BACKGROUND
As part of our continued growth in the warehousing segment, Vanderlande is launching a new and bespoke Business Development function and we are seeking an experienced Global Director to establish and lead this new platform from the ground up. This is a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and achieving the projected revenue generation for Vanderlande's warehousing business.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
We are looking for a dynamic, strategic, and entrepreneurial professional to build and lead a global business development capability for Vanderlande’s warehousing solutions. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, and operationalizing a scalable and high-impact business development framework that will identify, evaluate, and drive new commercial opportunities globally. This includes working closely with sales, solution management, sales engineering, and marketing, as well as business leaders and executive management to establish a sustainable pipeline of strategic partnerships, key accounts, and new market penetration strategies.
This is a unique opportunity for a high-caliber professional with a proven track record of launching business development functions and driving global B2B growth within industrial automation, logistics, warehousing, or a related technology-intensive sector. Key accountabilities include:
Establish and Lead the Global Business Development Function
- Design and implement the global Business development framework (including processes, tools, and KPIs for identifying, qualifying, and managing new business opportunities), aligning with the Warehousing growth strategy.
- a high-performing business development function including internal capabilities and/or external partnerships.
- Provide leadership across the newly created Business Development platform, including regional in-market BDMs.
Strategic Market and Opportunity Development
- Conduct market analysis to identify and prioritize key markets, industry verticals and customer segments with high growth potential.
- Define and develop Go-To-Market (GTM Activation) strategies in alignment to the verticals, segments and business objectives.
Cross-Functional Stakeholder Collaboration
- Work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Solutions Management and Sales Engineering teams to integrate voice-of-customer (VOC) insights into R&D and value propositions.
- Act as a thought leader and subject matter expert across relevant networks, industry forums and customer engagements.
- Partner with regional leaders to support localization of strategy and to drive adoption in key regional markets.
- Collaborate with executive leadership to gain buy-in and support for business development initiatives.
- Exhibit influence and leadership by indirectly managing people to meet Business Development goals.
Pipeline Development and Relationship Management
- Build and manage a strategic pipeline of opportunities from early-stage discovery to Sales handoff.
- Develop a target account list within designated verticals, segmenting based on Vanderlande’s solutions.
- Cultivate high-impact relationships with key accounts, channel partners, and ecosystem collaborators.
- Engage early with senior customer decision-makers in the vetting process, promoting Vanderlande’s capabilities to address their challenges and assess alignment.
- Identify key stakeholders (decision-makers, gatekeepers, advisors, operators/users) within potential prospects and evaluate their role in the buying process.
- Utilize structured qualification criteria (e.g., BANT) to assess and advance opportunities.
- Monitor and report on BD activities, progress, and results.
- Represent Vanderlande at industry events, conferences, and client engagements to enhance brand visibility and establish thought leadership.
- Build and leverage digital marketing tools, email marketing, social media for lead generation and client engagement, taking ownership of demand generation, optimize investment ensuring end-to-end accountability.
- Drive the transition from traditional press, trade shows and print media to more cost-efficient, measurable and interactive digital communications.
- Lead and expand the Business Development team as needed, in line with Vanderlande’s sales strategy.
- Coach and mentor colleagues to enhance understanding of the Business Development function and develop organizational capability.
Governance, Reporting, and Continuous Improvement
- Establish metrics and implement dashboards to monitor functional performance.
- Continuously optimize the business development function for effectiveness, scalability, and ROI.
- Ensure budget accountability and drive continuous optimization of BD processes.
- Lead knowledge-sharing initiatives and contribute to a culture of innovation, agility, and customer-centric growth.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Experience and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Logistics, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in B2B business development, with at least 5 years in a senior or global role.
- Proven experience in establishing a new business development function from scratch, including process design, team building, and strategic planning.
Skills and Competencies
- Strong strategic thinking and analytical capabilities; ability to translate insights into action.
- Exceptional leadership and influencing skills across cross-functional and international teams.
- Deep understanding of warehousing trends, automation technologies, and customer challenges.
- Experience building a technology stack to support a successful Business Development function, with proven expertise in creating integrated and measurable campaigns.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills with C-level stakeholders.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, self-starter attitude, and results-driven work ethic.
- Demonstrated success in global market development, particularly in logistics, warehousing automation, or industrial technology sectors.
- Flexibility to travel internationally (up to 30–40%).
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What We Do
Vanderlande is the global market leader for future-proof logistic process automation at airports. The company is also a leading supplier of process automation solutions for warehouses and in the parcel market. Vanderlande’s baggage handling systems are capable of moving over 4 billion pieces of baggage around the world per year. Its systems are active in more than 600 airports including 12 of the world’s top 20. More than 52 million parcels are sorted by its systems every day, which have been installed for the world’s leading parcel companies. In addition, many of the largest global e-commerce players and retailers have confidence in Vanderlande’s efficient and reliable solutions. The company focuses on the optimisation of its customers’ business processes and competitive positions. Through close cooperation, it strives for the improvement of their operational activities and the expansion of their logistical achievements. Vanderlande’s extensive portfolio of integrated solutions – innovative systems, intelligent software and life-cycle services – results in the realisation of fast, reliable and efficient automation technology. Established in 1949, Vanderlande has more than 7,500 employees, all committed to moving its customers’ businesses forward at diverse locations on every continent. With a consistently increasing turnover of 1.8 billion euros, it has established a global reputation over the past seven decades as a highly reliable partner for future-proof logistic process automation. Vanderlande was acquired in 2017 by Toyota Industries Corporation, which will help it to continue its sustainable profitable growth. The two companies have a strong strategic match, and the synergies include cross-selling, product innovations, and research and development.
