Martijn Bonte (Kramp) heads the Dutch Top 26 SCM Directors ranking

Martijn Bonte, Chief Operating Officer at technical wholesaler Kramp, has secured the number-one spot in this year’s Top 26 SCM Directors ranking for the Netherlands, compiled by Supply Chain Media, Inspired-Search and KPMG. The results were announced on 22 June during the SCM Directors Event in Amsterdam. Aron Waas of Royal Boon Edam and Eline Oudenbroek of Interface finished in second and third place, respectively.

With 24 sales offices and 11 DCs across Europe, Kramp supplies more than 500,000 items directly from stock. Despite the war in Ukraine and the cost impact of rising inflation, the group generated €1.1 billion in sales last year, equating to 7.1% revenue growth.

A delayed flight meant that Martijn Bonte unfortunately missed out on the event itself, but Marcel Walvoort, Operations Director Benelux at Kramp, accepted the award on his behalf. During his acceptance speech, he praised Bonte for being a very inspiring person, in addition to a good leader: “It will be my great pleasure to hand this award to him.”

Third edition of Top 26 SCM Directors Netherlands

Bonte is the third professional to be named as the best supply chain director in the Netherlands. Last year, the accolade was won by Joost Bous, former Supply Chain Director of Action.

The strategic importance of supply chain has become very clear for companies in recent years, not least due to the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent rising inflation. Prior to the announcement of the winner, guest speaker Prof Dr Jan Rotmans, author of several books including Omarm de Chaos (‘Embrace the Chaos’), emphasized that traditional business models and structures are no longer effective in today’s ‘VUCA’ world. He urged that companies which can adapt to the constant changes in their environment have the greatest chance of succeeding.

Methodology for compiling the Top 26

The methodology for compiling the Top 26 consisted of four components. KPMG analysed revenue and profit growth, return on capital employed (ROCE) and sustainability (ESG) scores for the company or division of the supply chain director in question. For the second component, Inspired-Search examined the 60 candidates’ level of responsibility, span of control, geographic scope, complexity and size of the organization and supply chains, as well as supply chain maturity.

The third component related to the supply chain director’s personal visibility in the form of published interviews, public presentations, guest lectures and LinkedIn profile and activity. Supply Chain Media took care of this component, as well as the fourth component: the peer voting by Dutch recruiters. The financial analysis and level of responsibility each make up 30% of the overall score, while personal visibility and peer voting each account for 20% of the final result.

Criteria for supply chain directors

To be considered for inclusion in the Top 26, supply chain directors must work in the Netherlands and speak Dutch. They must have been in permanent employment for at least the past year at a manufacturing, wholesale, retail or e-commerce company with annual sales of at least €50 million. They may have global geographic responsibility, provided that the company’s revenue does not exceed €2.5 billion. Supply chain executives at larger companies are eligible for the annual Top 28 Supply Chain Executives Europe instead.

Top 26 SCM Directors in the Netherlands 2023 (2022)

1 (4)     Martijn Bonte, Chief Operating Officer, Kramp
2 (8)     Aron Waas, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Royal Boon Edam
3 (20)   Eline Oudenbroek, VP Supply Chain/Operations EMEA, Interface
4 (3)     Mark Hoppenbrouwers, Supply Chain Director, Rituals
5 (2)     Karel de Jong, Directeur Supply Chain, Jumbo Supermarkten
6 (14)   Stan Bijsterveld, Director Global Supply Chain, IMCD Group
7 (-)      Tanya Hené, Chief Operating Officer, Aviko
8 (17)   Kees-Jan van Wees, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Zeelandia
9 (10)   Wybe Jan Bleeker, Supply Chain Director, Picnic
10 (5)   Sarah Mozes, Vice President Operations, Ace & Tate
11 (12) Peter Meyer, Supply Chain Director Europe, Alliance Automotive
12 (19) Henk-Jan Groeneveld, Supply Chain Director, Rexel Nederland
13 (-)    Pauline Vink, VP Global Supply Chain, Corbion
14 (9)   Antoine Doppenberg, Managing Director Supply Chain NL, Aldi Holding
15 (16) Marloes Blaauw, Supply Chain Director, Safescan
16 (26) Danny van der Ster, EMEA Logistics & Supply Chain Excellence Director, Assa Abbloy
17 (-)    Reinier van Weelden, SCD Western Europe, Aalberts
18 (-)    Jan-Ton Prinsze, SVP Business Operations, Canon
19 (-)    Michiel van Veen, CSCO, Quooker
20 (-)    Stijn Sweere, Global Supply Chain Director, Kerry
21 (15) Arthur van Och, Supply Chain Director, ForFarmers
22 (-)    Willem Verbakel, COO, Nature’s Pride
23 (-)    Peter Couwels, Director Operations, Koppert
24 (24) Bas van Winden, Supply Chain Director Europe, AAK
25 (-)    Paul de Ridder, Director Supply Chain EMEA, Belden
26 (13) Joep Arts, Director Supply Chain, Intergamma