Jan Merjenburgh
from PCOB talks about Stb AMS
PCOB is an association counting around 100,000 members. It focuses on people 50 years of age and older. Part of PCOB's activity involves looking after its members' interests. This is done locally as well as regionally and nationally. The association consists of 350 branches with their own management.
Each branch used to have its own administration methods, which could involve using Excel, written records or a self-purchased system. This made data consolidation difficult and time-consuming. Keeping member files up to date involved the same challenges. For a long time, there was a need to integrate all business processes, whether local, regional or central, into one system.
PCOB started looking for a complete solution to integrate all processes into a single system. One system for the central office as well as for the branches. A cloud-based system which could be used regardless of time and place and which could further facilitate the introduction of the New Way of Working.
"Stb proved to be a trustworthy partner and provided us with the complete solution we were looking for. Stb's commitment was obvious during the implementation. They truly delivered on their promises." According to PCOB controller Jan Merjenburgh.
A transparent and fast system
The system helps manage important project documents. Documents can easily be retrieved at any moment. "It all works smoothly." Says PCOB policy adviser Peter Kruitbosch. Annelies Haan, PCOB front-office employee, found it easy to make the switch after having worked with a different system for years. "The system is pleasant to use. If there's anything you don't understand, you can always click the help feature and you'll find lots of useful information there."
For more information: Jochem Rupert, Account director
Suzanne Ekel
from VU Connected talks about Stb AMS
"The Stb system enables effective marketing."
VU Connected is the idea network of the VU association. This network cooperates with VU, VUmc, and Hogeschool Windesheim. The purpose of the cooperation is to look for debate-worthy social issues in events and projects. VU Connected is an organization that combines network knowledge and charity work for the benefit of society.
"VU Connected needed a database that could be used by all the disciplines of the idea network. Stb Automatisering & Advies caught our eye. Stb offered us the most complete package, which is also very flexible to implement," says Suzanne Ekel, Marketing & Communication Manager at VU Connected.
Twofold
"We wanted an application that could do at least two things: on the one hand, dealing with the actual projects and their participants, as well as facilitating the relations with the speakers and experts; on the other hand, processing members in the database. That includes the option of classifying membership into various categories, with personal information fields. These categories vary from inactive registered members to project participants that have no membership yet. We try to attract such participants into becoming members."
The full-featured nature of Stb AMS
VU Connected uses the Stb AMS system for basically all its processing needs. Administration, finance, members, and events are all implemented in Stb AMS. "Stb provides a foundation for our growth," says Suzanne Ekel. Pascal Mattaar-Everaardt, chief of the secretarial and business office, adds: "The reporting options are a great advantage, enabling us to do a lot more than before. Everything that goes into the system can be seen and retrieved by anyone within VU Connected. We no longer need to wait for anyone, so we can assist our clients faster. And if there's any extra feature we need to have in our system, Stb is quick to add it."
Growth
"We want to optimize this system, including the database. Now that we know how the Stb system works, we also have a better picture of what we want to have in it and what not. Stb and VU Connected are well tuned together and the process goes smoothly. We are considering the option of expanding our database marketing. For instance, we want to be able to see how someone became a member of VU Connected. This way, we can achieve optimal efficiency with our campaigns," concludes Suzanne Ekel.
Henry Harmsen van der Vliet
from BHV.NL talks about Stb Training
"The market demand is transposed into the software we need."
BHV.NL provides courses, trainings, and workshops on company safety, in locations as close as possible to the client. The course locations are spread all over the Netherlands. BHV.NL also provides in-company courses, at the client's office. In addition to trainings, the company also specializes in consultancy and organizes coaching and implementation pathways.
The beginning
BHV.NL Manager Henry Harmsen van der Vliet talks about Stb Training: "Before we met Stb, we maintained very simple student records. At some point, the need emerged to automate the student records. Around the year 2000, Stb worked with us to start a development project made up of simple steps, which has eventually led to our existing, advanced training module. It is referred to as 'Atlas' internally."
