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Geert Aerts
Expert in sustainable Lean/Operational Excellence and Kaizen
Professional Background
Geert Aerts is a seasoned expert in management, operational excellence, and productivity improvement, boasting a diverse career that spans several industries and roles. With extensive experience in the logistics and automotive sectors, he has made significant contributions to various organizations by focusing on operational strategy, efficiency enhancement, and staff development. Geert has played key roles in leading initiatives that drive performance improvements and operational efficiency, making him a sought-after senior coach and trainer in Belgium.
Throughout his illustrious career, Geert has held numerous prestigious positions, including his current role as Senior Coach and Trainer at Van Goubergen P&M Productivity Improvement in Belgium. In this capacity, he leverages his extensive knowledge and expertise to coach individuals and teams, helping them unlock their potential and achieve substantial productivity improvements. His passion for developing others is evident in his training methodologies and his commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement within organizations.
Prior to his current position, Geert honed his skills in operational excellence while serving as a Consultant, Trainer, and Coach in Lean and Operational Excellence at his own consultancy, Geert Aerts Consulting. His experience in this role allowed him to work closely with various companies to implement best practices in lean management principles, leading to enhanced operational capabilities and better resource management.
His career also includes significant leadership roles at Unipart Logistics, where he served as Director of Operations for North America and General Manager of Global Warehouses, Warehouse Design, and Strategy Division. At Unipart, Geert's strategic insight and operational expertise enabled the organization to optimize its logistics operations and improve supply chain efficiency across the board.
Before joining Unipart Logistics, Geert had a successful tenure at Toyota Motor Europe, where he rose through the ranks and ultimately became Senior Manager in various divisions, including General Affairs, Support and Development. His deep understanding of the automotive supply chain and his ability to spearhead Kaizen and human resources development initiatives led to significant enhancements in operational practices and workforce engagement throughout the organization. Geert's leadership in the Kaizen Department, for instance, highlighted his commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement in line with Toyota's renowned principles.
Education and Achievements
Geert's academic journey laid the foundation for his successful career in management and operations. He studied Management at the prestigious Cranfield School of Management, renowned for its focus on practical, real-world business education. This invaluable experience equipped him with the skills needed to address complex operational challenges and develop effective strategies.
Additionally, Geert studied Law at the Katholieke Hogeschool Brussel, bringing a unique perspective to his understanding of organizational governance and compliance matters. His multi-faceted educational background is complemented by further studies at Cranfield University, where he expanded his knowledge base and honed his skills in various aspects of business management. Although he pursued marketing education, the details remain unspecified. However, this breadth of knowledge contributes to his holistic understanding of business operations.
Throughout his career, Geert has accumulated numerous accolades and achievements, reflecting his dedication to excellence and professional growth. His ability to lead teams in achieving operational efficiency and his skill in coaching individuals to become better versions of themselves showcase his commitment to making an impact in the field.
Achievements
In his various roles, Geert has been instrumental in implementing lean principles and operational strategies that have transformed organizational capabilities. His specific contributions include:
- Enhancing productivity and reducing waste through the integration of lean methodologies at companies, notably during his time at Toyota Motor Europe and Unipart Logistics.
- Spearheading training programs that have developed the skills and competencies of numerous professionals across different sectors, allowing them to thrive in competitive environments.
- Driving strategic operational improvements that resulted in significant cost savings and efficiency gains, particularly in complex logistics operations in North America.
- Successfully managing large-scale logistics projects that required strategic foresight, meticulous planning, and effective execution, showcasing his project management skills and leadership abilities.
Geert's depth of experience in both training and operational roles allows him to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, ensuring that organizations are not just focused on short-term gains, but are also building capacity for sustainable growth and long-term success. His commitment to fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement positions him as a thought leader in the field of operational excellence and productivity enhancement.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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