“You walk in, you look around, and you immediately start thinking: this could be more logical. That’s the fun part. And it’s also where you make a quick, visible difference.”
— Jurgen van Wijck, Project Manager at MAG45
Tim Verberne has been designing logistics solutions at MAG45 for over twelve years. He started as the company’s only logistics engineer and now manages a team of six Logistics Engineers. He built the playbook.
Jurgen van Wijck joined MAG45 in October 2025 after six years in supply chain consulting. As Project Manager and Solution Owner for Stock at Hand, he analyses client setups, designs improvements, and leads implementation. Once a solution is up and running, it’s handed over to the operation. Jurgen moves on to the next challenge.
Together, they represent two sides of the same discipline: the architecture behind MAG45’s logistics solutions, and the hands-on work that brings them to life.
For many manufacturers, non-strategic parts receive the least attention but cause the most friction. Engineers searching for components instead of building. Procurement placing hundreds of small orders manually. Stock sitting in one location while another runs dry. MAG45’s Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) services are designed to take that entire burden off the client’s plate: from initial assessment and setup through to continuous monitoring and automatic replenishment.
Scanning the situation: where every project starts
Jurgen’s projects typically begin with a logistics scan: a structured assessment of how a client’s current inventory setup performs, where inefficiencies sit, and what a better solution would look like. That process always includes time on the floor.
At a recent visit to a high-tech laboratory, the picture was familiar. Hoses stored in single rolls with no backup. Consumables scattered across workbenches. A storage room in the corner of an office with items that should have been closer to the point of use.
“People who work in that space every day don’t see it anymore,” Jurgen says. “One roll of hose, no backup. It takes ten minutes to suggest a two-bin setup: always have two, and when one is empty, that’s your trigger to reorder. Not complicated. But if nobody points it out, it stays the way it is.”
That same visit led to a proposal for new two-bin Stock at Hand cabinets at the location, bringing components closer to where they’re actually used.
From pilot to rollout: earning trust at a high-tech lab
One of Jurgen’s first projects was a Stock at Hand pilot at a laboratory. MAG45 places cabinets stocked with gloves, fasteners, connectors and similar items. When bins run empty, a MAG45 team member scans and replenishes them. Engineers just take what they need.
The client was initially hesitant about external people in the lab. But before MAG45’s involvement, engineers had to order items through an internal portal and wait up to a week. With Stock at Hand, everything is on the shelf.
The pilot was successful enough that the client asked MAG45 to evaluate additional locations.
Curious what a logistics scan could reveal at your site?
Inside the cleanroom: moving stock to where it matters
Earlier this year, MAG45 improved a site where a competitor already had a solution in place. The team spotted a structural inefficiency: stock was stored centralized and outside the cleanroom. Easy to deliver the goods, but engineers had to leave the controlled environment, pick parts, and go through the gowning process again. Multiple times a day.
MAG45 decentralized the stock, placed its own cabinets inside the cleanroom, meeting all cleanroom requirements. Parts arrive pre-cleaned and ready to use. The team also upgraded around a hundred stock locations from a one-bin to a two-bin system.
The client has since requested two additional locations.
The right solution for the situation
Within its VMI setup, MAG45 offers three logistics solutions: Stock at Hand, vending machines, and kitting. The choice depends on item value, consumption speed, and how people work on the floor. But the process around them is always the same: MAG45 starts with an assessment, configures the right mix, integrates with the client’s systems or works standalone, and then continuously monitors stock levels and triggers replenishment automatically.
“Expensive items with low turnover go into a vending machine,” Jurgen explains. “Low-value, high-volume items like gloves go into a two-bin cabinet. Zero friction.”
Kitting adds specificity. And it can be as simple as a bag of bolts. Eight bolts needed per machine? They arrive in a pre-packed bag. Three machines, three bags. No counting. That’s the simple version, but a kit can also hold hundreds of parts across dozens of suppliers: fasteners, seals, O-rings, cable glands, connectors, labels, brackets, and the fluid lines that go with them. Everything one assembly station needs, in one box, in build order. The technician opens it and starts working. No picking, no chasing shortages, no half-finished machine waiting on a two-euro part.
Solutions often combine. “We place kits inside Stock at Hand setups,” Tim adds. “More complex on our side, but for the person on the floor, everything they need is in one package.“
The power of master data
Behind every setup sits a tension Tim has navigated for years. MAG45 typically identifies 10 to 30 percent potential stock reduction after performing a logistics scan. Real numbers, grounded in business cases.
But MAG45 also strives for 98 to 99 percent availability. One missing part can halt a machine build for days.
“A production manager doesn’t care about two tonnes less stock. He wants his parts. If the line stops, the downtime cost dwarfs any saving.”
The key is predictability. “Unpredictability is our biggest enemy,” Tim says. “The more predictable the demand, the less safety stock you need.”
Read all about demand forecasting
In our case study Demand Forecasting in Practice
And behind the visible solutions sits something equally critical: the supply chain that feeds them. Master data, lead times, item availability. That’s why MAG45 offers integrated supply, combining sourcing, inventory, and processes. Tim: “Imagine you manage inventory with wrong client lead time data. Your stock model can be perfect on paper, but the shelves will still be empty. Only through integration you can enable full potential.”
Looking ahead
When Tim started his career, logistics engineering ran on experience and manual checks. Today, vending machines transmit consumption data nightly. Scanners provide real-time visibility.
“Innovate where it truly adds value,” he says. “A scanner isn’t high-tech, but it’s the simplest solution when someone is already standing there.”
At the same time, Tim sees real potential in AI and data analytics to push logistics engineering further. Spotting consumption patterns earlier, predicting demand shifts before they hit, and giving clients the transparency they now expect.
“Ten years ago, the question was: are my parts there?” Tim says. “Now it’s: show me what’s happening. Show me you’re in control.“
