Export & Distribution
Martijn van der Zande, Sales Director Project Acquisition Van Leeuwen Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands:
‘I became responsible for the Project Acquisition Team in Zwijndrecht in November 2015. We acquire large international projects and negotiate these projects. We then transfer them to the team responsible for the execution of these projects. Within the team, we focus on so-called Capex projects: complex international projects. Within these projects, under contract to EPCs, we ship materials from throughout the world to plants or fabrication yards, where large modules are constructed that, after shipping, can be immediately installed. To acquire these projects we make full use of our international network, and various Van Leeuwen branches cooperate intensively. Within the Project Acquisition Team we work in triangle formations, each of which comprises a field service employee, an office employee and a procurement officer. On the basis of this new way of working, in which different disciplines work together, we are better focused on customers and markets. We get to know customers better and are better able to anticipate specific needs. Furthermore, we have access to greater market knowledge, because the ‘triangles’ share experience and knowledge among each other.’
Estelle Lecureur, Project Coordinator Van Leeuwen France:
‘I am responsible for the expediting, shipment, documentation and financial aspects of project orders. Delivery reliability and quality are first and foremost for our customers. For many customers we work
on the basis of the just-in-time principle, whereby we supply products at exactly the moment they are needed. Consequently, an important aspect of my work is to monitor the schedule. This means that I ensure that our suppliers deliver on time and that we are transparent and offer good alternatives when this does not work out. Aside from this, I devote a great deal of attention to the required export and quality documentation. Over the past ten years, quality documents (procedures, certificates, test reports) have become almost as important as the materials themselves! Tracking & Tracing is also an important aspect of orders. All materials are given a number that is linked to the associated certificates and documents in our system. Should something go wrong in an installation that incorporates our materials, we are immediately able to supply all documents about these materials.’