Transportation debate unites industry around three themes

On February 1, the Transport Debate took place at La Vue, Kris De Leeneer's event location in Lokeren. The day was led by Alex Van Breedam, president of Febetra, and Benny Smets, CEO of Ninatrans. Three current transport topics were reviewed.

The day began with "Survival of the fittest: smarter or bigger. Kris de Leeneer, CEO of the company of the same name, Tom Simonts, Senior Financial Economist at KBC, and Jurgen Huygh, International Trade Manager of Barry Callebaut, discussed this. "I begrudge every logistics company an IT nerd. After all, it brings in much more than more trucks. Artificial intelligence will provide significantly more value here," Simonts advocated.

Zero emissions requires strong legislation

Next hot topic on the agenda: the zero-emission transportation debate. Everyone obviously needs to meet sustainability goals, but what is achievable? And who is responsible: the shipper or the logistics provider? How do we achieve synergy? 

These were important topics addressed during this debate by Lars Peterse, Director of Operations at DHL, Pieter Thienpont, Director of Volvo Trucks at Volvo, Stéphane Jacobs of the Mobility and Public Works Policy Department, and Koen de Vos, Director of Supply Chain at Colruyt Group. "As entrepreneurs, we need to invest in sustainable transport. Then we also have to be able to use it. We really need the government for that. Certainly also at the European level," Lars Peterse said.

Tendering or partnerships?

The final debate of the day focused on new business models, with the main question being "tendering on price or partnerships? 

During this debate, the swords were crossed between Ward De Muelenaere, Category Buyer at Agristo, Vincent Labeau, Logistics Director at Maxeda DIY Group, and Wim Smout, VP Procurement & Supply Chain at Telenet. "Our experience is that it doesn't work to sit around the table with each other based on price," Ward de Mûelenaere hinted. The benefits of partnerships were also highlighted. It was even mentioned from the audience that this could be a possible lever for the road to sustainability. The Transport Debate demonstrated the sector's strengths: interaction, open discussions and cordial meetings. New collaborations certainly emerged.