Alain Beerens takes the helm at logistics consultancy Groenewout

Groenewout, a Dutch logistics consulting firm, has a new boss at its helm. Appointed per April the 1st, Alain Beerens has taken over as managing director from Mari van Kuijk, a company veteran who has led the consultancy for over a decade. 

“After 12 years in the role of managing director, I felt that the time is right to make way for someone else. I’ve been at the helm for more than ten years so a breath of fresh air is also good for Groenewout, of course,” said Van Kuijk, who joined the firm in 1998 after serving several other engineering consulting firms.

Under his leadership, Groenewout has grown into a mid-sized logistics and supply chain consulting firm with a team of around 20 partners and consultants. The firm supports (international) clients with among other services supply chain strategy, site selection, benchmarking, inventory management, procurement, warehousing, sales & operations planning, outsourcing, distribution and fulfilment centres and lean logistics. Groenewout also provides services in the area of construction management and engineering.

“Mari has made a very valuable contribution. It is partly thanks to his efforts that Groenewout has become what it is today – an consultancy firm that is at the top of the list for many companies whenever they face logistics and supply chain-related challenges,” commented Beerens. The firm’s reputation was recently confirmed by an independent survey held among decision-makers, which found that Groenewout belongs to one of the Netherlands’ top ten providers of consultancy services in logistics and supply chain, alongside the likes of A.T. Kearney and the Big Four. 

Beerens said that he looks forward to leading Groenewout into its next phase, “together with the management team and the rest of the employees.” In his new role, he will be able to liaise closely with Van Kuijk, who remains with the firm and has transitioned to another board-level role. “I will mainly focus on expanding Groenewout’s contractual and financial service aspects of logistics real-estate projects. Additionally, I will be heavily involved in managing the firm’s flexible layer of consultants.” 

Other board members of the privately-held consultancy – Groenewout completed a management buy-out in 2008 – are partners Wendel Dijker and Arthur Zondervan. Both experienced advisors have been with the firm for over two decades. 

New boss Beerens meanwhile has served Groenewout since 2000 and became a member of the management team in 2003, most recently heading up the supply chain practice. His track record includes leading major (re)designs of supply chain concepts for multinationals such as AvayaTenovis, AstraZeneca, Canon, JohnsonDiversey, Nestlé, Solectron and Philip Morris. Prior to joining the consulting firm, the Eindhoven University graduate worked for French multinational St. Gobain and ERP software vendor JD Edwards in several roles across the logistics and supply chain domain. 

The leadership change at the Dutch consultancy comes at a time when the logistics industry is being disrupted by digitisation, as well as emerging imperatives such as agility, customer centricity and tech-led innovation. 

Related: Groenewout advises Hollister on setup of new European Distribution Center.