This Signaal has a first, as we offer not one, but no less than two lead articles. And both articles revolve around perhaps the hottest topic in the manufacturing industry right now: artificial intelligence. Everyone is talking about that, but the question is how do we develop AI business-wise from an interesting novelty with patchy use to a decisive link for integrated applications.

In the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024, the five biggest risks are surprisingly not economic or geopolitical in nature. Some of the biggest risks are in recognisable areas that are in the news every day, such as environment (extreme weather) and society (polarisation and cost of living).

Some things in life are fixed. In the midst of all the hypes and trends that crave our attention, Jelle Marius of Bureau Tromp keeps a cool head. He argues that the competence to continuously improve is a prerequisite for the best adaptation to our rapidly changing world and the key to maintaining the right to exist as an organization. At the same time, he notes that, even in this era of big data and artificial intelligence, many companies lack vision and purpose: they are moving forward, but don't know where to go. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

And so another Signaal appears with the theme SmartSavings. Fortunately, it does not get boring, because there are always new, interesting and promising stories to tell about smart, green investments. Such as Martijn de Graaff's story about electrification in Dutch industry. Interesting, because it is not only about technical innovations for neutral energy supply and circular solutions for raw materials, but also about new strategic 'make or buy' decisions, based on energy costs and the preservation and development of knowledge in the context of changing political forces in the world.

In sports you often hear that it is difficult to... to get to the top, but that it is even more difficult to get there to stay. That requires unconditional conviction, commitment, training, discipline and system. In a competition you must be able to adapt quickly to circumstances, master multiple game systems, keep agreements and don't let things drive you crazy if things go wrong. Real top players and top teams realize this and deliver Results. No one is surprised when they do it again and again win or at least be in the final.

Our FastForward theme is about producing faster, cheaper, better and more reliably with fewer risks. Who would not want that? With a targeted mix of theory and practice, we work with selected partners to put innovative services, products and systems on the map that contribute to greater effectiveness and efficiency of your business processes. As a leading technical distributor, we are familiar with the ins and outs of your technical and logistics processes and are a trusted partner for identifying areas for improvement and defining and implementing improvements.

De Europese klimaatwet maakt als deel van de Europese Green Deal klimaatneutraliteit tegen 2050 wettelijk bindend. Dat is al snel en daarom lezen we dagelijks over nieuwe klimaatregels en ook hoe het regelmatig schuurt om die in te voeren. Helemaal in die sfeer stelt Harry van Dijk in ons hoofdartikel dat in de klimaatneutrale toekomst elektrificatie voor de industrie onontkoombaar is en de sector er dus maar beter nú mee kan beginnen. Dit klinkt zo vanzelfsprekend en dwingend, dat we bijna vergeten waarom.

In de derde industriële revolutie kwam de automatisering van productieprocessen in een stroomversnelling, onder andere door de introductie van PLC-technologie. De huidige vierde industriële revolutie omvat simpel gezegd de introductie van internet in de fabriek. Dit Internet Of Things biedt veelbelovende mogelijkheden met mooie namen als cyber-physical systems, digital twins en predictive analytics. Maar het brengt ook alle keerzijden en mogelijke gevaren van het internet met zich mee…

Vorig jaar hebben we thema’s geïntroduceerd die als een rode draad door onze bedrijfstak lopen: SafetyFirst, SmartSavings en FastForward. We konden niet voorzien dat elk van die thema’s zoveel nieuws zou bieden met zoveel verschillende invalshoeken. Nu de pandemie (voor even) is gaan liggen en oorlog woedt aan de grenzen van Europa, staat de wereld op zijn kop. Zekerheden in de toeleveringsketen staan op losse schroeven, prijzen schieten omhoog en vooraanstaande fabrikanten als Siemens en Schneider Electric trekken zich terug uit Rusland.

In our editorial, Robert Rooderkerk of Erasmus University Rotterdam defines omnichannel as the close interweaving of the marketing and operations functions to serve customers better, via whatever channel. To achieve this, far-reaching integration of all information systems is necessary. The goal is a frictionless 'customer journey', in which any frictions must be detected and resolved. According to Robert, companies must be obsessive about omnichannel: incessantly, customer satisfaction must be top of mind.

