How the Dutch National Police Corps is building a future-ready organisation

Jan Petrus, director of the Procurement Service at the National Police Corps, and Vincent Le Noble, partner consulting at PwC, discuss the transformation the organisation is undergoing, the challenges involved, and the collaborative effort required to drive change on this scale.

The National Police Corps is a relatively young organisation. Its foundations were laid in 2013, when municipal police forces and the State Police (Rijkspolitie) were merged to form a single national police organisation with regional units. This structure subsequently evolved into the nationwide organisation it is today. The National Police Corps is now focusing on the next phase: modernising operations and information provision.

Through the programme for modernisation of operational information provision (MIB), a disparate landscape of hundreds of software applications is being replaced by a single, integrated digital foundation. Petrus explains that technology is only one part of the challenge. 'It’s also about adapting a wide range of processes and working practices; the impact on the organisation is huge. For many years, different ways of working co-existed across the organisation. We’re now moving towards a unified approach across the entire force. The police are one of the largest employers in the Netherlands, second only to Defence. So it’s a complex process.'  

The police recognised at an early stage that this challenge required specialist knowledge.

'Replacing an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), the digital backbone of an organisation for finance, procurement, and logistics, or an entire information provision landscape is not a core capability of the police,' says Petrus. 'The core capability of the police is catching criminals, not replacing systems.'

Following a selection process, the police chose PwC as its partner to support the transformation. 'We were already aware of PwC’s capabilities,' Petrus explains, 'but ultimately, it was the people representing the firm who made the difference for us. It’s about the knowledge, experience, and quality of the proposed individual. In this case, that was Vincent.'

For Vincent Le Noble, the assignment meant getting to know an organisation that is unique in terms of its scale and societal impact. 'The size of this organisation and the volume of transactions it handles are exceptionally large. But it’s also very much a people-based organisation. And from the very first conversation, I felt a natural connection with the people behind the uniforms. They speak from the heart, do what they say, and stand for something. You can feel that.'  

PwC’s Financial Management Suite Plus (FMS+) is one of the key building blocks in the modernisation of the police’s support services. Le Noble explains that the ‘Plus’ represents a broader transformation of operations. In addition to finance, other disciplines like logistics, procurement, sales, service management, resource management, and a standardised approach to programme and project management, are being brought together into one integrated way of working.

'A robust and future-ready software foundation is indispensable when connecting all these disciplines effectively. Ultimately, though, the technology is not the biggest challenge. The real challenge lies in decision-making, adoption, and an organisation’s ability to embrace new working practices. That’s why, alongside systems, we focus on governance, change management, data quality, and - most importantly of all - the people who will drive and embed the change. Only when all these elements come together can a transformation like this truly succeed.'

'We are doing this together with the police,' continues Le Noble. 'Employees play an active role in shaping the change. That’s why we also visit police units across the country, asking questions like: what will this mean for your work in the future? How will you order products? What will change in terms of budgeting? These conversations are essential to ensure the change is truly embedded.'  

A programme of this scale naturally attracts significant attention. 'It involves major investment,' says Petrus. 'Government IT projects have a reputation for being challenging, and this is the largest SAP implementation in the Netherlands. In that context, it’s only logical that it is subject to close scrutiny.' That is precisely why transparency, executive decision-making authority, and trust are crucial.

Le Noble adds: 'One important factor for success is having a senior steering committee with a clear mandate, which means decisions can be made. We also communicate transparently.'  

The new digital foundation must also prepare the police for future developments, such as in the realms of cloud technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

The police organisation is taking these steps in a deliberate and controlled manner. 'We apply high security standards. Standards that guide our approach, rather than constrain us,' says Petrus. 'They determine how we innovate, not whether we innovate. And we continue to move forward.'

Data sovereignty plays an important role in this context. 'Police data relates to national security, so it’s essential for the police that this data remains in Europe,' says Le Noble. 'That’s why, from the outset, we have aligned with the principle of European data sovereignty.'

The police is also taking steps around AI, conducting experiments in secure environments for legal processes, procurement, and operational applications. 'We try to leverage opportunities where we can,' says Petrus, 'but security comes first.'  

Ultimately, this transformation is not about systems, cloud solutions, or AI, it's about the people who make the work of the police possible every day.

Petrus illustrates this with a telling example: 'When an officer arrives at work in the morning, the lights are on, they can eat at the canteen, they’ve got their uniform and shoes, and they have the resources they need to do their job properly. None of this happens automatically. The entire process needs to be supported so that the officer can go out on the streets properly equipped to carry out their work.'

This is the essence of the change. A modern police organisation requires modern operational capabilities. Not as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite for the police to continue fulfilling its mission in society.

'Ultimately,' concludes Le Noble, 'we’re not just implementing technology; we’re building the foundations that enable the police to continue carrying out its societal mission into the future.'