Maersk's Achim Glass on resilience in the face of disruption and the value of real-time visibility

Speaking to Automotive Logistics at ALSC Europe 2026 in March, Achim Glass, head of sales for automotive in North Europe at Maersk, discussed the logistics company's approach to managing global disruption and ensuring resilience, as well as how it is combining end-to-end asset control with real-time visibility to offer guaranteed delivery dates on selected trade lanes.

Having attended ALSC Europe personally for several years, Glass highlighted the important opportunity the annual conference provides for networking and to give Maersk a chance to hear all about the biggest challenges facing its customers.

"The networking opportunity is unheard of in the industry," said Glass. "Coming together once a year with the who's who of the global automotive logistics industry is really remarkable and I value it very much."

Speaking almost a month into the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Glass noted that while there has always been disruption in the industry, he has observed increases in the the severity, duration and sheer number of black swan incidents that have impacted automotive logistics in recent years.

He clearly outlined Maersk's top priorities amid conflict in the Middle East: to protect its cargo, its assets and – most importantly – its seafarers.

In the face of disruption, whether that be from geopolitical conflict or extreme weather conditions, Glass pointed towards real-time data as a game-changer when it comes to having the visibility needed to ensure resiliency.

"With the Maersk Visibility Studio, we have one platform collecting data from more than 300 airlines and 200 ocean carriers in order to provide verified real-time shipping information," Glass explained. "And in addition to that, the tool is providing global incident updates in real time, so you can actually identify disruption before it happens, which allows you to take the respective measures."

He added: "Bad news doesn't get better with time, so the sooner we know, the sooner we can inform the plant and they can rearrange the production schedule."

During the event, Maersk launched its delivery guarantee product – providing customers with a guaranteed arrival date for selected products on selected trade lanes.

"Our delivery guarantee product is something which has been unheard of in the industry ever," said Glass. "Everybody always wanted it, no company was able to do it."

The launch follows Maersk testing the product with 10 global customers, a test that Glass claimed was "successful" and "very efficient".

For more from Maersk at ALSC Europe 2026, check out this article where leaders from Maersk and Schaeffler share how they're turning logistics into strategic value, with additional insights from experts from the likes of GM and Toyota: https://www.automotivelogistics.media/supply-chain/turning-supply-chainnbspdisruption-into-competitive-advantage-at-gm-schaeffler-and-toyota/2631635

Видео Maersk's Achim Glass on resilience in the face of disruption and the value of real-time visibility канала Automotive Logistics