Kuehne + Nagel: Feedback from the J.P. Morgan European Industrials Conference

Research evidence excerpt

Kuehne + Nagel: Feedback from the J.P. Morgan European Industrials Conference

Alexia Dogani AC Europe Equity Research

(44-20) 3493-3791 17 June 2026 J P M O R G A N

alexia.dogani@jpmorgan.com

the supply chain into the importing markets. In ocean freight, management expects

volatility to persist into July as bunker adjustment factors (BAFs) reset and customers

respond to an evolving tariff landscape. In terms of overall industrial verticals, the focus

is now to develop further hyperscaler demand and healthcare and the next area will be in

the defence sector, where it is making inroads with regards to licences to be able to

compete for new contracts given the expectations of increased defence spending,

especially in Europe.

• Cost-reduction programme. The cost initiative is now complete and actions are

embedded within the organisation. Management noted a clear intention to focus on

protecting margin and improving productivity, supported by tighter internal KPI

discipline, such as orders per FTE, cost per order and conversion ratio. Management also

pointed to process redesign opportunities, particularly order-to-cash and invoice

controls, where automation and AI agents could meaningfully reduce manual effort

without compromising service levels.

• AI deployment strategy. AI is being positioned as an enabler of both productivity and

service quality improvements rather than a “pure cost out” lever. Management described

the roll-out of private digital agents (via Copilot Studio within a secure enterprise-data

environment) with plans to materially expand licenses across white-collar roles.

Management emphasised a use-case led approach on revenue/GP generation along with

efficiency projects, remaining model-agnostic while maintaining focus on governance