For BHV.NL, it was important to make the enrolment module available through the website. This was made possible together with Stb. Especially course participants coming from large enterprises enrolled using the open enrolment module.
This revealed new opportunities for BHV.NL: to create an online client portal where users can find information regarding in-company trainings. "It was all based on Stb's standard software. This was tailored efficiently for the back-office as well as for the website," says Jan Kasteel, BHV.NL Service Unit Manager.
Plusses
Jan Kasteel sees many advantages in Atlas. "The software is easily adaptable to BHV.NL's business processes. Stb thinks along with us in a solution-oriented manner. The adjustments are possible thanks to the flexibility of Atlas. Moreover, each department can always view the course participant's registration procedure."
"The automated processing of the open enrolments through the website is an asset for us. The web enrolment allows the out-company course participants to make the plan on their own. They can always see which course can be attended and where."
Plans for the future
Expanding the digital enrolment process so as to make it available to in-company clients as well. "The system will notify students in advance regarding refresher courses. Then, the students will be referred to the website, where they can plan the course on their own, just like the out-company course participants", says Harmsen van der Vliet.
"Stb is a good software partner. The market demand is transposed into the software we need." We intend to start communicating mainly digitally. The basis for this system lies in Atlas and it will be gradually implemented during the following years."
Jeroen van den Berg
from Carlink talks about Stb Trade
"The system enables us to provide much faster services to our clients."
Carlink purchases and sells large lots of new cars. They buy lots in various European countries and resell them throughout the continent, which can work out well due to exchange rate differences from one country to another, the import regulations, and marketing advantages. Carlink has two locations in the Netherlands, one in England, and one in Poland. Despite the small number of employees, it is one of the biggest car companies in the Netherlands.
All in one
"We started with a system we had made ourselves in Filemaker, which became rather complicated brought us to a point where we got stuck. Processing a hundred cars purchased was quite a lot of work, because each car can be linked to a different client. In 2008, we contacted Stb. They ensured full integration into Filemaker of the four systems we initially worked with," says Carlink Manager Jeroen van den Berg.
The change
Thanks to the intelligent automation of several transactions within the system, Carlink employees can now work faster and more efficiently. The system's efficiency led to a reduction in the number of staff, but several new employees were soon hired thanks to Carlink's great success combined with the tailored system.
The system makes it possible to publish a complete lot of cars on the website with just one click. The client is then contacted on the phone as the contract is being sent to them directly. The process is concluded by sending an automatically generated invoice.
The cooperation
"It is nice to work with Stb. The contact person is well informed and comes with own ideas. There is a lot of communication going on during the creation of the system. Together with Stb, we defined three possible car statuses. It is fantastic to be able to run very specific and fast searches that let you continue in all conceivable directions. The system is extremely effective and efficient and provides an overview of the processes."
The future
"In the future, we are going to set up another website addressing a different market, which will also have new search functionalities integrated. These websites are going to be maintained from a back-end system. The power of the system stems from its flexibility. This way, we can keep adjusting the system to new needs. We will therefore continue our thriving cooperation with Stb and Filemaker."
Ellen Bol and Marian Brunt
from the Association of Dental Hygienists talk about Stb AMS
"The connection between our existing financial system and Stb's CRM system has proven to be a good match."
NVM (Nederlandse Vereniging van Mondhygiënisten) is the Dutch Association of Dental Hygienists. They support professional, preventive oral care for all the inhabitants of the Netherlands. All NVM activities contribute to consolidating the position of this profession. NVM has fifteen employees, a board of six people, and 2,400 members.
Marian Brunt, NVM Management Assistant: "We first worked with a financial system linked to the members' information. The possibilities offered by this system were gradually growing narrow. We could enter a lot of information, but it was difficult to retrieve data. So we started looking for other options. We soon made up our mind: as far as our needs were concerned, Stb stood out."
