Every day, logistics and logistics IT experts shape digital transformation in their companies. Through its Ideation Workshop, the Open Logistics Foundation offers them the opportunity to discuss industry-wide challenges across companies, with the aim of developing collaborative open source solutions. The one-day event for Foundation partners takes place annually in the late year in Dortmund. Zoltán Aranyi, Product Management Team Lead at CargoTrack, took part in 2025 for the first time. “As a telematics provider focused on digital transport and document workflows, the Ideation Workshop allowed us to step outside daily project routines and exchange perspectives with industry peers facing similar challenges”, he says, giving a positive assessment.
At the last Ideation Workshop, members were able to discuss various topics suggested throughout the year in small groups, such as the electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) – the key to international logistics – along with time-on-site prediction and yard access management. Paweł Ziaja, Product Development Team Leader at Trans.EU, decided to participate in the eBL session, among others. He shares, “My most exciting insight was that the biggest obstacle is not the technology, but its acceptance – similar to the digital consignment note eCMR in road freight transport. In the B2B sector, there is also a day-zero problem: unlike private deliveries, the recipient needs their own legally valid proof of delivery. Digitalisation must therefore work across the entire network and cannot start with a single sender”.
Learn more about the Open Logistics Foundation’s yearly Ideation Workshop.
The open, cross-company exchange continues between and after the sessions. “What stood out most was the ability to openly debate such challenges with companies that are competitors in daily business. OLF is one of the very few forums that not only allows, but actively facilitates, this kind of honest, cross-industry collaboration”, Paweł Ziaja continues.
The results of the sessions are presented to the plenary by the respective group spokespersons. “The structured, small-group format encouraged open dialogue and honest input. Hearing different perspectives and constraints across the ecosystem highlighted how much coordination is required to make digital logistics work in practice”, emphasises Zoltán Aranyi from CargoTrack. “The workshop reinforced our belief that progress starts with early collaboration, a shared understanding, and jointly developed standards”.
