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News from ECG
At the ECG AI-Day in Karlsruhe on June 24, 2026, technology took centre stage. Yet, participants agreed that humans will always play a crucial role. The industry should provide opportunities for new employees to gain practical experience, even as AI becomes increasingly capable of performing many tasks.
Dr. Monica Schmickler, a former Mercedes-Benz executive, university lecturer and advisor on supply chain transformation, governance and AI, delivered the keynote address. She argued that the future of AI in Finished Vehicle Logistics (FVL) will depend on the interaction of three factors: technology, governance and talent.
She likened the FVL system to an orchestra: even with talented musicians, the music suffers without true coordination. "Technology provides the instruments, governance provides the score and the rules of coordination, and talent provides interpretation and judgement. The system creates value only when all three work together," Monica Schmickler explained.
While the day highlighted technological advancements and opportunities, discussions also addressed associated risks and challenges, many of which still involve human factors.
Monica Schmickler, Ronald Kleijwegt (CEO of Vinturas), Tobias Carlén (CTO of AXESS Logistics), and Szymon Pasko (VP Engineering of AUTO1) discussed how AI can automate repetitive tasks, making certain human roles redundant. However, they also noted that the value of human experts will increase. There was concern that junior roles - such as coders, legal specialists, and planners - could be eliminated as AI assumes their tasks, potentially hindering the development of expertise that arises from learning through experience and mistakes.
Tobias Carlén observed, "When you stop programming yourself and begin relying on AI, your skills deteriorate. It’s like playing the piano - if you don’t practice daily, your abilities fade. As we depend more on AI, we risk forgetting how to do things ourselves."
Antonio Marsano, Head of IT & Digitalisation & AI Officer at MOSOLF Group, reflected, "From a company perspective, AI can work around the clock, never gets tired, and performs the tasks it has been trained to do much faster than any human."
Monica Schmickler shared perspectives from academia, where she prepares students for the future labour market. She stressed that AI literacy must go beyond learning how to use a tool. Operational experts need to understand when to trust, challenge or override AI recommendations.
Other notable speakers included Karsten Horn (INFORM), Patrick Gebert (Etecture), Dr. Youness Lembrabet (Everysens), and Dr. Maximilian Zipfl (Etecture). The panel discussions were expertly moderated by Neringa Jasiulioniene (Manvesta and co- leader of the ECG Tech Board).
The event was hosted by partner company ETECTURE GmbH.