From your conversations with customers across the industry, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing aftersales supply chain and service logistics leaders over the next 3–5 years?

Aftersales leaders are under pressure to improve service and uptime while reducing inventory and working capital. That challenge is growing as service parts demand remains highly intermittent, supply chains become more complex, and service commitments continue to rise. The organisations that succeed will be those that continuously balance service, inventory, risk, and cost rather than relying on static plans and manual interventions.

How are customer expectations around uptime, service levels and spare parts availability evolving, and what does this mean for manufacturers?

Customers increasingly expect uptime, not just parts availability. Success is measured by whether equipment stays running and service commitments are met. For manufacturers, that means aligning inventory decisions with asset criticality, service obligations, and customer priorities rather than treating every part the same way.

Inventory optimisation remains a major priority. What are the most effective strategies you're seeing organisations use to balance parts availability with cost and working capital?

The most effective organisations focus on inventory optimisation, not inventory reduction. The goal is to understand which inventory protects service, which is excess, and where inventory should be positioned across the network. Probabilistic planning, differentiated service targets, and multi-echelon optimisation are helping companies improve availability while controlling working capital.

Many organisations are investing in AI, predictive analytics and automation. Where are you seeing these technologies deliver the greatest impact in aftersales supply chains?

The biggest impact comes where complexity exceeds what planners can manage manually. AI is helping organisations quantify uncertainty, optimise inventory policies, and focus planner attention on the decisions that matter most. The goal is not to replace planners. It is to help them make faster, better-informed decisions.

Based on your experience working with manufacturers, what separates the highest-performing aftersales supply chains from the rest of the market?

High-performing organisations treat aftersales planning as a service-driven decision process, not simply a forecasting exercise. They combine clear service objectives, strong data, differentiated inventory policies, and continuous optimisation to deliver the right service outcome at the right cost.

Without giving too much away, what key insights or practical takeaways can attendees expect from your session at LogiAftersales 2026?

Attendees can expect a practical discussion on how aftersales organisations can move from reactive planning to more outcome-driven decision-making. The key takeaway is that better outcomes come from continuously balancing service, inventory, resilience, and cost while keeping planners firmly in control.

Download the LogiAftersales 2026 agenda to discover the sessions, case studies and discussions taking place in Amsterdam on 22–23 September.