Driving value through smarter logistics

Automotive supply chains are under intense pressure from all sides. Logistics alone represents nearly 8% of a vehicle’s retail price, a figure that continues to rise as fuel, labour, and infrastructure costs increase, prompting heightened scrutiny across the entire value chain in search of cost savings and efficiency. At the same time, the industry must meet rising expectations for sustainability and customer satisfaction, while also navigating the lingering disruptions of semiconductor shortages, geopolitical conflicts, pandemic aftershocks, and extreme weather events that have shaken supply chain stability.

“The automotive industry has long struggled with fluctuating rates and unexpected fees, and self-costs have climbed more than 30% in recent years,” says Renatas Šlenderis, CEO and founder of Fracht. “OEMs cannot continue absorbing these increases and remain competitive. The industry needs structural solutions, not just tactical cost-cutting.”

As a result, solutions for transforming logistics operations have become imperative, with success increasingly hinging on achieving the “the best of three”: speed, visibility and cost efficiency.

From efficiency to value creation

This market shift has fuelled growing interest in value-added logistics (VAL) solutions – using logistics not just to move product but to create value through integration, data and service enhancements.

“Agility and transparency across the supply chain are key differentiators for any business,” Šlenderis notes. “VAL solutions build on this, leveraging digitalisation, automation and cross-stakeholder collaboration to reduce inefficiencies and create new value.”

For outbound logistics, this means faster routes to market, fewer empty miles and better alignment with sustainability goals. For dealers, it translates into reduced paperwork, quicker vehicle pickup and a more transparent delivery experience for customers.

Eliminating friction in outbound logistics

One example of this approach is Fracht’s Automotive Logistics Control System (ALCS), a cloud-based platform designed to create seamless integration and eliminate friction from outbound logistics. 

“ALCS was born from navigating over a decade of real-word industry experience,” Šlenderis explains. “The system was designed to eliminate inefficiencies at every level of the outbound supply chain.”

In October 2025, ALCS enters its next phase, expanding its scope of services beyond tier-one and OEM supply to encompass a wider dealer market across Europe, while delivering greater functionality for their supplier networks.

“The traditional [outbound logistics] model was full of friction – endless phone calls, Excel sheets and emails,” says Šlenderis. “We built ALCS to provide a single digital ecosystem where every stakeholder sees the same real-time data. That transparency builds trust and cuts out the errors that used to cause disputes.”

Speed, automation and same-day pick up

Acting as a universal transport management system, ALCS connects OEMs, dealers, carriers and even end customers on one platform. Rather than working in isolation, stakeholders gain real-time visibility into vehicle locations, ETA updates, digital contracts, and delivery confirmations, creating a foundation for collaboration and measurable improvement.

Equally important, ALCS injects automation and speed into processes that were once time consuming and manual. It autonomously plans transport routes and schedules, dispatching digital job orders to carriers and drivers, eliminating coordinator calls or redundant data entry. Dealers can initiate pickups with a single click, with ALCS instantly matching orders with available carriers. 

“Same-day pickup, which once seemed impossible, is standard in our system,” Šlenderis explains. “Automation means faster lead times for end customers and it removes wasted hours for OEMs, carriers and dealers alike.”

Tackling empty miles and price volatility

Empty miles remain a chronic challenge in vehicle logistics, wasting both money and carbon. ALCS addresses this by optimising capacity across thousands of trucks, pairing vehicle flows to cut backhauls.

“When rates spike by 30% and trucks still run empty, you need smarter planning,” says Šlenderis. “ALCS ensures assets are used efficiently, which protects margins and lowers emissions.”

The system also embeds market-driven pricing, linking transport costs to real-time demand and capacity. This helps OEMs and dealers avoid the inflated fees and unpredictable swings that have historically destabilised long-term planning.

Scale and collaboration 

With more than 2,000 companies connected – representing 18,000 trucks and 23,000 drivers – the ALCS network provides a ready-made infrastructure for cooperation among carriers, designed for scale and integration. OEMs can plug directly into the same system for digital contracting, KPI tracking and claims management, while carriers benefit from reduced payment disputes and faster billing cycles.

“By putting everyone on one platform, we’ve simplified partnerships,” Šlenderis explains. “OEMs don’t have to juggle portals, and carriers get paid faster. It strengthens relationships across the board.”

Delivering measurable results

Early adoption figures underline the impact. In 2023-2024 alone, Fracht coordinated the transport of over 300,000 vehicles through ALCS and logged more than one million user sessions. On an average day, around 750 car carriers use the system to find loads or manage shipments, supported by integrations with over 100 GPS providers in 21 languages. 

Users report efficiency gains such as reduced administrative workload, faster job acceptance, and improved customer service through live ETA sharing. OEMs benefit from end-to-end oversight, with real-time KPIs available down to the VIN level. 

“Legacy systems could never provide this level of granularity,” Šlenderis stresses. “With ALCS OEMs can measure performance and cost with a precision that allows them to act strategically, not just operationally.”

Additionally, ALCS offers marketplace integration with dealer sales systems, ensuring every transport request is directly tied to the point of sale. For end customers, this means live ETA tracking – following their car’s journey like a parcel delivery – enhancing satisfaction while reducing inbound calls to dealer staff.

The strategic mandate

The discussion around outbound vehicle logistics has consistently highlighted recurring challenges: fluctuating rates, underutilised capacity and slow response times. With logistics increasingly recognised as a lever for value creation, solutions that address these issues will enable the industry to deliver speed as standard and improve collaboration at scale.

“The next phase of automotive logistics will be defined by what companies choose to build, not just how they react,” says Šlenderis.

What is required is a structural shift toward integrated, data-driven systems that minimise waste, improve coordination and support sustainability. Platforms such as ALCS demonstrate how outbound vehicle logistics can be managed as a high-efficiency, technology-enabled operation that creates measurable value. 

“With the right digital backbone, built on real-world logistics processes, you can eliminate inefficiencies and give the industry control they’ve never had before,” says Šlenderis. “It’s no longer just about moving cars; it’s about adding measurable value at every stage of the journey.”

The future of automotive logistics is looking more connected and intelligent than the past. For OEMs and their partners, the strategic mandate is making value-added logistics central to strategies, or risk being left behind.

“With ALCS, arranging the delivery of a car is as easy as ordering a pizza. That simplicity hides a complex digital ecosystem, and it’s exactly what the market needs to stay competitive,” Šlenderis explains.