Advantages
"We made the switch in May 2011," says Marian. "The connection between our existing financial system and Stb's CRM system has proven to be a good match. Any information you enter can later be retrieved according to your preferences. The system is very flexible, user-friendly, and most of all nice to work with. The whole structure is so logical."
Ellen Bol, NVM manager, adds: "We can now approach our members in a specifically targeted way thanks to Stb's database."
Cooperation with Stb
Stb assisted NVM during the implementation phase, including by means of an introduction training. NVM had the chance to start with a trial version of the member system. This enabled them to test the system so that it could be adapted to their needs.
The new system required some getting used to at first. It's always exciting to start working with something you're not familiar with. The switch was a good choice and Marian knew it. She said to her colleagues: "You need to work with it for a while. It'll come natural once we've made the transition." Whenever Marian has any questions regarding the system, she calls Stb's support department, which is always ready to help.
Expansion
"The basic investment has been done," says Marian. "Now it's all about expanding, because this is an ongoing process. We've got Stb's participation, they pay attention to our needs. This way, we intend to make optimal use of our redesigned website. For instance, we could send digital newsletters with references to the website."
Wim Waninge
from the Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds talks about Stb AMS
"The Stb system gives me the space I need in order to bring in our next thousand contributors!"
Since March 2008, more than 1,300 (former) patients of Erasmus MC have made donations to the Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds. An enormous performance, considering that the Vriendenfonds is coordinated by no more than 2 people. We talked with the person who came up with the idea of setting up this fund and who is also coordinating it: Wim Waninge. We asked him about the Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds, about his motivation to bring in at least another thousand contributors on short term, and about the Stb system that enables him to do his job well.
The Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds focuses on three directions: first, the improvement of good care for the patients. Second, supporting innovative research projects for which there aren't enough regular funding means available. And third, the fund gives young, talented researchers and doctors the chance to develop themselves further. Wim Waninge: "In order to cover the expenses for these activities, the Vriendenfonds sends letters to (former) patients of Erasmus MC, asking them to make donations. The mailings to these (former) patients, as well as the processing of their notices and their possible questions are handled using the Stb system (automated as much as possible). In the Stb system, all the correspondence is saved for each separate contributor, so we can easily follow the history."
2 in 1: user friendliness and efficiency
Waninge: "It didn't take me long to understand that the Stb system was a full-fledged one. The package contains everything we need, which is why tailored solutions are not needed from the start. More than that: we first asked Stb to make about three quarters of the buttons invisible, so that people who were not used to working with a CRM system could also get started right away. And it worked! Now, 9 months later, we are starting to use more components of the Stb system. We can see every day how user-friendly it is, but also what a difference it makes for us in terms of workload! The Stb system enables us to send mailings to thousands of people in a proper and fast manner."
"The shop is still open during the rebuilding period"
Wim Waninge speaks very positively about the cooperation with Stb. "The contact with the people of Stb is pleasant and the system installation went smoothly. We had agreed in advance that we would go on working as usual during the installation. I didn't expect that would actually be possible, but Stb took care of it. I am also very enthusiastic about the helpdesk. If my colleagues or I have any questions, all it takes is a phone call and the problem is solved!"
Business Friends
The Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds has the ambition to attract even more contributors during the next few months. Wim Waninge: "We've got 500,000 patients getting admitted to Erasmus MC each year, so we can ask a lot more people to contribute. We are also focusing on a second group of sponsors: companies that would like to become "business friends". With these companies, we sign an agreement that they will provide financial support to the fund for 3 years. Starting next year, companies can be connected to specific projects. For instance, we can think of building the covered gardens at the new Erasmus MC building, thus working on our patients' healing environment. Projects such as 'aging healthy' and 'how the brain works' can also be included here." Just like in the case of contributors, the Stb system plays a central role in the contact with these companies. The system contains all the contact information and correspondence, while also taking care of the invoicing. Wim Waninge: "Because the system spares us so much work, I now have enough time to think of good and creative ways to bring in at least another thousand sponsors and contributors!"
