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Interview of Sjors Hexspoor in magazine WAREHOUSE TOTAAL
Warehouse manager Sjors Hexspoor of Hexspoor E-fulfilment says it without the slightest hint of arrogance. It is a genuine statement from a member of the family business that, since 2008, has grown into a highly respected e-fulfilment specialist – as evidenced by consecutive first-place rankings in the annual Emerce 100.
“What makes it truly special is that, as a family-owned company, we are recognised as the best in e-fulfilment warehousing in the Netherlands – often competing with much larger logistics players.”
A complete logistics set-up
As an e-fulfilment specialist, Hexspoor serves webshops and premium brand suppliers in sectors such as cosmetics, beauty and healthcare, books and stationery (including notebooks, stamps and greeting cards), sports and leisure, merchandise and samples, as well as information and promotional materials for non-profit and charitable organisations.
It is by no means just a matter of packing and shipping boxes. Together with each client, Hexspoor designs and manages the entire logistics and IT set-up. From its central location in Boxtel, the family business processes both B2C and B2B orders under one roof.
“Our clients supply parcels to both consumer and business channels across Europe. They want to be served from a single central distribution centre. That’s far more efficient and cost-effective for them, since it means managing just one inventory,” Sjors explains enthusiastically.
He is dedicated to his work – just like his colleagues. During peak periods, Sjors, along with his brother Tijn and father Silvan, doesn’t hesitate to step in on the warehouse floor. Whether it’s driving a forklift or operating a reach truck to pick orders, he believes it’s vital that everyone sees the operation as a joint responsibility: step in where and when needed.
“Every single employee here is 100% committed to their work. And they have to be if we want to deliver top performance for our clients every day. For me, it’s essential that we create a culture on the shop floor of one team, one mission. One of the ways we do that is through our annual Hexspoor Quiz, which we create ourselves – packed with fun questions about Hexspoor and our clients.”
Although Sjors (28) grew up in the family business, it wasn’t a given that he would join the management team. As a teenager, he helped out with practical tasks: in the former bookbindery he worked in the inbound department, driving forklifts and handling pallet trucks. He received his first employment contract as soon as he was legally allowed to work at 15.
“I’ve witnessed the transformation of the company – from a traditional bookbindery into a specialist in e-fulfilment – and experienced the growth first-hand. Once we moved fully into order fulfilment, evening shifts became part of the job. It was hard work, but that was normal for me, and I enjoyed it. At the time, I never realised I would one day want to join the management team.”
After completing his Bachelor’s in E-commerce and Master’s in Information Science, Sjors gained international experience through several internships with logistics providers, where he learned the finer points of the trade. Following a short traineeship at the e-commerce department of Jumbo in Veghel, he returned to the family company as a logistics engineer.
“In 2019, our Risk Inventory and Evaluation revealed that we needed to reorganise certain business processes to improve safety. Together with a team, I took on that challenge. It gave me deep insights into fulfilment processes, which I still benefit from in my current role as warehouse manager. If I don’t understand how certain functions within a WMS work, I can’t use them to their full potential. The downside of having so much technical knowledge is that I sometimes have the urge to do things myself, which of course is not the role of a manager,” he says with a smile.
Despite receiving an attractive job offer from a major system integrator, Sjors decided to remain loyal to Hexspoor. The day before signing the contract, he had an intense conversation with his brother and father about the future of the company. The previous warehouse manager had just left, and the question arose whether the two brothers would step into the management team to secure the company’s continuity.
“My father asked if I wanted to take on the role of warehouse manager on an interim basis. I felt it was a bit early in my career, but I accepted the challenge. By combining site visits with a management course, I gradually grew into the position. And although it was tough at first, over time I developed my own leadership style: pragmatic, straightforward and honest, but above all highly committed to the people around me.”
When Sjors was officially appointed warehouse manager in 2023, his main objective – together with the company – was to continue growing. Today, Hexspoor’s turnover is growing by about 20% annually, but according to Sjors, further scale is essential in order to keep investing in new technologies, meet customer demands, and manage rising costs.
“We’ve invested heavily in data-driven warehousing. I’m a big believer in the phrase ‘to measure is to know.’ Nothing excites me more than a well-founded, data-backed plan that leaves no room for doubt. These days, we request all master data from a client before we start implementation. We’re also seeing a clear trend: our clients want to hold less inventory, while at the same time demanding more specific and tailored fulfilment solutions. We need to keep adapting to that.”
