An action programme from e-Fulfilment Hub should further strengthen Limburg's position as a logistics hotspot. Important points of attention are the personnel shortage and the use of ICT.
E-Fulfilment Hub is a partnership comprising eleven businesses, public authorities and
educational institutions from the Keyport region. Together with dozens of stakeholders, it has developed an action programme to strengthen Limburg’s position in the logistics sector. On 28 June, the go-ahead was given for the joint implementation of the programme.
Limburg wants to be e-fulfilment hotspot
Those involved see the province of Limburg as one of the most attractive regions for investing in pan-European e-fulfilment activities. Yet the region has not yet been able to claim the position of e-fulfilment hotspot. The initiators' question is therefore: how then can Limburg effectuate this position?
In response to this challenge, e-Fulfilment Hub has, over the past year, brought together a large number of Limburg-based
entrepreneurs, public authorities and educational institutions from the worlds of logistics, ICT and e-fulfilment. Together, they created the vision document ‘Limburg: Fulfil your Future’, with an accompanying action programme that the region will
will be working on in the coming years.
Primary action point: shortage of logistics workers
The action programme is intended to provide guidance to all relevant stakeholders. A key
action point in the vision document is the labour shortage. As, on the one hand, employment in Limburg is rising sharply
and, on the other hand, the ageing population is having a severe impact, there is a growing shortage of
logistics workers. This shortage can hardly be made up by migrant workers any longer. In terms of technology, automation is not yet advanced enough to cover the shortfall. “A healthy labour market
is a prerequisite for a leading e-fulfilment region and therefore requires immediate attention,
for example through
employer branding and better links with (secondary) education”, according to the e-Fulfilment Hub in a press release.
ICT in Limburg underdeveloped
ICT is also a key priority. According to the partnership, the ICT sector in Limburg is still underdeveloped; as an indication, there are only 500 ICT professionals
dedicated to working in or for the logistics and e-fulfilment sectors. E-Fulfilment Hub: “And yet, in the future, there will be increasing
competition will increasingly centre on data and algorithms rather than traditional logistics competencies.
If Limburg is to remain a leader in the long term, it will have to invest heavily in developing
the ICT sector.”
