When demand softens, warehouses empty and rates fall across Europe, the instinct across logistics is to focus on streamlining costs. The recent fireside chat between Chris Roe, Managing Director of Amazon Freight UK, and Tamara Basic Vasiljev, LinkedIn’s Head Economist for EMEA, makes the case for a broader response.
For logistics leaders, they argue, the next phase in Europe will be defined as much by how we manage people, data, and collaboration as by how many trucks we put on the road.
Collaboration and intermodal as resilience tools
One of the strongest themes in the discussion is the value of shared solutions. Roe highlights how more shippers are looking beyond their own siloed flows and exploring how to align peaks, while combining volumes and using brokerage services to access larger, denser networks than they could build alone.
For operators and third-party logistics (3PLs), this is about more than marketing sustainability. Using intermodal where it fits can free up truck capacity for lanes where only road will do and make networks more robust when demand or fuel costs swing.
Competing for adaptable talent in a tight labour market
While networks are being re‑engineered, the workforce running them is undergoing its own transformation. Drawing on LinkedIn’s data, Vasiljev describes a structural shift in European careers: someone starting now might move through roughly twice as many roles over their working life as a counterpart who entered the labour market 15 years ago.
For logistics businesses, that churn can feel like a risk. But Roe’s experience suggests it can also be a strength if managed well. At Amazon Freight, hiring heavily weighs towards cultural fit and leadership behaviours, followed by structured training to build freight‑specific skills.
Vasiljev also states a shift in what employers are looking for. Across sectors, there is a growing premium on human‑centric skills: communication, cross‑functional collaboration, negotiation, and stakeholder management. In logistics, where every disruption demands fast coordination between transport, warehousing, customers, and suppliers, those capabilities often matter more than any single system certification.
AI in the control tower, not in the driver’s seat
Artificial intelligence is the third pillar of the conversation, and here the tone is pragmatic. LinkedIn projects that by 2030, around 70% of the skills listed in a typical job ad today will have changed in some way. For those working within the freight industry, that is less a threat than a signal that tools and workflows will keep evolving.
Roe describes how AI and machine learning are already embedded in Amazon Freight’s operations, particularly in areas like routing and network optimisation. Instead of asking humans to enumerate every possible path through a complex network, algorithms generate scenarios that planners can interrogate and refine. The technology does the heavy lifting on data; people decide which trade‑offs best serve customers and align with service commitments.
Both speakers emphasise that the value lies in this partnership. The organisations that benefit most from AI in logistics will be those that redesign roles accordingly and invest in AI literacy across operations and planning teams.
What this means for logistics leaders
From this chat, a few practical signals emerge. Firstly, collaboration is emerging as a pragmatic way to cut carbon emissions and strengthen service. Moreover, the combination of adaptable talent and AI‑enabled tools is becoming a core capability, not a side project, for anyone running complex logistics.
In short, the next chapter of European logistics is as much in control towers and planning tools as on the road. The conversation between Amazon Freight and LinkedIn is a reminder that resilience now depends on how well the industry blends collaboration, technology, and human skills to design supply chains that can absorb the next shock, whenever that arrives.
How Amazon Freight is approaching the next chapter
The conversation between Roe and Vasiljev offers a window into how Amazon Freight is thinking about the next chapter of European logistics: a market shaped by AI‑enabled planning, tight labour markets, and growing pressure to decarbonise road freight.
Amazon Freight gives shippers access to Amazon’s network of owned trailers and trusted carrier partners across the UK and EU, backed by technology designed to improve visibility, support real‑time decision‑making and reduce waste such as empty miles.
For logistics operators and shipping teams, that means plugging into infrastructure built to handle volatility as standard, while using tools such as online quotes, self‑service booking and shipment tracking to manage freight on their own terms.
