On 1 August 2025, Jürgen Leijdekker stepped in as CEO of nShift. In his first three weeks, he’s been meeting with teams, listening to customers, and shaping his view on where delivery is headed. We sat down with Jürgen for a quick Q&A to hear his early impressions - and how he sees technology, AI, and sustainability redefining the delivery experience.
Q: How do you see delivery expectations evolving for retailers and consumers in the next 12 months?
Jürgen: We’re seeing delivery become a much bigger part of the customer experience. Speed is always important, but convenience and choice matter just as much – such as picking a precise delivery window, selecting sustainable options or pick-up at a convenient location. Retailers that treat delivery as part of the brand experience, not a cost or after-thought, stand out.
Our challenge will be to follow the retailers and consumers during that experience – much beyond initiating the shipment. That also means we’re serving new personas: not only those in logistics, but also ecommerce channel managers, marketing departments and of course the end-consumers themselves.
Q: AI is transforming industries everywhere. How do you see AI in logistics and delivery?
Jürgen: There are lots of AI initiatives going on at nShift. Not all are visible to our customers, but we have been experimenting and adopting AI throughout the company for some time. In fact, we’re doing an inventory right now of all the areas where AI is being deployed within the company and we’re working with AI experts and consulting firms to accelerate adoption.
Just to hint at a few areas: obviously our developers use AI tools and see a greater opportunity with some of the latest developments to transform engineering productivity and refactor older parts of the platform.
Similarly, our product managers use AI to mock-up prototypes and have a lot of exciting ideas on deploying AI agents inside the platform. You can expect to see some pilots in the coming months.
We also see AI applications that could transform the way we integrate carriers with our platform.
Those are just a few examples... stay tuned as we’ll be sharing updates. But also, know that as a company we encourage you to think of how AI can help you and your customers. In this new world, progress is made by feeling free to experiment.
Q: Sustainability is on everyone’s agenda. What role can delivery technology play in reducing emissions?
Jürgen: Technology can make a huge difference. By optimizing carrier selection, consolidating shipments, and providing emissions reporting, we help our customers make better informed, data-driven decisions. In short, it helps make sustainability a natural part of the delivery experience.
Our new Checkout product is a perfect example of that, by empowering consumers to optimize for sustainability. This type of choice isn’t typical in many countries beyond the Nordics; we have an opportunity to be the first to offer this.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing retailers when it comes to delivery in your view?
Jürgen: Flexibility. Customers want more options than ever, but every extra option adds complexity for the retailer. The challenge is offering flexibility while keeping costs and operations under control. And that’s exactly the problem nShift is focused on solving.
Q: A lighter one to finish - having recently joined nShift, what’s been your first impressions?
Jürgen: I’m visiting customers and having lots of conversations and town halls in our offices and looking forward to more.
What I love most are these 1:1 intro meetings. I’m learning so much and the level of competence, depth and length of experience are truly impressive. There’s a strong desire to collaborate to drive delivery forward.
I promise that we’ll step up the flow of information, communicate a clear direction and help people connect more.
I look forward to meeting many nShift employees, as well as customers and partners, in weeks/months ahead. Everything I learn will inform our future direction, so please share your thoughts, what you’re working on and what excites or concerns you. Together we’ll shape the future of the delivery experience.
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Three weeks is a short time in any leadership role, but Jürgen’s early focus is clear. He’s listening carefully, aligning priorities, and anchoring decisions around measurable customer value. For nShift, that means sharpening how we help retailers, warehouses, and brands simplify complexity and deliver with confidence. As peak season approaches, his emphasis on consistency and execution will be put into practice quickly.
The takeaway from this first conversation? A pragmatic leadership style focused less on words, more on results.
About the author
Thomas Bailey
Thomas plays a key role in shaping how new features and platform improvements deliver real value to customers. With a background spanning product, tech, and go-to-market strategy, he brings a pragmatic view of what innovation looks like in practice and how to make delivery experiences work harder for your business.
