Utrecht, 13 November 2023 - Last week, ICT&Logistics 2023 took place in Royal Jaarbeurs. That logistics Netherlands is working hard to make logistics more efficient, sustainable and future-proof is evident from the large number of visitors to the trade fair. Nearly 7,000 visitors made contact with the more than 180 exhibitors over two days and showed curiosity about the latest innovations, were inspired by the numerous knowledge sessions and agreed on cooperation and partnerships.
Trade fair manager Corien den Ouden looks back with great satisfaction. "We managed to attract more visitors to the fair this year, showing that we are the leading fair in the field of ICT in the logistics sector in the Netherlands."
Logistics Netherlands is under a magnifying glass. This is evident from the election campaign in which many political parties are questioning the withering of the landscape and the labour migration that goes with it. During Hét Logistiek Debat, which the Vereniging Logistiek Management (vLm) organised in cooperation with ICT&Logistiek, three experts explored solutions with the participants. "We need to work on image," says Cees Pille of Transport & Logistiek Nederland (TLN). "We should be proud of our logistics sector and show that quite a bit more. Show the public what the added value of logistics is. Once invite the city council to come and take a look at your company."
Doing more with digitisation
According to Trans.eu's Oliver Rebollo, this discussion about the damnation of the landscape is running its course. "The average consumer is not bothered by those big boxes in the landscape, but he is bothered by all those delivery vans in his street. Further digitalisation helps to streamline that. We do a lot right in the Netherlands, but to become a top logistics player, we need to do more on digitisation." ING's Machiel Bode points to the Netherlands' fifth place on the Logistics Perfomance Index. "So we are well positioned to remain a top logistics player. It is our policymakers who need to take even harder hits. We should actually have this discussion about the future of logistics Netherlands with the people who are not here."
Wider range at the trade fair
That the fair was buzzing, also noticed Jitske Brink, CEO of Filogic and president of DALTI, the association of IT suppliers in transport and logistics. "We had good, substantive talks. Companies are genuinely interested in our solutions. They are running into the limitations of their current systems and are motivated to take the next step in digitalisation. Partly for this reason, DALTI's knowledge session on software procurement and implementation was very well attended." Brink also sees many new faces at the fair. As an explanation, she points to the large number of exhibitors, including many newcomers. "ICT&Logistics is no longer the domain of only transport management, fleet management and warehouse management systems. The range of exhibitors has broadened. And these in turn also bring new people to the fair."
Best visited fair
Exhibitor Pieter Van den Broecke is also impressed with the event. "This is the best-attended fair in recent years. It proves that there is a lot going on in the logistics sector and a lot of need for change. Companies are looking for the logistics solutions needed for this," says the managing director Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Eastern Europe of software supplier Manhattan.
Van den Broecke sees that many companies are in the middle of transformation projects. "They see the needs of their customers and therefore their order profile changing. They are moving closer to end customers to serve them better. This leads to more complexity in logistics processes, which is accompanied by changes in the design of goods and information flows. This calls for new logistics concepts and the software needed for them."
From 5 to 7 November 2024, Royal Jaarbeurs will once again transform into the logistics hub of the Netherlands. ICT&Logistics and Logistica Next will then take place simultaneously.
