18-19 November (in person)

A closed-door, high-level strategic commercial dialogue across industry sectors & transport modes
in-person | Chatham House Rule | no recording | no media | no online participation | no sales pitches

The issues which face us today – from environmental degradation, to the impact of multiple separate yet interconnected global crises, to the future of Europe and for our own companies – are systemic.  Tackling issues in isolation can lead to unintended consequences and/or simply shift the burden elsewhere and leading companies are learning that by changing how they operate they can influence how the future unfolds.  With the help of others across the ecosystem, how can we tweak our own strategic business models to balance immediate operational demands with the proactive steps required for our own future corporate viability?  Discussion in a protected environment will be led by cargo owners across industry sectors and transport modes, academics, financiers, sustainability teams and experts in their fields.  Please note: while sustainability leaders are encouraged to accompany their commercial teams, they are not able to represent them.

09:00 – 17:30, Gothenburg

Welcome & short Q&A with Roger Alm President Volvo Trucks

let’s change the conversation

1. Do we envisage a “better” future in 2028 or 2030? What is The Plan?

• Key players outline how & why they are shaping change across the sector [cargo owners, infrastructure & asset owners, financiers & others]
• Briefings: mega trends, what can we learn from global trading blocs, climate status [leaders, experts & academics]
• (Re)defining ‘resilience’ & participants’ OKM (one key message) – what will make the difference to each of us today so that we can succeed tomorrow? 

“Those who are waiting for regulation won’t even be on the playing field”
“The  opportunities are tremendous!”
“What got our businesses here today will not get the results we are looking for tomorrow, but it’s not as simple as swapping diesel for an electric plug”

2. “Built to last”?  Playing the long game 

With customers, partners, suppliers and others, how can we each minimise impact from disruption, volatility and crisis while taking proactive steps forward to secure our own future corporate viability?

• A different way for everyone to view the new financial reality & how it impacts all KPIs [logistics leaders, financiers & academics]
• Innovations & technology including AI – an answer to long-lasting commercial trade-offs?  The cost trap, strategic behaviours, forecasting, inventory, supplier relationships & contracts, asset users vs owners, fragmented visibility, “3 to tango”, conflicting KPIs ….  each decision in isolation makes sense, but what do they create together? [leaders]
• Clean energy cross mode progress – linking, assessing, comparing and learning from others; transferable learning?

“Like compound interest or the Chinese bamboo tree, actions we take today change tomorrow…”
“What one sector hails as a “breakthrough” is often just standard practice from an industry that has been doing it for decades”

3. What next?

• Conclusion – cost of inaction?  What next; just to keep what we have?  A brighter future?

19:30 – 22:30, Gothenburg

• Evening networking dinner programme, sponsor tbc

08:30 – 14:00, Gothenburg

Moving from theory to practical realities

• Driving – in being able to drive an electric truck around Volvo’s test track, leaders understand the practical realities of operationalising the new technology including real-world performance, charging logistics, and driver experience requirements.
• Practical problem-solving – we must think end to end & close the knowledge gap where we only know what we know in our own area.  Short workshops deep-diving into key issues:  common solutions and transferable knowledge to avoid continually reinventing the wheel.
• We are considering technology addressing freight inefficiencies (including trucks running with empty cargo space) & a variety of alternative immersive experiences for those who are not involved with road.

Conclusions & lunch

14:00 first private airport bus to Gothenburg Landvetter

14:00 choice of visits followed by 16:00 airport bus to Gothenburg Landvetter

This meeting is for senior business leaders & their teams; people who are actively leading industry today.

Many F&L Member companies will be present.  We are currently agreeing together the best format for the agenda.

You are advised to register now because at F&L we build agendas to match the interests of those in the room.

Participants will be added in due course and, in the meantime, you can see who attended recent meetings below.

• Participant list for “Priorities & Choices: stuck in Crisis Mode?” (Apr 2026)
• Participant list for F&L at Nike (Oct 2025)
• Participant list for Poland (Apr 2025)
• Participant list for Zaragoza Spain (Oct 2024) 

We are hosted by Volvo Trucks in Gothenburg at their Volvo Trucks Experience Center
VTEX, VTDC, 423 52 Göteborg, Entrence via TLA-porten, Pressvägen 2

• Wed 17 Nov –  welcome dinner & industry visits (central Gothenburg)
• Thurs 18 Nov –  F&L agenda 09:00 – 17:30 hosted by Volvo Trucks at their HQ in Gothenburg + evening dinner programme
• Fri 19 Nov –  F&L agenda 09:00 – 13:00 hosted by Volvo Trucks at their HQ in Gothenburg and including practical ‘stations’ & driving trucks around Volvo’s test track

• Sleeping hotel – 17 & 18 Nov – Elite Plaza Hotel 4* in Gothenburg is centrally located at Västra Hamngatan 3, 411 17 Göteborg, Sweden.  15% discount details in the registration confirmation email.
• Welcome dinner 17 Nov – walking distance of Elite Plaza Hotel, location will be confirmed.
• Meeting venue – 18 & 19 Nov – Volvo Trucks Experience Center VTEX, VTDC, 423 52 Göteborg, Entrance via TLA-porten, Pressvägen 2.
• Networking dinner 18 Nov – location will be confirmed and transport will be included.
• Parking is available at both the hotel (below) & at Volvo but we will travel from the hotel to the meeting and both dinners together.

• General businesswear and any F&L members‘ products!
• Questions welcome – please get in touch.

… F&L was created in 1994 by shippers & logistics providers who realised that they could not tackle logistics issues alone in their companies, or within a commercial structure. They created a neutral, independent not-for-profit platform for senior logistics leaders and their teams to utilise cross-industry peer exchange to – judge today’s trade-offs – identify new opportunities for resilience and growth – catch blind spots – de-risk decision making – and determine facts, helping everyone build on real world experience to develop more practical, durable solutions and choose their own paths forward, together and separately.

Mission – to drive improved standards, learnings & the success of Members by leveraging the multi-stakeholder international community to spark knowledge sharing & tackle obstacles from every possible vantage point.

How is this achieved?  F&L is structured as a neutral (independent), not-for-profit, confidential, antitrust compliant Members’ forum and is registered in Belgium as an ASBL.  Multi-stakeholder membership is deliberately balanced to ensure a variety of perspectives across a host of variables.  F&L does not lobby but it does have strong relationships with policymakers and many other institutions and communities for its Members’ benefit.

Members are global / regional heads of logistics & supply chain, CEOs & senior management focused on freight logistics across the supply chain, asset owners, founders of critical solutions, all industry sectors and transport modes, based across Europe & globally (list).  Unlimited licences are provided for leaders to share the membership with colleagues (no charge).

“The important thing is to avoid the ‘narrow’ trap & the echo chamber”
“Access to informed external views & sheer breadth which it is not possible to organise by yourself”
“Where else can you ask questions openly and listen to others doing the same?”
“Learn, benchmark & challenge”
“We make better, more informed, more robust decisions”