"2026 will be a year of transition"
In an interview with the ITJ, Philipp Pfister analyzes the developments of 2025, assesses the impact of the integration into the US technology group Trimble, and discusses his customers' current priorities. He also ventures a look ahead: What will the future of logistics look like in 2026 – and what role will Transporeon play in this new environment?
Philipp Pfister, how would you assess the year 2025 overall for the logistics industry – where were the biggest challenges, where were the opportunities?
“While we continued to face economic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, adaptability has definitely emerged as the new decisive competitive advantage. The companies that came out on top were able to successfully combine human judgment, digital innovation, and operational resilience.”
We have definitely observed a growing interest in and greater openness towards AI: More and more companies are switching from AI for tasks such as route optimization to autonomous decision-making.”
Trimble Inc.'s acquisition of Transporeon was completed in April 2023. What impact did this move have internally and externally – both operationally and strategically?
“Trimble’s acquisition of Transporeon aimed to create significant added value for customers worldwide by combining the strengths of both companies. The companies complemented each other perfectly: While Trimble historically focused on freight forwarders in North America, Transporeon from Europe brought expertise in working with shippers. By combining these markets, we can now serve the entire supply chain from planning to delivery and optimize processes at every point in the supply chain: from transportation management, maintenance, tracking and transparency to route planning and optimization, as well as safety and compliance.”
From your perspective: What are the three most important issues currently affecting your customers – and how does Transporeon address them?
“We currently see three strategic and interconnected issues that are of greatest relevance to our customers:
Firstly, increasing operational resilience in volatile markets is a top priority, as logistics, particularly since 2020, has faced constant turbulence such as the Suez Canal blockade, attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and capacity constraints. We address this by reducing manual labor, automating processes, and fostering collaboration across our extensive network. This allows our clients' teams to focus on what matters most in this constantly changing environment.
Secondly, our customers are looking for pragmatic ways to achieve sustainability through increased capacity utilization and efficiency. For example, if a truck only transports 10 pallets instead of 30, that's a waste of resources. We provide efficient planning and procurement solutions to reduce empty miles, consolidate loads, and shorten waiting times at docks.
Third, our customers are showing a growing interest in AI-powered tools, as the focus has shifted from various tests to a concrete demand for data-driven decision support. This is based on the enormous amount of data in our network, which comprises more than 1,500 shippers and over 180,000 carriers who execute more than 115,000 shipments daily via our platform. This data forms the foundation for our benchmarking tools, predictive analytics, and AI-based decision support. Examples of our AI tools include Autonomous Procurement and Autonomous Quotation. These enable users to fully manage and automate the entire process of submitting bids, negotiating, and allocating spot shipments from a single access point. This leads to a significant optimization of processes for both shippers and carriers.
How do you see the logistics industry positioned for 2026 – which trends will prevail, and where do you see potential stumbling blocks?
"For the logistics industry, 2026 will be a year of transition, in which the adaptability of companies will determine their success."
Perhaps the greatest opportunity lies in the rapid maturation of artificial intelligence (AI). The industry is moving from the experimental phase to widespread, real-world implementation. AI solutions have become accessible to companies of all sizes and have been successfully integrated into mainstream applications that deliver operational intelligence—including predictive maintenance, network optimization, and dynamic pricing. A new understanding of the technology is emerging: AI is increasingly being used as a "colleague." The questions in the C-suite are therefore no longer whether AI can help, but rather how quickly it delivers concrete, measurable results.
"The driver shortage is and remains another challenge for the industry."
Data quality is a key challenge, especially with regard to the wider application of AI. Autonomous AI systems require structured, standardized data. However, since logistics is traditionally highly fragmented, consolidating and cleaning this data is the biggest hurdle to the successful and widespread implementation of AI solutions.
Change management remains another AI-related challenge. Successful companies recognize the importance of appointing change ambassadors within their teams. These experienced employees can bridge the gap between old processes and new technologies, helping their colleagues navigate the transition with credibility and empathy.
And specifically for Transporeon: What strategic priorities are you setting for 2026? Will the name "Transporeon" remain – or will a new brand structure be introduced under Trimble? Does the renaming of the Transporeon Summit to Trimble Insight Europe point in the direction of the future?
“There will be a global Trimble Transport & Logistics segment that integrates the Transporeon platform – the Transporeon Summit has also been renamed accordingly.”
“The goal is a leading, seamlessly connected transportation ecosystem that unites shippers, retailers, carriers, and logistics providers on a shared infrastructure. With a strong market presence in North America—where over two million trucks and over 85 percent of the 200 largest fleets are powered by Trimble technology—and the world’s largest European freight network with more than 180,000 carriers and over 1,500 shippers, Trimble is creating the foundation for a global network effect. The path forward is clear: an ecosystem that makes transportation safer, simpler, and more efficient, unlocking new scaling and efficiency potential for businesses worldwide.”
Philipp Pfister was appointed Sector Vice President of Transporeon at Trimble in January 2025 and has been an integral part of Transporeon since 2012. Thanks to his extensive experience in customer delivery, he has a keen understanding of the essential link between technological solutions and empowering the people who use them.
“In the field of AI, supply chain solutions that leverage this technology – combined with the largest managed network and the most comprehensive dataset – offer a unique advantage. Transporeon, together with a customer-focused team that addresses real, everyday problems, is the best solution to support our network in transporting goods.” (am)