If the Netherlands wants to remain at the forefront of the logistics sector, it needs to invest more in digitalisation and the use of data. That argues Arthur van Dijk of Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN) in the Financieele Dagblad.
According to Van Dijk, start-ups in logistics come to the Netherlands for a reason. "The scale is manageable here, the basis is good and testing can be done well here." Yet we can only maintain our lead if we innovate in IT. "Knowledge is an inseparable part of our leading position. Every year, we export 35 billion euros worth of services and knowledge in the logistics field. But so much is coming at us from digitalisation and the use of data that we need to invest to stay ahead," the TLN president said in the interview with the newspaper.
Leading in optimising data flows
Van Dijk thinks the Netherlands can become a leader in optimising data flows. In the future, he expects various data from supplier, freight, carrier and final destination to be bundled. "A truck will then drive to the Second Maasvlakte with a digital waybill. There, the driver will hear whether he can drive on or has to wait a little longer. At the gate of the complex, access is then granted, for example with biometrics, the cargo is unloaded and a notification returned. It will be a seamless process in which all systems work together."
Cabinet gets a 'narrow enough'
The current cabinet, which is submitting its latest budget today, gets just a passing grade from TLN. The chairman bases the meagre mark mainly on the cuts in infrastructure. "Still, the main bottlenecks have been addressed. Within the available resources, this has been cleverly done." The cabinet has racked up 10 billion euros for infrastructure spending in the period 2028-2030, but TLN says money is needed sooner. "We need to remain 'top of the bill'. Good transport and logistics facilities are very important for the business climate. Logistics is one of the supporting sectors for the Dutch economy. If we didn't have that network and our mainports Rotterdam and Schiphol, the Netherlands would look different."
Editorial LogistiekProfs
