Saturday, 12th September 2026.
For those of you who don't already know, I work for a company called ouvar. ouvar operates as an orchestrator in the logistics and supply chain world, on behalf of large FMCG companies. Like how Airbnb owns zero hotels and Uber owns zero taxis, ouvar owns no warehouses or carriers.
We're trying to innovate in a space that is so entrenched in old-fashioned, conservative workflows. For as long as the space has been a thing, warehouses and carriers have been in a controlling position over the brands. ouvar exists with the purpose of levelling the playing field by placing a magnifying glass of accountability over the supply chain, and giving the brands a greater say over their logistics strategy.
I'm not here to talk about what ouvar does – but rather to talk about the difficulties of trying to be innovative in an industry that has spent so long dominating everything, from finance to industry best practice. Little ouvar has a big vision, and bit by bit we're changing how third-party logistics providers engage with their clients.
There are anywhere from 50 to 200 things right now that I'd like to develop inside ouvar, all of which are dependent on warehouses and carriers complying. These developments sometimes require a process change from these supply chain partners, and as I'm sure you can imagine, it's quite challenging.
Change is hard, and change is uncomfortable, especially when such change is revealing a new layer of accountability that may expose poor ethos. How do you get someone on board for change, when the change is going to expose them for their bad practice?
The argument is fighting for the customer.
The customer has the power, as the customer pays for the service. We've positioned ourselves on the same team as the brand, which presents us with leverage. We then use this leverage to influence change with the supply chain, and the leverage leaves us room to innovate.
It's a natural evolution that gradually chips away at the hard stone wall of traditional business. It's a slow process, but not all meaningful change can be done instantly. We pick one area at a time, and we innovate.
It's an absolute privilege to be a part of this journey. If we succeed, the logistics and supply chain management industry might just become a little bit more interesting, and a whole lot more transparent. That's innovation that is worth fighting for, and it is certainly a risk that is worth taking.
Talk soon.
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