The logistics world is under enormous pressure. Staff shortages, rising customer expectations and growing complexity are forcing warehouses to change. In a new episode of De Industrie Online Podcast, Giel van Teijlingen, logistics expert at Hardis Group, shares his vision on the future of warehousing and supply chain management.
With more than ten years of experience in optimising logistics processes, Van Teijlingen knows exactly where the bottlenecks lie – and how companies can respond to them.
The 5 biggest challenges in logistics
According to Van Teijlingen, warehouses today are facing five urgent themes:
- Staff shortages – Finding and retaining warehouse employees is becoming increasingly difficult.
- Rising customer expectations – Delivering faster, error-free, flexibly and traceably is the new norm.
- Sustainability – Companies are being forced to drastically reduce their CO₂ emissions.
- Automation and robotisation – Robots are indispensable, but useless without proper digital control.
- Complexity in order flows – From B2B and B2C to omnichannel and marketplaces: each channel has its own requirements.
“The role of the warehouse has changed,” says Giel van Teijlingen. “Companies have to meet all the different logistics requirements – otherwise you immediately lose your competitive position.”
AI and robotisation dominate the future
Looking ahead to the next five years, Giel van Teijlingen sees AI and machine learning as the real game changers. Smart algorithms can predict peaks, detect errors more quickly and optimise processes. In addition, demand for automation and robotisation keeps rising – not only for efficiency, but also because of the structural tightness in the labour market.
“The tasks that are frequently repeated, that take up a lot of time, are the ones you should automate,” he explains. “That way you can get more work done with fewer hands.”
WMS as the engine of efficiency
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) plays a crucial role in this. It provides structure and control, and makes automation possible. With Reflex WMS, Hardis Group delivers a solution that goes beyond mere warehouse management.
Reflex also supports production logistics, retail logistics and supply chain visibility. Moreover, the system is user-friendly and easy to configure, making customers less dependent on their supplier.
A real-world example is the collaboration with Wibra. By switching from pen-and-paper to Reflex WMS, picking productivity rose by 26% and the service level improved to 99.7%.
Success factors for WMS implementation
Even so, Giel van Teijlingen warns that a WMS implementation does not go without a hitch. He names four crucial success factors:
- Commitment from the entire organisation.
- Change management to bring employees along.
- Good data and processes as the foundation.
- Extensive testing to avoid surprises at go-live.
The most common mistakes? Insufficient testing, underestimating integrations and too little involvement from end users.
ERP versus stand-alone WMS
Many companies wonder whether to choose an ERP with a WMS module or a stand-alone WMS. Van Teijlingen:
- Simple warehouses: an ERP module is often sufficient.
- Complex environments with mechanisation and robots: always choose a solid WMS.
His advice: don't just look at your current situation, but also at where you want to be in five to ten years.
Conclusion: investing with the future in mind
The message from Giel van Teijlingen is clear: companies that cling to outdated systems are taking unnecessary risks. “Don't dwell too much in the past,” he says. “It costs you opportunities, margin and customers. Look to the future and take steps towards digitalisation and automation.”
With Reflex WMS, Hardis Group demonstrates that efficiency, scalability and sustainability can go hand in hand. And that makes all the difference in a sector that is changing at breakneck speed.
👉 Listen to the full podcast episode here: Hardis Group on De Industrie Online Podcast