The Logistics Innovation Opportunities Map was unveiled in Birmingham
Technology developers are being urged to focus their efforts on solving real-world logistics challenges as Logistics UK launches a new roadmap designed to connect innovation with industry need.
The Logistics Innovation Opportunities Map (LIOM), unveiled on 21 October at the organisation’s Digital Transformation in Logistics conference in Birmingham, aims to help entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers identify areas where technology can deliver tangible benefits for the logistics industry and the wider UK economy.
Acting Chief Executive Kevin Green described the report as both a guide and a challenge to innovators, noting that too many technological solutions have previously been “solutions looking for a problem.” He said: “We call our report an Innovation Opportunities Map, but we could equally call it a Treasure Map: the challenges identified represent significant financial opportunities for the developers and entrepreneurs that can solve them.”
Designed as a practical resource, the LIOM highlights real operational issues rather than prescribing specific technologies. It outlines where innovation could make a measurable difference across three logistics settings — long-distance trunking, urban and last-mile delivery, and off-road operations such as depots, ports and yards.
In long-distance transport, the roadmap identifies priorities such as optimising hub locations, improving multimodal transfers, managing vehicle availability and maintenance, and achieving more efficient return journeys and border crossings. Potential solutions include robotics, containerisation, blockchain-enabled border documentation and new planning tools to streamline engagement and approvals.
For urban logistics, the report points to challenges around warehouse location, competition for kerbside space, and limited access to public charging infrastructure. Data-driven tools — including bookable kerbside bays and shared charging systems — are cited as promising areas for innovation.
Within off-road operations, Logistics UK highlights opportunities to improve energy management across complex sites and enhance facilities for drivers and staff. Innovations could include site energy management systems, the use of satellite and sensor data, and autonomous yard vehicles.
For each challenge, the LIOM identifies whether solutions would create commercial, public, or shared benefits, ranging from improved asset utilisation to emissions reduction and workforce retention. It also sets out strategic recommendations for boosting innovation adoption, focusing on strong foundations, systems thinking, and shared responsibility across the supply chain.
Green added that the roadmap was intended as “a conversation starter – not a solution manual,” stressing the importance of collaboration between technology developers, policymakers and regulators. “Together we can turn the insight uncovered in our report into action that increases efficiency and drives profitability and growth across the country,” he said.