Transportation Leadership: From Managing Shipments To Orchestrating Networks

Highlights from a recent webinar on how transportation leaders are shifting from managing shipments to orchestrating networks, and the roles of data and AI.

Oct 05, 2026

What will separate transportation leaders from the rest over the next three to five years?

That was the central question behind a research study Adelante SCM conducted with Alpegaearlier this year. We surveyed 56 supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies, along with 239 carriers and logistics service providers across Europe.

As I highlighted in a Talking Logistics post back in July, the research revealed strong alignment on where the industry is headed. Both shippers and carriers/LSPs envision a future defined by greater connectivity, visibility, automation, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making. More importantly, the findings pointed to a broader shift underway: from managing transportation activities to orchestrating transportation networks.

But what does that shift mean in practice? What has changed in the transportation operating environment to make network orchestration more important? And what roles will connectivity, trust, and AI play?

Those are some of the questions I explored in a recent webinar with Michael Böckle, Senior VP of Sales Strategy, Alliances, and Pre-Sales at Alpega, and Olivier Gonon, Chief Revenue Officer for Carriers at Alpega.

The First Half of 2026: What’s Changed, What’s Worked, and What’s Next

The first half of 2026 has been anything but predictable. Tariffs, geopolitical tensions, AI advancements, changing transportation market conditions, and other developments have created new challenges — and new opportunities — for supply chain organizations. As we reach the midpoint of the year, we’d like to understand what has had the greatest impact on your organization, what has surprised you, where you’ve made the most progress, and what priorities will shape the months ahead.

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