Book an intro callIntro callOrder emails that someone retypes every morning, stock levels nobody trusts, a forecast that misses: that is where most AI projects in production, wholesale and logistics start. For the cost of such a project there are three routes. The MIT scheme for AI is closed and needs two or more SMEs, so for many companies the WBSO is the usable one, and SLIM pays for training when a window is open. We say honestly which fits, and sometimes the answer is a small first step without subsidy.Updated: November 2026
Retyping orders, stock that does not add up, a forecast that misses: that is where an AI project starts in a company of 20-250 people. The next question is whether a subsidy fits.
MIT R&D collaboration AI: the window of 7 April to 26 May 2026 has passed. 77 proposals, 18 granted. Temporarily closed, no new date announced. The route also needs two or more SMEs working together.
For many companies the WBSO is the usable route: 36% of technical development work (16% above €391,020, 50% for starters), applied for before the work starts. Setting up standard software does not qualify.
SLIM pays 60% of training, up to €24,999, but no window is open and the next one is not announced.
First step: a 30-minute intro call. Two years of history, a small trial on your own data, only then build. If there is nothing to gain, no proposal follows.
For most schemes the opening date is what counts, the budget is often gone on day one. Here's the live status.
The deadline is firm, but quality beats speed. Start a strong dossier well ahead, submitting early gives no advantage.
You can apply every month (by the last day of the month for the next month). Apply before your R&D work starts, retroactive claims aren't possible.
Leave your region and email. We'll reach out personally, well before MIT R&D-samenwerking AI opens, to check whether you qualify and prepare your application so it's ready on day one.
Stratalytic is a team of solution architects, data scientists and engineers. We design and build the project and help write the application, so it describes work that actually happens. The first step is an intro call of 30 minutes, no obligation.
Nobody in a wholesale or production company starts with the word AI. It starts with order emails that someone retypes every morning, stock levels in the ERP that nobody trusts, a forecast that misses, or a planning that only one colleague understands. According to the Exact MKB Barometer 2025, 80% of production companies find planning of production resources challenging.
At a wholesaler, nobody has to retype two out of three order emails any more (3,300 of 5,017 order emails, measured in September 2026): from everything by hand to 67.7% as a correct draft order. Masparts predicts quotes with 84% accuracy. And in a forecast for new products, accuracy rose from 40% to 86% at a market leader in construction tools, measured on its own history. That last case is a different segment, so read it as a sign of what a forecast can do, not as a promise for a wholesaler.
The MIT scheme has a separate R&D collaboration AI route. Its window ran from 7 April to 26 May 2026 and has passed. 77 proposals were ranked and 18 received a grant. RVO now lists the scheme as temporarily closed and has announced no new date. The scheme also ran in April-May 2025, but we cannot say yet whether it returns in 2027.
There is a second catch. The route asks for collaboration between two or more SMEs in a joint project, and the MIT is aimed at SMEs in the top sectors. For many wholesale, production and logistics companies it is therefore not available. For them the WBSO is the usable route, and sometimes the honest answer is a small first step without subsidy.
The WBSO is open all year. In 2026 it gives 36% on the first €391,020 of the development base and 16% above that; starters get 50% on the first tier. It covers technical development work (R&D): something that does not exist yet, and whose outcome is uncertain. Setting up existing software does not count, so a wholesaler who only configures a standard package has nothing to claim. A connection or a forecast that does not exist technically yet can qualify.
The application must be in before the work starts, never afterwards. For 2027 the same percentages have been announced, subject to approval by the Eerste Kamer. Applications for 2027 are possible from mid-November 2026; for a start on 1 January, the application must be in by 20 December. We assess first whether the work qualifies, and if not, we say so.
SLIM pays 60% of learning and development costs, also for AI skills, between €5,000 and €24,999 per application. No window is open now; the next one has not been announced. The AI literacy obligation is a reason to train the team anyway.
The Digital Europe Programme works through consortia and quality assessment; its 2026 calls with a fixed deadline of 1 October have passed, and new calls are not known. For a company of 20-250 people it is rarely the fastest route. The regional European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH, six in the Netherlands) offer advice, not subsidy. The Innovatiekrediet is a loan for technical development projects, repaid only on success, and realistic for this size only with a large technical development project.
The team supplies two years of history from the ERP and the Excel files next to it. On that data we run a small trial and measure it against how it works now. Only after that do we build, next to the existing systems, with exceptions going to a person.
If there is nothing to gain, no proposal follows. If there is, we pick the scheme that fits, often the WBSO, and apply before the development work starts.
Orders, stock or sales from the ERP and the Excel files next to it. That is all the team has to do in this step.
We measure the result against how it works now, for a forecast through a backtest. If there is nothing to gain, no proposal follows.
Only then do we build, next to the existing systems. If the work qualifies, we apply for the WBSO before the development starts.
No scheme pays for most of an ordinary AI project in a production or wholesale company. The WBSO gives 36% of the cost of technical development work up to a base of €391,020, 16% above that, and 50% for starters. The MIT scheme for AI pays 35% but requires collaboration and is closed right now. SLIM pays 60% of training, up to €24,999, but has no open window at the moment.
No. The window ran from 7 April to 26 May 2026 and has passed. €3.55 million was available; 77 proposals were ranked and 18 received a grant. RVO now lists the scheme as temporarily closed and has not announced a new date. The scheme also ran in April-May 2025, but a 2027 window has not been confirmed.
Often not. The AI route requires collaboration between at least two SMEs in a joint research project, and the MIT is aimed at SMEs in the top sectors. A wholesaler or logistics company that wants to improve an existing process usually does not qualify. In that case the WBSO is the route, or a small first step without subsidy.
Only for technically new development work (R&D). Setting up existing software, such as a standard ERP or an off-the-shelf AI tool, does not count. A connection or forecast that does not exist technically yet, and whose outcome is uncertain, can. The application must be in before the work starts, not afterwards. An employer can make at most four applications per year. We first assess whether the work qualifies, and say so if it does not.
For a forecast you need more than a year of history, preferably two years of orders or sales from the ERP. To turn order emails into draft orders, a few months of emails are enough to start. If the data is messy, we see that in the first step and say so honestly. Cleaning it up is part of the work.
Order emails that someone retypes every morning, turned into draft orders. A forecast that misses less often, including for new products. A quote that is faster and better targeted. Stock you can trust again, and a planning that does not live only in a colleague's head. In every case the team stays in control: exceptions go to a person.
SLIM pays 60% of eligible costs for learning and development, with a minimum of €5,000 and a maximum of €24,999 per individual application. No window is open at the moment. The second window of 2026 was heavily oversubscribed and ran by lottery, and the next one has not been announced (source: Uitvoering van Beleid). Waiting for a new window is no reason to wait with a first step.
The AI literacy obligation (Article 4) has applied since 2 February 2025 to companies that use AI systems, including ChatGPT or Copilot. Since the AI omnibus (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744), a company must take measures that support AI literacy; a fixed level per person is not required. Supervisors have been enforcing it since 2 August 2026. For most production and wholesale companies that is the core of it, unless AI is used for something like selecting staff.
No. What we build runs alongside the ERP and the Excel files that exist today. The system the team works in does not change, there is just less manual work.
The team supplies two years of history; we handle the rest. A small trial on your own data follows. If it turns out there is nothing to gain, no proposal follows, and so no cost for building or for a subsidy.
An honest estimate in numbers, even if the answer is that it does not pay off.
