Our Alliance
The Alliance for European Logistics (AEL) promotes a new policy agenda for European logistics services in Europe. The AEL was conceived at the 1st European Logistics Summit in November 2008, and builds on the shared commitment of its members - senior executives from AIR FRANCE KLM Cargo, BASF, Carrefour, CEVA Logistics, Deutsche Post DHL, IVECO, Michelin and SAP. However, the AEL aims to broaden its membership and is open to both the major providers of logistics services in Europe as well as global companies that rely on efficient logistics for the successful execution of their business operations.
Our Sector
The AEL is committed to raising the profile and understanding of logistics amongst European policymakers. Logistics is all around us and yet is often easily forgotten or incorrectly grouped together with other sectors of industry. It is crucial for political, regulatory and legislative stakeholders to see logistics not only in the limited sense of goods transport and warehousing, but also in the wider context of the complex macro-economic role it plays in helping deliver a competitive European industrial base. The logistics sector itself was the biggest industry sector in the EU in 2008 in terms of revenue, generating €950 billion. It is also an important partner and service provider for all economic actors within both the European and global sphere. The AEL therefore seeks to address the serious discrepancy between the importance of logistics for the economic well-being of the EU and the lack of integrated vision by decisionmakers.
Our Conviction
The competitiveness of European industry, whether in the service or manufacturing sectors, is increasingly dependent on logistics. Due to the huge pressure on company costs brought about by the financial and economic crisis, companies will more and more be working with logistics operators to realize the potential savings of 10 to 30% that optimizing logistics can offer. At the same time, logistics providers are in a position to reduce their own carbon footprint, and that of their customers. This can be achieved by optimizing supply chains and the energy balance of all logistics activities as well as restructuring corporate processes with the aid of the numerous digital technologies now available. It is therefore our firm conviction that the logistics industry can play an essential role in increasing both the competitiveness and sustainability profile of Europe’s industry as a whole. European policymakers hold the key to unlocking this potential by completing the Internal Market for freight transport services on each mode, addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, stimulating innovation and minimizing the regulatory and administrative burdens on industry.
Our Mission
With a view to raising the profile of the logistics industry with policymakers, AEL aims to facilitate:
- The creation of a high-level EU stakeholders’ group for logistics with a broad-based industry representation.
- The creation of a logistics think-tank in the European Parliament, in which the major issues in logistics can be discussed in depth across party and committee lines.
- Closer coordination between industry and the European Commission on key strategic decisions.
- The creation of a more integrated longer-term strategy for logistics, based on realistic scenarios for 2020. This necessitates engagement with all the major players in the industry, as well as consideration of broader policies, such as the EU’s Climate Change Strategy, internal market for transport, future of transport policy, industrial policy and information society.