Interview with Jan-Willem Roossink, Supply Chain Director at Heineken
When Jan-Willem Roossink started studying Econometrics, he never thought that a brewing course would later be essential for his career. He started in the world of finance and risk management at banks and asset managers. “Three screens on my desk, impressive at the time, but in the end I was mostly behind the computer with numbers”, says Jan-Willem. But after three years he realized something was missing. “I missed something tangible, something you really create together.”
Almost by chance, he got into a conversation with Heineken, one of the world’s largest brewers. They were looking for a financial expert—but one who could strengthen the supply chain. That’s how he started in the Africa-Middle East region as a bridge builder between finance and supply chain. His mission? “To ensure that both departments understood each other better.”
He worked on issues such as: “How do we optimize the supply chain financially?” and “Where is it best to invest: a new brewhouse in Kinshasa or a packaging line in Algeria?” This unexpected turn in his career brought Jan-Willem exactly where he needed to be—at the intersection of numbers, strategy and tangible impact.
From Numbers to Brewed Success: Jan-Willem’s Career Change
For Jan-Willem, this role proved to be the ideal mix of analytical work and something tangible. “Breweries – the smell of freshly brewed malt, gigantic tanks, the rhythmic sound of bottles on the packaging line – are truly something magical.” Although it is not common within Heineken to grow within the supply chain without a technical or agricultural background, Jan-Willem felt that his passion lay there. After a brewing course, he was appointed brewery manager in Congo.
The transition to an operational role was not only a fantastic experience, but also quite a challenge. “Suddenly I was leading a team of 250 people and was responsible for the beer quality and the packaging process.” With each new challenge, his responsibility also grew, from logistics to purchasing. This eventually brought him to the role of Supply Chain Director in Lebanon and La Réunion.
Since 2023, Jan-Willem has been using his expertise from the head office in Amsterdam, where he leads a major transformation project within Heineken’s European supply chain. The goal? Making the European network more efficient and future-proof through harmonization, standardization and, where necessary, centralization.
From Africa to Europe: a New Role in a Changing Playing Field
Jan-Willem calls this transformation a major change process for the more than sixty breweries in Europe. It also meant a major change for him personally: after living and working in Africa for years, he returned to the Netherlands. “The biggest transition was not even the move itself, but the switch from an operational role—where quick decisions are the norm—to a global position, in which everything takes more time and coordination with others is crucial.”
Europe is ideally suited for this transformation, partly thanks to the open borders within the continent. “Here we can relatively easily move parts of the supply chain to another country, allowing us to optimally utilize the capacity of our 60 breweries.”
To make the supply chain future-proof, Heineken divided it into eight strategic work streams two years ago, each of which contributes to a more flexible and efficient network in its own way. The work stream that Jan-Willem focuses on focuses on supply chain planning. This involves both the physical flows, such as optimizing transport routes, and the information flows such as delivery times.
Reforming the Supply Chain: the Challenge of Harmonization and Centralization
Data insights gained by the business at an earlier stage show that harmonization and centralization are crucial for more efficient supply chain planning. Nevertheless, Jan-Willem acknowledges that this change is sensitive and brings uncertainty. “Functions that used to exist in every brewery are partially centralized.”Fortunately, the majority of these shifts have been absorbed by natural attrition.
What makes him proud is the active involvement of the teams in different countries and breweries from the start. “Some national supply chain directors even took the lead in important workstreams.”As a result, it does not feel like a top-down decision, but as a joint effort to make the supply chain future-proof. Despite the difficult choices, this ensures a great deal of support and understanding.
Harmonization is easier said than done. Heineken has 45 different ERP systems worldwide, all of which must ultimately be replaced by SAP. The goal is to keep the ERP system as lean as possible with Finance and Supply Chain, and building blocks around it in which most functional activities take place. “Ultimately, we will achieve a uniform view of the data and a single source of truth in the different countries.”
The Power of Data: how Smart Planning Strengthens the Supply Chain
Standardization is a top priority for Jan-Willem. For example, a brewery can only switch to central planning once it is connected to one of the two standard systems. “In some countries this went very quickly, in others it takes more time and attention.” But according to Jan-Willem, the real work only starts after that: “The challenge is to see planning as a crucial part of your business process, to standardize it down to the last detail and to execute it with military discipline.”
Good planning plays a key role in strategic decisions. For example, a number of markets were at the forefront of scenario planning. “How does the market react, for example, if the weather unexpectedly gets nice? What happens if a promotion has a greater impact than expected? And what backups are available in the event of disappointing production output?” A question that was not asked in many countries before, but can have a huge impact on the operation. The insights from these countries are now being integrated into the new central planning.
In addition, it simply works more efficiently when planners come together. “Because they now sit physically next to each other, they can spar and share knowledge more easily.” This not only leads to faster decision-making, but also makes implementing changes a lot easier.
The Future of Heineken: IT, AI and Data as Game Changers
Jan-Willem is already looking ahead to the next challenge. “You can’t ignore IT, data and AI, but to really use them, your data structure must be in order”, he explains.
For a multinational like Heineken, AI offers enormous opportunities, for example for advanced planning systems. But without a stable and unambiguous data structure, that potential remains untapped. That is why Heineken is undergoing a data transformation, in which standard systems—made possible by centralization—form the basis for a uniform data supply.
“If we use data in the right way, there are great opportunities for us. That is why it is crucial that we set up the data structure properly now,” emphasizes Jan-Willem.
Vision Dinner with Jan-Willem Roossink on April 15, 2025
On April 15, Jan-Willem will further involve the network in how Heineken’s supply chain in Europe is being transformed. Flevum is organizing this session specifically for Supply Chain, Operations, Logistics, Technology, Innovation and Digital leaders. If you want to know more and register, please visit this link.
