Maurice Barten

"We've been doing this for 140 years, but we're already thinking about the next 100 years." This quote from Mart Kruidenier at Koninklijke Dekker perfectly encapsulates why I'm passionate about our growth strategy - partnering with established companies ready to embrace AI transformation. Our recent visit to Dekker's warehouse showcased exactly the kind of impact that drives our growth initiatives. The Challenge: Dekker's team was overwhelmed by hundreds of weekly purchase orders in multiple formats - PDFs, Excel files, emails. Their order intake team was buried in manual data extraction, product matching, and ERP entry work. The Solution: Through Lleverage's AI automation platform, we eliminated the entire manual workflow - from document processing to seamless Business Central integration. The Growth Story: What excites me most isn't just the operational efficiency we delivered. It's watching Dekker's team redirect their expertise toward high-value customer service instead of repetitive tasks. This is exactly the growth trajectory we're building - helping traditional companies like Koninklijke Dekker future-proof their operations through intelligent automation. We're not replacing teams, we're amplifying their potential to focus on what drives real business value. These partnerships fuel our mission and validate why the AI transformation market represents such tremendous opportunity for sustainable growth.

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3 years at Personio. 36 months leading Benelux. 3 lessons that shaped our growth. When I started, I wasn’t just looking for a role. I was looking for the right leader, the right culture, and the right people to build with. Because in GTM, those choices shape everything that follows. Looking back, our journey in Benelux was built on three foundations and each one is something any GTM leader can apply: 1. People, talent, and development Growth is never just about hitting targets. It’s about enabling people to level up. In our team, I’ve seen SDRs grow into AEs, CS, event managers. I’ve seen reps progress from AE1 to AE5, earn promotions, and hit President’s Club. Takeaway: make talent development a priority, not a side effect. Promotions and progression build more momentum than any campaign. 2. Partners, community, and ecosystem Launching in a new region isn’t about pouring money into ads. It’s about building trust. Partners and customers became our strongest amplifiers. Events and community moments, both online and offline, created credibility faster than any brand campaign. Takeaway: if you’re entering a market with low brand recognition, focus on partners and community first. They carry you further than spend alone. 3. Cross-functional collaboration Early on, our biggest hurdle wasn’t demand, it was alignment. Once we broke down silos and started working as one team: sales, CS, marketing, growth accelerated. Today, collaboration is our biggest competitive advantage. Takeaway: your GTM engine is only as strong as your weakest link. Fix alignment before chasing more leads. These 3 lessons shaped my last 36 months. These 3 lessons will continue shaping my next 36 months. Which of these 3 pillars has made the biggest difference in your GTM journey?

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🇨🇳🛒 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝟭𝟲𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀? If you grew up in the Netherlands or Germany, you probably bought your first headphones at MediaMarkt or Saturn, both owned by Ceconomy. Now, JD.com is acquiring Ceconomy for $2.5 billion. By 2026, more than 1,000 European stores will operate with Chinese supply chains instead of European ones. China’s second-largest e-commerce company is rewriting the playbook for retail power in Europe. 🧠 𝗝𝗗.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: $160B (2024), one of the world’s e-commerce heavyweights 🏪 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘁 + 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: 1,000+ stores across Europe 💶 𝗖𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: €22.4B in 2023/24, including €5.1B online 🌍 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗠&𝗔 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲: Hit $8.45B last year, more than doubling from 2023. This deal alone covers almost 30 percent 🇳🇱🇬🇧 𝗝𝗗’𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀: Ochama launched in the Netherlands (2022). Joybuy piloted in the UK (2024) What’s really changing? 🤝 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀: Local stores become global distribution points, not just showrooms 📲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀: European consumer data, Chinese logistics, new retail battleground 🏷️ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲: Expect sharper competition for every local electronics retailer Why now? 🌐 𝗝𝗗.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗳. Amazon and Alibaba already dominate much of the global online game. Physical presence is the next move. Think logistics hubs, not just online sales 📉 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀, making local champions easier to acquire What’s next? 🔄 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁, fast 🤔 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 how much data crosses borders, and who controls the checkout 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 💬 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, shoppers or shareholders? 💡 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲-𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 for European retail to rethink digital strategy? 🔮 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻? 👇 Drop your view below. Full China Insights newsletter link in the comments.

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We just launched our first customer in the Netherlands in under 1 hour 🇳🇱 The integrations were already there, so we had a head start. But the magic was in how quickly we could configure the rest; settings, standards, tax numbers, codifications. This is possible because our product is AI-native. It’s not just another SaaS bolting AI on top. We build with the models, not against them. Some ways this shows up: → Approvals happen implicitly based on tool calls → Workflows are written in plain English → UX primitives are abstractions designed around threads/conversations It is how we truly create a global product! This speed isn’t just an implementation detail. It’s what accounting should feel like in the AI era.

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When I meet Dutch business leaders, I often hear: “We’re piloting AI, but not scaling yet.” That hesitation holds us back. If the Netherlands wants to stay competitive, AI must move from pilot to scale and become a driver of reinvention.   That was my message in Saturday’s NRC feature with Nicole van Det. It highlights how Unilever is using AI to double productivity in Vietnam and cut water and energy use in Poland, and how Randstad is reinventing recruitment with AI-driven job matching and advertising.   What convinces me most are these tangible outcomes: lower costs, higher productivity, more sustainable factories, and better matches between people and jobs. This is where AI shows its true impact and where the Netherlands urgently needs to step up. Accenture the Netherlands Roy Ikink Sytze-Johan Bakker Monique Vierdag Manish Gupta Sjoerd van Gendt Vudaya Bhaskar D

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