Automation Manager

**Doelstelling**:
We are looking for an experienced Automation Manager to join our team of experts and support organization of approximately 5000 employees at 30+ locations and more than 850,000 sqm of warehouse space. You will steer the team towards providing innovative and substantially automated end-to-end warehousing solutions and your leadership and expertise will play a vital role in the delivery of our Customer and Operational excellence. Does this sound like a challenge for you? Then keep on reading

**Voornaamste taken**:
You will play an integral role in the customer engagement cycle with the main focus on managing and improving our automation activities. As an Automation manager, you will continuously reflect on how to best attract new business opportunities by introducing innovative automation projects through dynamic and engaging proposals. You will review project statuses and vendor performance to ensure our automation strategy is well implemented and you will also help our activities evolve through challenging vendors' technical design and vetting automation related change requests. On a daily basis, Automation Engineer is expected to advise our Engineering and operational teams to ensure mitigation of any risks linked to automation activities. Furthermore, you will regularly consult the key stakeholders and customers to review progress, ensure a focus on continuous improvement and a high customer retention rates.

Your primary objective is to oversee all automation designs, implementations and operations across the BeNeLux region while focusing on the following key tasks:

- In a design/RFQ phase, align with the Customer Solution Team to understand customer automation requirements and match them with available vendor offerings. Furthermore, challenge and review the proposals of the internal team and automation vendors
- understand their offering and take end-responsibility on the final design proposal.
- In the Contract phase, together with procurement team
- discuss and negotiate contracts with the suppliers.
- In the Customer Onboarding phase, together with the project team: ensure that the concept design is translated in a viable implementable detailed design; manage the completion of all systems' functional specifications and interface specifications; ensure automation projects are successfully implemented.
- In Running Operations, with the operational and technical support team: follow up of the service and maintenance contracts of the suppliers; Knowledge ownership of running automated operations; ensure that the automation delivers what KN has bought and in case of structural operational problems or need for changes
- guide the internal stakeholders and the supplier in the approach towards desired results.
- Understand market trends and refine existing standards by conducting market research.
- Manage interfaces to all automation suppliers through understanding their design enhancements and new products.
- Connect within KN with the other expert roles in this area to strengthen the Kuehne+Nagel automation strategy and share best practice of other regions.

**Profiel**:

- BSc degree in Logistics, Industrial Engineering, and/or practical experience in the field of automation controls or software engineering;
- You have a good knowledge of the landscape and possibilities of the automation suppliers.
- Solid understanding of the project life cycle of automated material handling systems and equipment
- Ability to coach/train engineers to upskill their knowledge;
- Experience with the implementation of automated material handling and logistics systems;
- You are willing to travel in BeNeLux in relation to different projects / customers.

**Wat bieden wij?**: