability targets and congestion concerns are in play.

Road transport will remain the backbone of many European supply chains, but the proportion of volumes moving by different modes is expected to shift over time. Digital tools are critical in this transition. To orchestrate multiple partners and modes, shippers need clear, near‑real‑time visibility across their networks.

The most resilient operations are likely to be those that combine a broader mix of transport options with the data and systems needed to manage them as a single, coherent whole. For many organisations, this will be a gradual re‑engineering rather than a single, sweeping redesign.

AI and human-centric processes

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a core part of how European logistics decisions are made. Within Amazon Freight, for example, AI and machine learning systems are already embedded in the core planning stack. They help decide how to group shipments, which routes to prioritise, where to position capacity and how to anticipate demand.

These tools excel at one thing humans struggle with: rapidly exploring thousands of possible configurations, under multiple constraints, and flagging the best candidates. These surface options planners might not have considered and can highlight trade‑offs between cost, speed, reliability, and emissions.

Humans steering the system

Crucially, AI has not replaced the people making those calls. Planners treat model outputs as proposals that still need interrogation. They weigh customer commitments and real‑world experience against what the algorithms suggest.

What changes is the nature of the job. Less time is spent wrestling with spreadsheets and more time is spent asking, “Does this recommendation make sense in the real world? What happens if conditions shift tomorrow?” AI becomes an engine in the background, while humans remain in the driver’s seat on the decisions that matter.

Choosing what kind of system Europe builds

Uncertainty will remain a fact of life for European logistics. Demand will move and external shocks will keep cropping up. What’s different now is the amount of control the sector can take back. With richer data and better visibility across networks, freight operators have more ways to and course‑correct in real time.

That creates space to use this period as a reset rather than just another round of firefighting. Companies can trial new planning approaches, rethink how they use different modes, and adjust how they work with partners, all with a clearer view of the impact. Each experiment, even on a small scale, helps build a more robust network that is less dependent on everything outside the industry going smoothly.

The opportunity is to treat today’s tools as a way to design in resilience. Operators that use data and AI to learn faster and give their teams confidence in new ways of working will be better able to hold their course when conditions shift.

In that sense, this is a rare window for European freight to become more inventive and more resilient on its own terms, whatever the wider economy does next.