A unique event took place on 19 November 2025 for 170 forward-thinking logistics professionals who want to shape the future of their sector with artificial intelligence. From strategic insights to hands-on workshops - this day offered concrete tools for anyone who wants to get started with AI in logistics.
The logistics sector is facing a turnaround. Artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities to optimise processes, make supply chains more sustainable and respond faster to changes. But how do you tackle this concretely? The event on 19 November in Breda brought together answers, inspiration and practical knowledge.
Defence logistics as a guide
The afternoon was opened by keynote speaker Bram Westerweel from the Netherlands Defence Academy. An Associate Professor in Supply Chain Management at the Faculty of Military Sciences, he shared his expertise on the role of data and smart algorithms in defence logistics. Reliability, complexity and anticipatory capability also occur in civilian logistics, but in defence it is accompanied by much more uncertainties around timing, duration and tasking. As a result, themes such as 'reduction dependencies', 'storage and distribution' and 'last mile delivery' have valuable lessons to learn from the civilian context. Many of these topics can therefore be found in current TKI Dinalog projects, underlining the relevance and mutual learning effect between the two worlds.
Four hands-on workshops
After the keynote, participants could choose from four in-depth workshops, each with its own focus on AI applications. In Bas Groothedde's (TIAS/Vericallm) workshop, participants were explained how to develop their own AI assistant. The focus was on 'in-company AI': secure systems running on proprietary data and processes. Groothedde introduced the concept of 'context readiness' as a long-term strategy. By mapping out their own context, companies remain independent of trends and can switch to new technologies quickly and in a controlled way without losing grip on knowledge and data. Participants directly experienced how such an AI assistant increases the agility and agility of supply chain teams.
Other workshops focused on managing a supply chain with an interactive AI game (Tilburg University and TU/e), agentic AI for complex logistics challenges (Breda University and Sylvanity), and the practical kick-start of AI initiatives with experiences of companies that have already taken the plunge (Breda University and Deltago/Emons group).
Networking and discovery
Knowledge was also exchanged at the business market where AI start-ups and established parties explained and demonstrated their solutions. Whether participants were just starting out with AI or already fully experimenting - this day inspired, connected and spurred action.
The knowledge event 'AI for smart(er) logistics' was organised by Logistics Community Brabant and Midpoint Brabant. Both parties are carters of the 'Circular Streams - Next Level Logistics' grant programme. TKI Dinalog made an additional financial incentive available for the benefit of this knowledge event.
