Interim Digital Transformation & AI Advisor
Dozens of locations, tens of thousands of business customers, and thousands of vehicle movements every week. At that scale, a national player in transport and logistics services, part of an international group, is taking charge of its own digital future. The Interim Digital Transformation & AI Advisor charts that transformation, reporting directly to the CEO.
About the organization
The organization is a major player in the Dutch transport and logistics sector. Thousands of employees serve business customers from locations across the country, in a service that is planned, executed, and invoiced in high volumes every day. Services are nationwide, while customer agreements are often regional in character. That makes the customer landscape rich and complex at the same time.
As part of an international group, the Dutch organization operates with considerable autonomy, precisely because the Dutch market runs ahead of most others. Customers ask for portals, API connections, and data-driven ordering, and they expect the ease of use they know from consumer e-commerce. Serving that market well calls for solutions tailored to it. So rather than waiting for group standards or a conventional ERP replacement, the company is rethinking its digital landscape on its own terms. Whoever gets customer data and customer interaction right lowers the pressure on customer care and opens the door to new digital services.
Requirements*
- At least 10 years in enterprise architecture, digital strategy, or technology consulting
- Proven AI implementation experience; thinks in agentic workflows
- Knows the implications of an ERP replacement from experience
- Solution-agnostic; weighs speed, customer value, and operational impact
- Familiar with customer-facing digitization in logistics or e-commerce
- Independent advisor with an outside-in view, connecting business and IT
Research shows that while male candidates feel confident enough to apply when they meet about 60% of the requirements, female candidates only apply when they tick every box. So if this role has your name on it, but you’re not sure about the criteria, we still want to hear from you.
“We are not looking for a better version of what we do today. We want someone who asks why we work this way at all, and what the boldest alternative looks like.”
Interim Digital Transformation & AI Advisor
The advisor has six to nine months, 32 hours per week, to give that ambition direction, from target architecture to an actionable digital agenda. The assignment starts as soon as possible and can be carried out hybrid, based in the east of the Netherlands. The role is deliberately decoupled from the operational IT line; an interim IT manager keeps day-to-day operations running in parallel. That creates something rare in positions like this. Strategic space, free from operational firefighting, with a direct line to the CEO and exposure to the full management team.
The transformation spans far more than systems alone. It covers the entire customer journey, from first contact to invoice, and the way the organization works behind it, with AI as an operational foundation rather than a pilot. Within that scope, the future IT and ERP architecture is a key question. The legacy core will have to be replaced at some point, but there is no acute time pressure, and that space is deliberate. The advisor investigates which architecture scenarios fit the company's ambitions, including AI-based alternatives to the traditional implementation path, and designs an adaptive landscape that captures the efficiency gains of AI-assisted software development. CRM and customer data come first; transport and finance applications follow. The benchmark is consumer-grade simplicity, in every step from placing an order to receiving an invoice.
That critical eye extends to the digitalization and AI roadmap the advisor builds in parallel, as a prioritized digital agenda that is visible and steerable for the management team. The organization is explicitly looking for an outside-in view here. The advisor scans the full breadth of the market, questions existing processes rather than digitizing them as they are, and stays solution-agnostic throughout. Proven market solutions win where they fit, but the sector is too specific to assume they always will, so building a customized, AI-based backbone is firmly on the table. The roadmap also maps what the technology shift means for the organization itself, from back-office roles to governance, in waves that are achievable rather than a distant end state.
Results need not wait for the grand design in the meantime. In the short term, the advisor explores AI tooling for customer care, connected to telephony and the customer portal, and sets the direction for a standalone e-commerce solution. Implementation is not part of the brief; once the direction is set, the existing IT organization takes over execution.
The final piece of the assignment is advice on the design and operating model of the future IT organization, currently a few dozen FTEs. Moving into the permanent IT director role afterward is open to the advisor. As an option, not a promise.
For an experienced enterprise architect, technology strategist, or (ex-)CIO who deliberately works interim, a great deal comes together here. Deep sector experience is not required; anyone who knows logistics, transport, utilities, or e-commerce will recognize the dynamics. The assignment offers the freedom to design an AI-first landscape from a blank sheet, for an established market player that dares to chart its own course. Few organizations put that question on the table this openly. The advice will also help determine how an organization with strong growth potential enters its next phase.
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