Evolving Expectations in Project Logistics

By Luke King

What do shippers need most from the project cargo community in 2025? At Breakbulk Europe, the answer was clear: strategic partnerships, not transactional service.

In a main stage session entitled “Shipper’s Perspective: Navigating Today’s Logistics Challenges,” senior logistics leaders from Bechtel, Air Liquide and Siemens Energy shared how shifting global dynamics are transforming their expectations of logistics service providers.

Moderated by Tim Killen, head of growth – project sector at Fracht Group, the panel featured Andrew Young, corporate manager of logistics at Bechtel Global Logistics; Richard Kaladji, project logistics manager at Air Liquide; and Ruediger Fromm, logistics business partner at Siemens Energy Global.

Killen set the tone when he told how a Fracht client summed up today’s market in three words: “Uncertainty, disruption and tariffs.”

Asked about a shipper’s primary needs and expectations, Fromm said: “In the past, it was all about cost, speed and reliability of the service provider. Now, in changing times, we need strategic partners. We need data analytics support, which is a challenge for all of us – and to really learn from the data we have.”

For Bechtel, reliability and flexibility are top priorities. “The greatest need is global economic stability,” said Young. “Quality, safety and surety of delivery – that’s what we need to concentrate on. Our needs differ depending on the type of project. We’re dealing with governments, energy majors – they all lean on us in different ways,” he added.

Kaladji pointed to rising design complexity. “Everything gets bigger in order to make erection as fast as possible,” he said. “We are validating solutions, then we have to go and find the right partners. Now, the challenge is higher, and you cannot mess up – the costs involved are so huge.”

In terms of evolving expectations, Young said modularization was one of the biggest changes in the last 10 years. “Clients want to construct faster. It’s not always that bigger is better – it’s optimization,” he said. “We are fortunate that, in Bechtel, logistics has a seat at the table at the design stage. There is an optimal size – not necessarily the biggest.”

Fromm noted: “In my new role in wind energy, I can say a nacelle is click and play, which is not that complicated – I hope the engineers aren’t listening! – but the rest of the workflow is pure heavy-lift logistics. That plays a huge role in the realization of the project.

“In the past, logistics was thought about at the very end – that’s changed now, and that’s very good.”

Another key shift has been customer involvement. “Clients are way more engaged in projects,” said Young. “Even in lump sum projects, they still want to manage risk – and to ensure that we are managing risk. Clients will put somebody in our office because they are so engaged.”

Killen added: “The costs of finance, the risk involved and the commitment to a return on investment as fast as possible are driving that engagement.”

As for risk mitigation, the panelists agreed that adaptability is critical. “Project logistics was always an industry where a high level of adaptability was required – but the level changed from high to super high,” said Fromm.

Kaladji added: “The main risk is not being able to deliver on time. We don’t win a project with logistics, but we can lose a lot of money because of logistics!”

Fromm emphasized the importance of trust: “With trust and open, honest communication, the risks can be handled better. We all know something will happen in the execution of a project, but it does not make sense to hide it or not inform us – we need clear information to solve it.”

Underlying the important role played by project cargo logistics providers, Young said in closing: “At Bechtel we joke that we are often dealing with a logistics project with a construction problem… That’s how prominent logistics is for us.”

Photo (L-R): Ruediger Fromm, Andrew Young, Richard Kaladji. Credit: Richard Theemling Photography