Sjaak van der Linden, head of Trailer & Flatbed Division at CLdN Cargo, takes up the commitment of driver at The European Freight and Logistics Leaders’ Forum. This Brussels-based organization unites top players from the supply chain. The European Freight and Logistics Leaders’ Forum (F&L) presents itself as an independent and discrete environment for senior...Read More

Ambitious visions clash with reality, but optimism reigns Humanity can be fickle, swinging between extremes before finding a happy medium.  During the Covid-19 crisis we have heard both how nothing will change, and that everything will be different in the “new normal”.  And so, for the logistics industry and global supply chains we observe how lack...Read More

Now we know we need a flexible plan, let’s check we have clarity on a few key principles At our F&L Friday Forum discussion (30 April) we had a reminder of some of the key messages we often hear.  Now all stakeholders need to act on these. Staff support – it has long been the...Read More

Let’s be realistic: if you want to beat Mike Tyson, you need more than a well scripted plan! At F&L we kicked off our Friday Forum discussion on 17 April with supply chain leaders reflecting on Mike Tyson’s much quoted words “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth!”  We’ve not suddenly...Read More

Topical webinar on Anti-competitive behaviour in the corona context, reflections on how competition authorities may react Monday 27 April, 16:00 – 18:00 CET The European Commission and the national competition authorities in all EU Member States have signaled an approach of flexibility towards ensuring supply chains and distribution while maintaining strict scrutiny on anti-competitive behaviour....Read More

As the law tries to respond to covid-19, what do supply chain leaders need to know? 1.  EU border measures and green lanes – the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic forced EU Member States to impose border restrictions, including measures that restrict or severely hinder the flow of cross-border goods.  Traffic congestion increased at the...Read More

Happy Easter and welcome to disrupted logistics in European land transport  Two weeks is a long time in logistics but, in looking at the data and talking to market commentators, perhaps the key marker is that during the second half of March we reached a crossover point where demand dropped below falling capacity.  How did...Read More

Lifting our focus from the fog of confusion to develop a viable road map At a time when European businesses are just beginning to grapple with the extraordinary pressures of precipitous sales falls and delivery strains, it is hard to argue that looking ahead strategically is more critical than ever.  Surely the current fog of...Read More

Are you an accelerator or a brake? The Covid-19 pandemic is not a Black Swan event for the global business community.  Many have long predicted such crises which will disrupt, fracture and cause serious dislocation to business norms.  Here at F&L our network of logistics and supply chain leaders are telling us that problems are...Read More

Supply chains are disrupted around the world, but what is the full impact? Coronavirus outbreak has cost global value chains $50 billion in exports by February 2020.  Hardest-hit sectors are the energy and basic materials industries (-208% for energy, with the additional shock caused by the recent drop in oil prices), airlines (-116%) and the automotive...Read More