The “Marketplace Effect”: How Platform Economics Is Tearing Apart Europe’s Old Logistics Framework
The digital platform surge has reached logistics. What once relied on phone calls, email chains and laborious negotiations is now being reshaped by the “marketplace effect,” where supply and demand meet directly and in real time.
European logistics has long been fragmented, with each country bound by its own rules, intermediaries and time-consuming procedures. This is precisely where digital platforms offer a new logic: fewer middlemen, greater transparency and faster decision-making. The same model that transformed tourism with Airbnb and urban transport with Uber is now pushing its way into freight movement.
A process that once dragged on for days can now be resolved in minutes. A company orders a service, immediately receives details on cost, route and timing, and can track the process from start to finish. Fewer intermediaries also mean lower markups. It feels like an inevitable evolution, yet in reality the middleman has not disappeared—he has merely relocated into an app.
The shift is particularly visible in the automotive sector, where moving vehicles is a daily necessity. With platforms, manufacturers, dealers and leasing firms can arrange transport almost instantly, sidestepping the usual drawn-out coordination. Or so the promise goes.
The marketing pitch is compelling: logistics that is faster, cheaper and more transparent. But it also raises new risks. How do you ensure quality when anyone can sign up as a driver? How do you maintain clear working conditions and accountability? And what happens when a single platform grows dominant enough to become the industry’s gatekeeper?
The “marketplace effect” is not merely another digital tool but a profound shift in the way the sector operates. Traditional logistics, once anchored in trust and personal relationships, is gradually being absorbed into the anonymous ecosystem of platforms. The result may well be speed and efficiency, but also distance, tighter control and a deeper reliance on algorithms. And in France, as with every disruptive change, it will not be long before the strikes begin.
