Roland Meekers is a true expert in his field. After initially working in finance, he ended up in logistics by chance. After leaving CEVA, he stumbled upon BME, where a new adventure began for him.
He currently still does freelance work. He also sits on various boards of directors and advisory boards, always with a focus on logistics. At least once a week, he is also active for BME as an investor and chairman of the board of directors.
In short, a man with tons of experience in logistics. It might be a good idea to talk to him about how he has seen the logistics sector evolve and to ask him about his vision for the future.
BME: How have you seen logistics change over the years?
Roland: "We have, so to speak, evolved from being a 'pallet farmer' or 'box dealer' to a more customer-focused profile. Now we really look at a customer's specific business model. In addition, flexibility in all your processes is now a real must. Without it, you cannot respond quickly to changing consumer behavior, which is becoming even more pronounced with the rise of e-commerce.
In short, whereas logistics used to be a behind-the-scenes process, it is increasingly becoming a translation of the customer's needs with regard to their consumers. This results in a much more flexible IT and process-based approach, which can be different for each customer. The days of logistics service providers imposing their processes on customers are gradually coming to an end!
BME: How do you see the future of logistics?
Roland: "There are clear trends:
- E-commerce will continue to grow, especially when you consider that e-commerce will further reinforce the need for digitization and give rise to new revenue models. The principle of "know your customer" will only become more important as we continue to digitize. That is why there is so much talk about data, but what is more important is what you do with that data. How you can view it as an additional asset to offer added value to your customer and their consumers.
- Secondly, the automation of operations will become important. And I'm not just talking about robotization within operations, but innovations around 3D printing and artificial intelligence, which may have an even greater impact than pure robotization. Because uniqueness is much stronger in creating added value, and that doesn't always go hand in hand with robotization. The evolution in retail, which is an important channel, will also accelerate innovation within the logistics sector.
- The third change is perhaps the most important. The supply chain must adapt to changing consumer behavior. After all, it is the consumer who is in the lead and drives innovation to meet expectations. This not only has an impact on the way you sell, but also on the way you organize your processes and provide your logistics services. If the processes at your logistics service provider are not in line with the way you create customer-consumer value, a large part of this value will be at risk of being lost.
BME: What do you think are the critical success factors for continuing to provide a solution to this as a 3PL service provider?
Roland: "A first key factor is the extent to which a logistics service provider embraces digitization and is able to respond to the changes it brings. In other words, you will need to set up your own processes in such a way that they can be easily adapted to changes at your customer's end, without compromising operational efficiency.
In addition, as a logistics company in the supply chain world, you must constantly keep an eye on your business model. This means, for example, assessing the extent to which it needs to be adapted to changes in your supply chain. Now, we are not unique in this as a sector. What is unique, however, is that these changes are a result of consumer behavior and not directly from our customers. A few years ago, it was unthinkable that so many different ways of serving the end consumer would emerge. The result is that new logistics processes have been created, which require a different approach and therefore also a different revenue model.
Actually, the answer can be summarized very simply in one sentence. Success depends on the extent to which you can embrace transparency and flexibility in your operational activities and thus contribute to the added value for your customer.
Are you looking for a logistics partner to tackle these challenges together?