Logicall builds an advanced data and AI logistics platform with Microsoft Azure

European logistics service provider Logicall had just completed a large merger of over ten companies. But while its ambitious buy-and-build strategy helped them grow quickly, this growth created complexity. Each acquired company came with its own systems, data structures, and reporting models. Operational data lived in silos. Customers received limited data. Efficient planning, performance steering, and benchmarking was nearly impossible. It was clear that scaling the business would require a fundamentally different data foundation.

“The most frustrating part was the lack of visibility and consistency,” says Mark van den Assem, CEO. “With supply chains becoming more complex and volatile, we would receive misaligned information from different systems, reports, and contacts. This made it difficult to get a clear, real-time view of our logistics.”

At its warehouses, data from the warehouse management system were treated separately to employee time registration data, limiting visibility into real‑time operational performance. “In warehouse operations, everything depends on timing, accuracy, and coordination,” notes Rutger van Esseveld, Operations Director. “But other directors couldn’t directly use my insights, and I couldn’t easily learn from theirs.”

Data as a core business capability

To move the company forward, Logicall looked to create a cloud-based unified data and technology platform within Microsoft. “By aligning with one ecosystem, we hoped to move faster, stay secure and compliant, and continuously benefit from Microsoft’s ongoing investments and innovation," says van den Assem. “But it wasn’t without its risks.”

The company acknowledged that the platform needed to be treated as a core business capability—one that supports both operational processes and analytics across the entire organization. “We were not just changing technology, but also how we work as an organization and the new skillset we ask from our people,” explains van den Assem. “In a buy-and-build model, balancing speed and transforming the company is critical. And we realized that, without a shared data language and platform, that complexity and pace would only increase.”

Implementation wasn’t going to be easy. “It was a quite tough challenge to design a generic data model, reusable components, and scalable solutions that support both operational processes and analytics across multiple locations,” says Jorn van de Ven, Head of Technology & Data. “We were doing the work while we supported critical business processes for our customers; continuously balancing technical design with real business needs. Reliability and consistency were essential.”

One trusted source of truth

Working alongside HSO, a global business transformation partner, Logicall established a central operational datastore in Microsoft Azure. Backed by Azure’s reliability and scalability, the team built a cloud-based unified data and technology platform on Microsoft Fabric, using Microsoft Purview for data governance, Power BI for analytics and reporting, and Microsoft Entra for access. This delivered real-time insights while enabling advanced analytics, smart dashboards, and predictive models for its customers and internal teams.

That wasn’t all. Microsoft Copilot for Power BI enabled AI data analytics. Microsoft Integration Services allowed for operational processes and customer integrations. In all, Logicall now has a future-proof customer portal with fully integrated track-and-trace dashboards, milestones, and communication tools.

“The solution connects the different building blocks, integrations, portals, and APIs into one platform: a single source of truth ready for scaling the business, and prepared for AI,” notes van de Ven. “We are moving towards delivering near real-time APIs based on a generic data model, with secure access and a clear data catalog. This will allow customers to integrate directly into our platform and use the same consistent data across their processes.”

The platform also supported a strategic push by new leadership to modernize the business: establishing an AI-ready foundation for adding an AI layer and intelligent agents to support automation in planning, operations, customer service, and decision making. “For us AI becomes a natural next step to further automate operations, improve decision making and scale efficiently across the company,” notes van den Assem. “We have people with the correct skills on board and the structured, governed, and trusted data across the entire organization that’s needed for real success with AI.”

Unparalleled operational insight

When the platform launched, the day-to-day benefits soon became clear. Customers are now promised faster onboarding and integrations, data that unlocks end-to-end visibility across all logistics processes, more reliable and scalable services, and access to smart insights and KPIs. With self-service and automation, operations are more efficient, with fewer manual steps and a lower administrative effort that frees customers to focus on higher-value tasks.

“Customers now look at the same data that we use internally,” explains van Esseveld. “Through embedded Power BI dashboards in their portal, they have direct access to the same insights we use to manage operations. And integrations mean they receive the same information in their own systems. This creates transparency, consistency, and more trust across all touchpoints.”

Warehouse operations have also vastly improved. “We can now see the relationship between workload in the warehouse and the number of employees available, including idle time,” continues van Esseveld. “Now we can manage productivity much more effectively, instead of reacting afterwards.”

As a user of the platform, van den Assem agrees. “What’s noticeably better now is that we have one easy view of our own data. With embedded Power BI, we can also slice and dice the data, making it much easier to monitor performance and make decisions. We can proactively adjust our planning based on real-time insights, anticipate changes, and align our operations accordingly.”

Enabling the future of logistics

From a growth perspective, the platform fundamentally changes Logicall’s ability to scale. New warehouses, new customers, and new acquisitions can reuse existing dashboards, integrations, and data definitions, accelerating time-to-market significantly. “I’m particularly interested to see how much we can accelerate once we have a strong foundation of operational data stores and APIs in place,” adds van de Ven.

“We’ve built a new business capability which makes the entire company and our customers smarter, faster, and more scalable,” concludes van den Assem. “Integration is now a repeatable capability instead of a challenge. With a composable architecture and a generic data model, we can onboard new acquired companies plug-and-play and deploy existing solutions instantly, scaling without adding proportional complexity. It fundamentally changes how fast we can grow.”

For Logicall, modern logistics is no longer just about moving goods. It’s about using Microsoft data and AI solutions to orchestrate complex supply chains with speed, agility, visibility, and confidence.

Discover more about Logicall.