The logistics series, chapter 2: More for less

About the series

The logistics sector is navigating significant commercial change. Margin pressure, rising customer expectations, geopolitical uncertainty, technological investment, acquisition-led growth and organisational complexity are reshaping how businesses compete and grow.

I am now in my 15th year at The Gap Partnership, having worked with clients across 37 countries, including 10 years supporting many of the leading organisations across transport and logistics. During that time, I have seen how difficult it can be to translate scale, capability and investment into sustainable value.

This six-part series explores commercial challenges that I believe are becoming increasingly important for the sector. These are observations rather than definitive answers, reflecting choices and challenges I regularly see in the organisations I work with. A consistent theme is negotiation, not simply at the table, but the broader organisational capability to align stakeholders, understand value, manage risk, influence others and make better commercial decisions. As logistics becomes more complex, commercial advantage will increasingly come from what organisations do with their scale, technology, relationships and expertise. 

In this chapter 

Customer expectations continue to rise, even as pressure on cost intensifies. In this episode, I explore how logistics providers can differentiate deliberately, quantify the value they create and move the commercial conversation beyond price. Customer expectations continue to rise. Greater visibility, flexibility, speed, technological capability, resilience and increasingly tailored solutions are no longer viewed as differentiators in isolation, but as fundamental components of the service customers expect.

At the same time, those same customers face significant pressure of their own to reduce costs, improve efficiency and deliver greater capability and certainty across increasingly complex supply chains. The result is a familiar commercial tension: customers increasingly expect more value, capability and flexibility, but are often unwilling to pay proportionately more for it.

More for less

Differentiation vs commoditisation 

Technology, sustainability, resilience and service innovation can require significant investment. Yet when these capabilities are presented simply as standard features, rather than measurable sources of commercial value, they can quickly become absorbed into the baseline expectation and, ultimately, the price negotiation. Beware of your own teams de-valuing or undervaluing these investments, because they will quickly commoditize in your customer’s eyes.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply to provide more. It is to understand precisely what customers genuinely value, why they value it and how that value can be demonstrated in commercial terms.

Procurement may focus on cost and competitiveness. Operations on reliability and continuity. Finance on predictability and risk. Senior executives may be more concerned with growth, resilience, strategic flexibility or long-term performance.

A strong commercial proposition recognises these different perspectives and connects them to tangible outcomes that matter to the wider organisation. 

Selling features vs quantifying value 

If improved visibility reduces inventory requirements, greater reliability protects revenue, or increased flexibility improves responsiveness, those outcomes have genuine commercial value.

The provider's challenge is to quantify, articulate and evidence that value rather than assuming the customer will automatically recognise it.

This shifts the commercial conversation from simply defending a price to discussing the value being generated, for whom it is being created and how that value should reasonably be shared. 

What is ‘value’? 

The opportunity is also to challenge the assumption that the commercial answer must always be a lower price.

Could the customer receive a different service configuration that better reflects its priorities? Could greater flexibility be traded for longer-term commitment? Could additional capability be linked to volume, tenure, performance or a broader strategic relationship? Can your cheaper competitor truly deliver the value that your offering can – and how can you define the differentiation before your customer makes a purely cost-based decision? AI tools will lean towards simplistic outcomes or reinforce existing prejudices, so be aware that your offer will increasing be evaluated through this lens in the first instance. So, you need to ‘impress’ the AI.

The strongest commercial propositions create meaningful choice while establishing clear commercial trade-offs. They move the discussion beyond, “What discount can you offer?” towards, “What combination of value, capability and commitment creates the best outcome for both parties?

Recommendations:

1. Understand what really matters Map value drivers across the customer organisation rather than relying solely on procurement. Understand what different stakeholders are trying to achieve, where their priorities differ and what outcomes genuinely influence their decisions.
2. Differentiate deliberately Be clear about where your capability creates outcomes competitors cannot easily replicate. Differentiation only has commercial value when it is meaningful to the customer and can be translated into a clear reason to choose, stay or pay. 
3. Quantify value Translate service, technology, resilience and expertise into measurable commercial outcomes. The stronger the evidence of value created, the easier it becomes to move the conversation away from features and towards business impact.
4. Engage beyond procurement Build relationships with those who experience, influence and benefit from the value you create. Understanding the wider stakeholder landscape creates greater visibility of priorities, strengthens your commercial position and reduces reliance on a single decision-maker. 
5. Create commercial choices Develop service, pricing and commitment options that enable genuine trade-offs rather than simply offering discounts. Creating choice allows both parties to explore different combinations of value, risk, flexibility and commitment. 
6. Negotiate the value exchange If you create additional value, negotiate how that value is recognised and shared. Be prepared to articulate what you are contributing, what the customer gains and what commercial return is appropriate for both parties.
7. Run your offering through your own AI solution What perspectives does it bring?

The more effective you are at trading value, the less dependent you become on competing on price. 

Conclusion

Delivering more does not have to mean giving more away. The commercial opportunity is to understand what customers genuinely value, translate capability into measurable outcomes and negotiate how that value is recognised and shared.

Next in the series: “The cost of uncertainty”

Customer expectations continue to rise, but willingness to pay does not always rise with them. Chapter 3 explores how logistics providers can differentiate deliberately, quantify value and create stronger commercial choices beyond price.

How The Gap Partnership can help you

The Gap Partnership turns negotiation into a strategic advantage. With the scientific depth of Negotiation Academy Potsdam and the AI expertise of Passion Labs, we operate at the intersection of behavioural mastery, science and AI. We equip your teams with the skills and mindset to negotiate brilliantly, help you standardise negotiation for consistent results, and work with your leaders to build a culture where collaboration and alignment drive performance. Let us help you embed negotiation into your organisational DNA and unlock sustainable growth in every deal.

Richard Jones is a partner at The Gap Partnership and a leading expert in negotiation strategy and execution. With 15 years’ experience across a broad range of sectors, he has advised clients in 37 countries on complex, high-value negotiations. He specialises in cross-cultural negotiation, strategic partnerships and commercial strategy, helping global organizations strengthen capability, create value and achieve better commercial outcomes.