On Wednesday 24 November 2021, we became the winner of the Dutch Industrial Supplier of the Year Award 2021 in the Best Parts & Process category. An institution in Dutch industry, this award was presented for the twentieth year by an expert jury of leading companies. The reliability of itsme was paramount for the jury. And that you can count on us, we can hardly deny as a "regular Award finalist" and winner in 2007 (then Ehrbecker Schiefelbusch), even in these unprecedented times...

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Na de introductie van Safety First als eerste thema van onze series van kennisevenementen, marktinnovaties en producten, volgt deze keer »Fast Forward. Bij »Fast Forward draait alles om sneller produceren in de maakindustrie. En hoe toepasselijk is dat dit jaar! Want vanuit de historische COVID-dip schieten we met elkaar zonder aarzelen door naar de hoogste versnelling. Verwachtingen worden vermorzeld en het optimisme lijkt grenzeloos. Maar toch zijn er grenzen: goede mensen en grondstoffen zijn schaars. Daarom is het belangrijk om juist nu met dezelfde bezetting meer omzet te genereren, bijvoorbeeld met Quick Response Manufacturing.

Onze nationale filosoof Johan Cruijff zei altijd: elk nadeel heeft zijn voordeel. En in zekere zin zou je kunnen stellen dat COVID heeft geleid tot duurzame voordelen, vooral op het gebied van veiligheid. Veiligheid heeft zich in het afgelopen jaar ontwikkeld van een concept tot een tweede natuur. Van theorie tot bewustwording, van extrinsieke motivatie gebaseerd op regels en handhaving tot intrinsiek belang, gebaseerd op oprechte zorg om anderen en jezelf. In onze Signaal-uitgave over voedselveiligheid heb ik al aangegeven dat veiligheid een fundamentele behoefte is volgens de Maslow-hiërarchie. In onze westerse samenleving leefden we al meer dan 70 jaar zonder grote bedreigingen zoals oorlogen en plagen. Nu is een hele generatie wakker geschud. En we doen er verstandig aan om de lessen van de pandemie om te zetten in gedrag, zowel thuis als op het werk. Met andere woorden: laten we ervoor zorgen dat de voordelen van een veiligere werkomgeving nu niet langer puur hypothetisch zijn, zoals professor Reniers opmerkt in ons hoofdartikel.

Effectief aanpassen aan nieuwe situaties vergt een mentaliteit die gericht is op kansen. Nu we nog steeds in onze voortdurende COVID-uitdagingen zitten, is het van cruciaal belang dat we dit samen in gedachten houden. En nu de urgentie zo hoog is, zijn er ook veel kansen. Laten we daarom, zoals Churchill zei, een goede crisis niet verspillen en gebruik maken van deze kansen. Veel kansen ontstaan door digitalisering, zoals professor van Houtum stelt in ons hoofdartikel. Digitalisering maakt het niet alleen mogelijk om op afstand toegang te krijgen en analyses en interventies te doen, maar legt bijvoorbeeld ook een extra informatielaag over de werkelijke situatie. Deze nieuwe functionaliteiten zijn hard nodig vanwege de toenemende integratie van complexe componenten en systemen. Gecombineerd met het tekort aan gekwalificeerd technisch personeel zal dit ook de aard van de technische support veranderen.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

Because it becomes easier to find and buy niche products, we buy and sell less of more different items: the long tail. itsme is a real long tail supplier. We offer about one and a half million electrical and mechanical items. And we supply no less than half of the hundreds of thousands of articles we supply only once a year. We offer sourcing and availability for your long tail especially for you. And that in all countries where we are active: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania and Spain.

General Terms and Conditions of Purchase

Below please find the Consultancy Conditions of itsme. These are divided in 2 chapters. Chapter 1 always applies to the Agreement with itsme concluded by you. Chapter 2 applies in addition to Programming and Engineering

Since the outbreak of the Corona virus, questions have arisen about the effects on the global supply chain. We would like to inform you on our measurements that we already have taken and to be taken jointly to safeguard availability within the supply chain.

These Delivery Conditions are divided in three parts. Part 1 contains General Provisions which always apply to the Agreement with itsme B.V. concluded by you. Part 2 applies in addition to the delivery of Products. Part 3 applies in addition to participation in Training Courses.