Go to Stb CRM
Would you like to become a contributor (for €35 per year)?
Or would you like to receive more information about the Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds?
You can find out more on www.erasmusmcvrienden.nl
Udo Delfgou
from CBW-MITEX talks about Stb CRM AMS
"All the information about our 17,000 members and all communication with them can be stored, shared, and combined in the Stb CRM AMS, with no compromise as to speed, accessibility, and user friendliness."
MITEX is the largest sector organization for entrepreneurs in the field of fashion, shoes, and sports retail. The Central Home Sector Association (CBW) is the sector organization for home building entrepreneurs. Their main activities are representing their members' interests, providing (legal) advice, and granting financial advantages to them. The merging of the two organizations is a logical development of their long cooperation. Together, they act as representatives for 17,000 shops. Their mission is to help entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial activities.
Challenge
Udo Delfgou, Finance and ICT Manager: "CBW and MITEX were using systems that lacked user friendliness and speed. Just generating a list of members from a specific region was a slow and complicated task. The merger was a good opportunity to go looking for a single coordinating system starting from our joint requirement package. A system enabling us to save, split, and combine all information about our 17,000 members and all communication with them, without any compromise as to speed, accessibility, and user friendliness."
Better tuned services, greater ease of operation
"The Stb CRM AMS meets all our requirements," says Delfgou. "Moreover, it is completely adapted to the processes, products, and services in our sector organization. The system optimally combines CRM functionalities with coordinating database solutions for member management, project management, and event management, among others. Our 80 employees get fast and easy access to all client information and can now offer our members more professional and more specific products and services. At the press of a button, we can see which products and services an entrepreneur is already buying and what we could still do to be of help. It enhances our brand recognition and professional image among our members."
Choosing Stb
"It was not just the system that persuaded us to choose Stb. Their experience in delivering systems for member organizations and their knowledge of the non-profit sector also played a great part. They kept us informed throughout the process, thought along with us, and gave advice on how to prevent overcrowding of the system. We didn't want yet another entangled system. Besides knowledge of the latest software technologies and methodologies, Stb's added value also resides in their consultants' personal approach and in their deep involvement in the sectors for which they work."
Future
"Our Stb system can grow together with CBW-MITEX and allows easy expansion, so as to cater to our future goals and needs. In the near future, members can sign up for workshops and download research reports directly over the Internet. The system also helps us make our processes more manageable. That is not without importance, considering we have 7,000 members and 17,000 shops in our portfolio.
Jaap Kolff
from Kolff Plants B.V. talks about Stb Trade
"If we didn't work with the Stb system, we would need to hire 20 more people to do everything we're doing now."
Kolff Plants operates as an agent between plant nurseries and customers (mostly garden centres and chain stores) on the domestic and international market. They act as an intermediary in the export of trees, plants, and shrubs and make all the arrangements around this process: from contacts to logistics. Kolff Plants has a turnover of 5.5 million euros in exported plants; that means processing thousands of orders per year, for hundreds of customers. Kolff Plants uses the Stb system; not just in the Netherlands, but also in their overseas offices, they could no longer do without it.
A tailored system
Kolff Plants has been an Stb client from hour one. The cooperation with Stb began during the late 1990's, when Kolff Plants' booming growth made automation a must. Jaap Kolff: "Stb automated our whole business process then: from the beginning to the end. The system was tailored exactly to our needs. You can still recognize Stb's standard module, but the whole system is adapted to our specific wishes and requirements. I was very satisfied with the results, and now, more than 10 years later, I am still very happy with our cooperation with Stb. Stb is trustworthy, thinks along with us, and pays attention to us as clients."
Good ICT is a must
"I believe that a good ICT infrastructure is essential for our business to be successful. My company would never have reached this level of success if we hadn't invested in automation. At this moment, my organization relies on the Stb system. If we had to do all our work without this system, we would need to hire 20 more people."
