Creating value through Logistics network
Zeeland Connect is a project which connects governments, businesses, and knowledge institutions intending to strengthen logistics in the province of Zeeland. In concrete terms this means:
- Inspiring, initiating, and facilitating innovative projects and innovation trajectories, through collaboration between entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, and governments.
- Organizing networking gatherings in the region where knowledge and experience of the logistical challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow are shared.
- Collecting knowledge from national networks in which Zeeland Connect participates and sharing it with stakeholders in the region.
- Strengthening the competitiveness of the region and putting it on the map both nationally and internationally.
As a temporary program manager since 2022, Cees-Willem focuses on his most important task: guaranteeing the continuity of the innovation lines and the program. He is in charge as well of the core team and communication with the steering group. The use of his broad list of connections, in Zeeland and beyond, brings great value to the ecosystem of Zeeland Connect.
The participation from AddVision in the project started in 2013 when Martin de Klerk, founder of AddVision, was asked to organize and professionalize Zeeland Connect, at that time called “the Zeeuws Knowledge Center for Logistics”. He started to reform the steering committee in order to bring more commitment from the parties involved. The Zeeland Connect Annual Congress was established not only for networking but also to present new projects and implemented innovations. Through this, new ideas were developed and later launched as independent projects. During that time, AddVision Team provided structure to the project in areas like communication and social media. Martin also coordinated grant applications for new projects. After 4 years, Zeeland Connect became a solid and robust program that was ready to run with its own program manager.
