Next Wednesday, 11 April, the thirteenth edition of the Logistic Manager of the Year election will take place. As chairman of the board, Ronald Leunisse, Managing Director at DHL Express Netherlands, is closely involved in the election that puts the logistics manager in the spotlight. Leunisse looks back on thirteen years of LMvhJ and ahead to the upcoming final day. "Especially through the young talents, we see that logistics also offers a lot of opportunities."
The election Logistic Manager of the Year and Young Logistics Talent was created thirteen years ago to give the logistics manager a more prominent profile. "At the time, we felt the logistics profession was underexposed, especially the human side of logistics. It was, and still often is, mainly about companies, projects and processes. But you can have such good processes; in the end, people make the difference. With this election, we wanted to highlight the people side of logistics."
In recent years, Leunise has seen the role of both logistics and the logistics manager change. "Marketing and sales used to make the fancy plans. Logistics had to execute. On top of that, the logistics manager often had a somewhat conservative outlook." Nowadays, logistics in particular would often serve as a marketing tool. Online parties bind customers, for instance, with same-day delivery, or home installation by the delivery driver. "You can see this shift in today's logistics managers. They are change-minded and more assertive."
Leunise believes that the younger category in particular, the participants of Young Logistics Talent, already possess these qualities. "Particularly through the young talents, we see that logistics also offers a lot of opportunities. They are assertively at the forefront of developing all kinds of solutions and thus come up with logistics innovations. Moreover, the young guard also often does well on stage." A clear example of this is Jan Minnee, who won the Young Logistics Talent election last year. He is trying to tackle the return problem with his company Retourplaza. Returned items are offered again on Retourplaza. "Those are today's pioneers. And fortunately, logistics has more and more of them."
The theme 'Crossing borders' was chosen for upcoming finals day. In doing so, the board initially referred to the connection between people, processes and technology. "But if you look beyond that, it touches a lot of themes. There is so much going on in that triangle: from talent development to ethical issues." This is not only what the nominees are chosen for, but also what the sessions are designed to address. "The sessions highlight all kinds of sides: from Hydrogen to the Brexit. I would warmly recommend everyone to also attend sessions that you don't initially think will touch your area of interest. After all, everything is intertwined. And, if you really want to change, you have to cross borders."
On 11 April, the election Logistic Manager of the Year will take place in the Jaarbeurs. You can find the full programme here. You can register directly via this link.