Together into the future
"We have now finished updating the system. Of course that costs time and energy. When the system was installed, we realized a few things could still be improved. This happens all the time when it comes to tailored solutions. It goes without saying that Stb made sure everything worked properly soon. Yes, we are satisfied with the result and we are going to go on working with Stb for years to come!"
Go to Stb Trade
For more information about Kolff, go to www.kolff.com
Peter Voskuilen
from Ambius
"The Stb system ensures cost savings, turnover growth, and optimal insight into our business processes."
Ambius provides advice and support to companies seeking to optimize their workspaces. In doing this, Ambius offers a complete package: from plant and flower arrangement and care to scent systems and art. Read more on www.ambius-nl.nl
Intensive cooperation results in a tailored system with lots of advantages
Peter Voskuilen and Rene Peters from Ambius are closely involved in the development of the tailored software system. Peter Voskuilen: "Together with Stb, we have developed a unique system for the automation of all the core tasks involved in our sales process. Our advisers connect to the system from the client's location and enter the interior design requirements, which, by way of synchronization also become available at our headquarters that same day. This enables us to come up with an offer within two days. Before we had this system, the process took 8 days! And because we can make offers faster, our advisers issue more offers, we get more orders, and our turnover has increased. The Stb system also enables us to cut costs: we can process this larger number of offers and orders in our Sales Department using fewer people. An excellent result that we are very satisfied with."
A new way of working
Rene Peters: "The Stb system also gives us better insight into our business process. We have access to information regarding clients and relations anytime, anywhere, and we can monitor order status optimally. For many of our colleagues, the implementation of the Stb system meant a whole new way of working. To make sure the system was accepted internally, we involved as many people as possible in the development and implementation. That way, we were able to use relevant observations in order to further optimize the system. And so, everyone got a taste of it immediately!" Peter Voskuilen continues: "The great advantage is that the system enables us all to work in the same way. It makes it very easy for us to exchange information and take over each other's work."
Ambius implements the Stb system internationally
Rene Peters: "We are more than positive regarding our intensive cooperation with Stb: the contact people think along with us, they are involved and solve the problems. That's why we are very enthusiastic about the fact that our colleagues in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany are also working with the Stb system. Peter Voskuilen: "We use the same Stb system everywhere, but each country can make its own adjustments. Think, for instance, of the language used and the system output when it comes to client addresses and offers."
A glimpse of the future
Rene Peters: "At this point, we are still using a different software system for invoicing. We are trying to develop one whole system in the Netherlands that we (just like our current sales system) can roll out in other countries where Ambius has offices. That's a task that Peter and I will gladly take on and execute together with Stb!"
Francis Sutter
from Lens BV talks about Stb Project
"Stb has been excelling at what they do for 18 years now."
The family-owned company Lens BV was established in 1940 and deals in sheet metal processing and coating. Hospitals, architects, and ship builders approach Lens for the manufacturing of specific products, such as instruments, equipment enclosures, banisters, and façade plating. It's always about single pieces or small series.
Francis Sutter: "We have known Stb since it came into being 18 years ago. A lot has changed during all this time, but one thing has stayed the same. Stb is still an extraordinary company, with highly professional people. Thanks to their software solutions and service, our complex order administration is well managed.
Like a glove
"It's been 18 years since Stb turned our order management into a new system built by them: Stb Project. This system has since grown together with us, becoming the extensive version we currently work with. It was tailor-made for us by Stb and it fits like a comfortable glove. Our whole order management is based on it and since the autumn of 2006 there is also a connection with the online accounting application Twinfield. In the future, we also want to further automate our time tracking administration. Our employees still use cards to fill in the number of hours worked. The administration department then records the hours into the system. But soon, every employee will be able to digitally record the hours worked themselves."
Saving time
The fact that new features can be added to the system so easily is, in my opinion, a great advantage. Once again, it helps us save time in various ways. And just think of all the archiving space saved now that all order information is stored digitally instead of paper files! The flexibility of the system is an important reason why we have been working with Stb for 15 years now. Of course, in addition to that, we've got the amount of tailored work and the user friendliness. The system is completely adapted to our organization, which was possible because Stb really studied our business closely and carefully."
