Autonomous electric trucking solutions provider Fernride’s chief executive officer and co-founder, Hendrik Kramer, has been named the Logistics Hall of Fame’s Logistics Leader of the Year for 2024 because of his “visionary approach to human-assisted autonomy”.

Fernride has developed an automation solution which allows commercial vehicles to be moved without a driver, using a hybrid system where there is only human intervention when required.

The company describes human-assisted technology as “like a control tower in aviation, remote operators monitor several vehicles simultaneously and can intervene if necessary”.

The Logistics Hall of Fame’s Executive Jury chairwoman Anita Würmser says Kramer’s “entrepreneurial spirit has created the basis for a safe entry into autonomous, electric driving” and this is why he was named Logistics Leader of the Year.

“His initiative contributes to the energy transition and helps to increase the profit margins of logistics companies, alleviate the global driver shortage and improve the safety of employees in logistics, while supporting the logistics industry in its transformation to future-proof operations and processes,” Würmser continues.

Fernride describes itself as “creators of the world’s leading human-machine collaboration technology…accelerating the transition towards automated sustainable logistics”.

In an interview with Forbes Magazine in April this year for the Forbes 30 under 30, Kramer said the inspiration for his work was a desire to “make the supply chain more resilient” and describes “human assisted autonomy [as] the best of both worlds”.

Kramer will receive the award at the Logistics Hall of Fame’s annual gala reception in Berlin on December 5.