The Netherlands may be a big player in e-commerce, but our southern neighbours can do something about it too. Yet Belgium is not as well regarded as the Netherlands. Wrongly so, argue two major logistics companies from the country.
Belgian interest group Comeos cited the problems surrounding night work in the e-commerce sector as the biggest bottleneck. Last year, an experiment was set up by the Minister for Employment, Economy and Consumer Affairs Kris Peeters to encourage online retailers.
The ban on night work for e-commerce companies was lifted in the hope that more companies would find their way to Belgium. All companies had to do was lay down night work themselves in their collective labour agreement. Six months after the relaxation of the law, not a single online shop had taken advantage of it.
Mecca
That too much is being hammered on these pessimistic noises blows Katoen Natie and Kuehne + Nagel away. On the contrary, the two big logistics company from Belgium see their home country as the "Mecca of e-commerce", they let Belgian newspaper De Tijd note.
Dirk Lannoo, ceo of Katoen Natie: "The sector should spread that positive message better, instead of constantly pointing out its weaker points." Precisely because the e-commerce sector is internationally oriented, bad words are read by many. "A bad image is actually counterproductive."
Central location
Gerry Bosmans of Kuehne + Nagel is also not happy with the negative coverage. "The Netherlands is stronger than us when it comes to marketing itself internationally. They convey that perfectly, while we find that it is often difficult to attract large, international companies. Especially with American companies, we struggle with perception problems," Bosmans told De Tijd.
That while that is where the big fish are. Why brands like Nike should choose Belgium is obvious to both gentlemen. "We are centrally located between London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Big companies are thus closer to international customers." Despite the negative coverage, the number of jobs in e-commerce provided by the two companies is rising significantly. Something to be quite proud of, if you ask the two gentlemen.
