Long-term partnerships and enhanced collaboration key to managing risk and building resilience
At ALSC United Kingdom, JLR's Levent Yuksel highlighted the role that a collaborative approach with partners and peers can playing in developing a resilient and competitive automotive supply chain capable of adapting to mitigate risk in today's volatile logistics landscape.
JLR's freight operations director Levent Yuksel delivered a keynote on partnership, sustainability and resilience at ALSC UK
ALSC UK
Kicking off the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain United Kingdom event in 2026, Levent Yuksel, freight operations director at Jaguar Land Rover, shared how sustainability and collaboration lie at the heart of JLR's reimagining of logistics for long-term resilience and competitiveness.
Responsible for inbound freight, packaging and finished vehicle logistics at JLR, Yuksel's role involves overseeing the planning and execution of optimised logistics to meet the needs of its global manufacturing operation and customer demand.
Addressing challenges in today's supply chain
Yuksel highlighted some of the biggest challenges faced in the automotive supply chain in 2026, including:
- Geopolitical instability
- Infrastructure gaps for alternative fuels and EV fleets
- Rising energy costs
- Fragmented logistics networks
- Global competition and regulations
"The scale of transformation required cannot be delivered through conventional relations," he asserted. "All of these challenges push us to think differently from the conventional methods, because the way we used to think, the way we used to act, is not the way that we can succeed."
New ways of collaborating
At JLR, when it comes to logistics, the focus is first on the fundamentals; Yuksel explained that ensuring a solid foundation of an optimised and efficient supply chain from the outset. From there though, it is collaboration that he sees as the driving force towards a more competitive and resilient future.
He explained that all organisations in the automotive supply chain operate as part of an ecosystem and therefore do not act alone, so working in harmony with partners and within this ecosystem itself is essential to ensure the industry as a whole is as competitive as it can be.
A shift in mindset from more traditional transactional relationships with partners to more value-based collaboration is the first step on this journey, Yuksel noted.
"We are developing the approach – together with our colleagues – with our suppliers and providers to reach to a level of partnership where we can share the gain and also we can share the pain," Yuksel said, reiterated that shared objectives, values and direction between an OEM and its partners is crucial to achieving true collaboration.
How can enhanced collaboration improve resilience?
With more collaborative partnerships, greater levels of agility can be unlocked, allowing an OEM to respond to shocks in a more quick and decisive manner than could be achieved through a purely transactional relationship.
While he acknowledged that preventing disruption like geopolitical conflict or extreme weather is not possible, Yuksel noted that companies can adapt their approach to risk management to be more agile and address issues sooner.
He asserted that strong relationships enable effective crisis response, while flexible solutions – attained through close collaboration with partners –allow for customer deliveries and business performance to be maintained in spite of headwinds.
Partners simply fulfilling contractual obligations won't be as willing to provide supported outside of this scope when it is most important to an OEM. However, in a relationship built on trust, transparency and fairness, both an OEM and its logistics partner can make decisions together, sharing ownership and working towards the same outcome.
Viewing peers as allies, not rivals
If the industry is to get where it wants to be, Yuksel shared his view that OEMs will need to stop viewing other manufacturers as rivals, but rather as allies. This is especially true when it comes to sustainability.
"We want to avoid empty runs or half-full trailers, trains or vessels," he said. "That comes with being open and transparent in terms of data sharing."
He explained how shared networks can deliver higher asset utilisation, reduced empty running, lower per-unit emissions and lower per-unit cost, providing an advantage not just for sustainability, but also in terms of cost and efficiency.
Just as with a logistics partner, sharing both the risk and reward with peers in the industry can be a win-win. "This is the incentive – we are in the same boat, we are on the same team," said Yuksel. "So if there is a gain, we share the gain, but if there is a pain, that has to be shared by each stakeholder, and what we have seen that is very important for the UK supply chain and logistics industry is to know how to collaborate."
Acknowledging that infrastructure can be a significant barrier to sustainability progress, he encouraged the industry to also establish co-shared hubs for attracting charging infrastructure, alternative fuels bunkering and public refuelling stations along core corridors to enable long-haul decarbonisation.
He also advocated for the entire industry to work together to co-develop pilot projects, taking a creative and transparent approach, and to explore how investment into existing multimodal infrastructure can take pressure off the UK's roads.
"Smarter, competitive logistics done sustainably and collaboratively can become a strategic advantage," Yuksel stated.
Six lessons for resilience
During a panel discussion on keeping UK supply chains flowing in spite of permanent volatility, speakers highlighted X key messages that the industry should take on board to improve resilience and be better prepared in times of crisis.
- Share information with partners earlier
The panel emphasised that transparency and timely communication with partners can ensure a coordinated response to disruptions before they escalate. "The earlier we give this information to our partners, the more chance we have to react to it with less disruption," JLR's Yuksel said.
- Focus on solutions, not blame
Speakers argued that successful partnerships spend less time assigning responsibility and more time finding answers. "The key focus is what we can do right given the circumstances," said Yuksel.
- Empower partners to act decisively
True resilience requires quick decision-making and trust between partners. Adam Jones, senior commercial director at DSV, claimed that logistics providers should be embedded in decision-making rather than waiting for instructions from their customers. "You partner with 3PLs and supply chain partners to make decisions for you because we use our expertise, data and the tools available to us," he said. "So it's important to building a relationship where you empower partners and 3PLs to make some of these decisions without always coming to you."
- Take advantage of technology to gain visibility
Understanding that value that technology such as visibility platforms, predictive analytics and AI can bring in helping supply chains shift from reactive to proactive management is crucial, and the advantages these technologies bring should not be overlooked. While he reaffirmed that the power to make final decisions should remain in the hands of human experts, Yuksel described these tools as a "key ingredient" in the decision-making process.
- Build resilience into the workforce
With driver shortages remaining a long-term risk, both Yuksel and Jones highlighted the need for better working conditions, smarter network design and stronger efforts to attract talent into logistics careers in order to secure the long-term prosperity of the sector. "It's a really good and exciting industry to be in, it's just not pushed enough, I think, at a younger age," said Jones. "We need to get people more excited about working in logistics."
- Make collaboration a strategic capability
Jones' closing message echoed the central theme of Yukel's keynote: organisations should examine whether relationships are still transactional or genuinely collaborative. "It can't be a transactional relationship now between customers, manufacturers, suppliers and 3PLs; it has to be a cohesive partnership approach," concluded Jones. "That strategic, transparent and sometimes challenging relationship is always the best way to go."
