Axel spent 8 years managing transport operations for a 9-figure European manufacturer, then 4 years as Commercial Director at a global forwarder. He now shares insights from both shipper and carrier sides, and enjoys the occasional piña colada.
The integration maze facing European manufacturers and wholesalers with €10M+ transport spends has reached a breaking point. USA Truck discovered their EDI tools couldn't scale when they expanded their carrier network from 200 to 500+ partners. Processing times increased from 2 minutes to 45 minutes for standard load
European shippers face a unique window of opportunity in 2025. Contract rates dropped 2.3 points and spot rates fell 3.8 points quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2025, while 426,000 truck driver positions remain unfilled across Europe. This creates an unusual paradox: transport cost management becomes easier in the short
You've just signed off on a €200,000 TMS platform to handle ICS2 Release 3 compliance that went live September 1, 2025. Six months later, your team is still doing manual workarounds because the system can't handle the accurate and complete data required for every shipment
Coming into 2025, industry surveys showed over 426,000 unfilled truck driver positions across Europe, and without intervention this gap is projected to worsen dramatically – potentially exceeding 60% of driver positions unfilled by 2026 under current trends. For European shippers managing their own fleets, this isn't just a
A mid-sized German automotive parts manufacturer thought their TMS implementation was going smoothly. Six months in, €800,000 spent, and they realized their new system couldn't handle their complex carrier network across 12 countries. According to the Standish Group's Annual CHAOS 2020 report, 66% of technology
The transport capacity challenge choking European businesses has reached a critical inflection point. According to IRU's 2024 driver shortage survey, there are 426,000 unfilled truck driver positions across Europe, while heavy goods vehicle registrations fell by 16% between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025. This isn't
For European transport and logistics managers heading into 2025, securing budget approval for a Transport Management System (TMS) requires more than promising "efficiency gains" and "better visibility." 76% of logistics transformations fail to achieve their performance objectives. The difference between success and failure? A methodical approach
The eFTI Regulation implementation timeline just got real. As of January 2025, Member States may start developing the IT systems necessary to allow authorities to check eFTI compliant transport information. For European shippers managing significant transport spend, this shift from paper-based processes to electronic freight transport information represents both compliance
Your European procurement teams spend weeks preparing transport tenders, managing carrier responses, and comparing rates across dozens of proposals. Sound familiar? The European TMS market reached €1.4 billion in 2024 and is growing at 12.2% annually, driven by companies transforming these manual processes into automated, data-driven procurement strategies.
Transport Management Systems (TMS) have moved from “nice-to-have” to critical infrastructure for European shippers. The problem is that most RFPs (Request for Proposal) still focus on feature checklists, rather than the metrics that actually determine value. If you’re running TMS procurement for a mid-to-large manufacturer or retailer, here are