LIS – Staying in touch

Jos Zomer is responsible for LIS BV in Hasselt, the Dutch subsidiary of German company LIS AG. With more than 200 FTE, this organisation guarantees a long-standing track record and continuity.

Van Duuren looked for and found in our company an IT organisation with proven software that doesn’t fall over overnight.” Zomer studied logistics and economics and paid for those studies by working as a truck driver in his spare time. So there was no shortage of diesel in his blood. “Fortunately, I took a good turn and can tackle automation issues for LIS from a hands-on approach.” The enthusiasm definitely shows when talking to Jos. LIS BV (Logistics Information Systems BV) develops, installs and implements the transport management system WinSped; a complete computer system for order recording, planning and invoicing. For Van Duuren the system means, among other things, that the checking of pallet sizes and weights is fully automated. As a result, the correct amount of kilos and dimensions are settled. Each pallet is checked in Van Duuren’s cross-dock via a measuring platform. This check information also goes back to the client. With this information, the client can check the final invoice, very transparent, based on the pre-agreed tariffs. The basis of the current WinSped was laid in the 1980s, where it served as an aid for complex calculations of transport services. Since then, the system has been constantly refined, renewed and improved. In Europe, over 1100 transport companies work with WinSped®. From transport companies with more than 1,000 vehicles and several branches to small hauliers with ten vehicles.

And just as diverse are their services. Fresh fruit, bulk silos, flowers or groupage it doesn’t matter. What does matter is the feedback from all those different users that LIS constantly enriches WinSped with. “Van Duuren has long been looking for a replacement for the then AS-400 system. Van Duuren’s service is characterised by the pan-European network with which Van Duuren ensures that consignments are delivered to the right place at the right time. So it’s more of a service organisation than a transporter. And so that requires not just an ordinary but a high-end TMS (Transport Management System). Jasper van Duuren said: “We are so customer-oriented that I want our customers to be able to arrange their distribution with us as if they were ordering a pizza. Take your pick, what should be on and on.” A company like Van Duuren is constantly evolving. “We have to make sure we are constantly talking to them and avoid that there is a development going on that we don’t see coming. Staying there and anticipating.” Like Van Duuren, LIS is also a family business. “Like Van Duuren, our focus is on the long term. We feel quite at home with that. LIS also has the second generation in management. Thinking about strategy and market approach, these are the considerations that are prepared outside the MT. That results in less cocky types who come up with something and then leave. You never experience that at Van Duuren and at LIS.”

Family Business in Pictures has devoted an entire magazine to Van Duuren. This article is one of the published items. Every week we will post an item from the magazine.
Source: Familiebedrijf in Beeld