A conversation with Samskip Deputy CCO and Head of Sales, Bart van ‘t Hof

In today’s logistics landscape, customer expectations are evolving faster than ever. Rising costs, geopolitical uncertainty, increasing compliance requirements, and sustainability ambitions are all reshaping the way businesses approach their supply chains.

For Samskip, this changing environment is also changing the nature of customer relationships.

According to Bart, Head of Sales and Deputy CCO at Samskip, successful partnerships today are no longer built around simple transactions or catalogue-based solutions. Instead, they are increasingly shaped by dialogue, trust, and a deeper understanding of what truly drives a customer’s business.

“Today it is much more about listening and understanding than buying from a catalogue,” Bart explains. “We want to understand what drives our customers strategically, where they want to go, and how we can become truly relevant to them.”

That shift has fundamentally changed the role of commercial teams within logistics. Instead of simply offering transport solutions, Samskip increasingly works alongside customers to help navigate complexity, improve predictability, and support long-term growth.

At the same time, balancing cost, flexibility, compliance, and sustainability remains one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today.

“Sustainability remains very important,” Bart says. “But many customers are also dealing with economic pressures and difficult choices. Our role is to help make those ambitions practical and achievable while still supporting reliable and efficient operations.”

As a result, customer conversations today often extend far beyond procurement alone. In some cases, discussions around sustainability, resilience, and long-term strategy are reaching senior leadership level within customer organizations.

That broader perspective is also reflected in several of Samskip’s newest developments, including the launch of services such as Morocco, Blyth, and the FlexFuel program.

For Bart and his team, innovation is not only about expanding the network. It is about becoming more relevant to customers by creating greater flexibility, stronger connections, and easier ways of doing business.

“Every new region, service, or customer relationship brings new dynamics and opportunities to learn,” he says. “Good salespeople are naturally curious. We want to understand people, understand challenges, and find ways to create value together.”

That same philosophy also shapes Samskip’s multimodal approach.

In an increasingly unpredictable market, customers are looking for reliability, expertise, and partners who can help simplify complexity. Through multimodal solutions, digital improvements, and strong operational coordination, Samskip aims to create predictable and seamless logistics experiences that help customers succeed in their own markets.

“We want our customers to win,” Bart explains. “Because when our customers grow stronger, long-term partnerships become a natural result.”

At the heart of this approach is customer centricity, something Bart describes not as pushing Samskip’s own agenda, but listening carefully to the ambitions, pressures, and future goals of each customer.

“I’ve noticed that some companies are still trying to optimize yesterday,” he says. “We believe it’s important to understand the questions of tomorrow.”

And while customers may primarily experience Samskip through services and operations, Bart is equally proud of the culture behind the scenes that helps make those relationships possible.

From international teamwork and self-steering teams to shared cultural lunches and sporting challenges, he believes the strength of Samskip ultimately comes from its people and the connections they build together.

One small moment especially stayed with him.

“One day I found a small plant on my desk,” Bart recalls with a smile. “It was part of a spontaneous initiative between colleagues to share healthy growth with each other. For me, moments like that say a lot about who we are as a company.”

For Bart, the future of logistics will continue to evolve around much more than transport alone.

Markets change. Customer expectations shift. New technologies emerge. And businesses increasingly need partners who are willing to listen, adapt, and move forward together.

That is why, in his view, staying relevant means remaining curious, agile, and open to change, while continuing to deliver the reliability and personal connection customers depend on every day.

Innovation and pioneering solutions will always remain important at Samskip, but equally important is understanding what customers truly need in a rapidly changing world and having the commitment to support them in a practical, realistic, and sustainable way.

“We are a service-driven organization,” Bart says. “Our role is to help customers succeed in their own markets. That means listening carefully, challenging constructively when needed, and continuously looking for better ways to create value together.”

Because in the end, long-term success is never achieved alone.

It is built through trust, strong partnerships, and people working together toward shared goals.

And that is exactly what continues to drive Samskip forward every day.

Bart concludes by saying, “We believe strong partnerships start with openness, curiosity, and dialogue. If you would like to know more about Samskip’s journey, our future plans, or simply want to exchange ideas, feel free to reach out. I would be happy to have a conversation.”