Marieke van Dam
from RINO talks about Stb Training
"We've been enjoying our cooperation with Stb for 18 years now."
RINO is a post-school training institute for social workers in the field of mental healthcare and other related fields. Every year, no more than 4,000 students from all over the Netherlands come to the RINO office in the heart of Amsterdam, to enroll in a course, workshop, or training. Their classes are provided by a team of around 350 freelance teachers. There are also 23 full-time employees responsible for the organization and administration of the course offer.
Marieke van Dam: "We've been enjoying our cooperation with Stb for 18 years now." In the meantime, they have become thoroughly familiar with RINO, which is proving very useful. Their software solutions are a tremendous help for us in the process of expanding and improving our services. The quality of our courses and services puts us at the forefront of the market. This is partly due to Stb Training."
Trust in Stb
"The fact that we've been a satisfied client for 18 years is due to my constant and full trust in Stb's products and in the skills of the Stb people as specialists in the field of development and implementation. In the meantime, our work process has been highly automated and we can no longer do without Stb's software solutions. I think there's no other automation company besides Stb that can provide us with an application of this sort. The reason why Stb has been successful at it is their thorough analysis of our organization."
Accurate and up-to-date information
"Financial management, course management, relationship management, and our website are all linked together within the system. As a result, we have full-time access to accurate and up-to-date information about all the components of our work process. We can also provide proper information to our course participants and be of assistance to them. For instance, the link with the website enable our course participants to sign up quickly and easily over the Internet. The also receive a warning on the screen if a course is almost booked up."
Quality improvement
"In the near future, we also want to link our self-developed digital learning environment on our website with the Stb system. This is how we are constantly working on improving our quality. That holds both for the content of our teaching methods and courses and for our services. We have managed to stay market leaders in these fields. Stb Training is of great help to us when it comes to that."
Mariska Lemmers
from ARTRA Arbeidsmarkttrainingen talks about Stb Training
"Stb Training was the most complex one."
ARTRA Arbeidsmarkttrainingen offers courses and training for labour market agents. Every year, around 10,000 students in locations throughout the country attend courses based on a practice-oriented curriculum. The courses are delivered by a team of around 40 trainers. ARTRA had already worked with an automated administration system, but that system would only record course information.
Mariska Lemmers: "We needed to be able to record relationship and management information as well. That's why we started looking for a more extensive system, and we found it in Stb Training. Of course, we also looked at systems offered by other providers, but Stb Training was the most complex one. Moreover, the contact with Stb went on fine. We soon came to trust their approach, which is important when you cross over to a new system."
Plusses
"Stb Training is fully adapted to our needs. For instance, we issue the yearly Flexible Sector Handbook. Specially for this, a subscription administration module was added to the system. The three greatest plusses of Stb Training are, in my opinion, the availability of relationship management, the activity list, and the digital organizer. We used to record all information regarding relationships, activities, and planning manually. These processes are now automated and that saves us a great deal of time. Moreover, the number of mistakes has also been drastically reduced. Soon, there will also be a connection with our website. This will enable course participants to sign up directly over the Internet. In other words, 10,000 manual enrollments are soon going to be processed automatically. That will save our secretary's office a huge amount of work."
Implementation down to the details
"Stb's approach of the system implementation was a pleasant experience for me. I first got a demo version to try out. That was ideal, I could try the system from my own work situation and let Stb know what changes I needed made. The migration from the old system to the new one went completely flawlessly, no information was lost. And while we were busy with the system preparation, the Stb project manager was there at our location, to think along with us about solutions and to fine tune the system. He also maintained contact with our hardware suppliers during the delivery and installation of the new computers. Because Stb took care of the system deployment down to the details, I had more time to instruct our employees as to the change in the work process."
Jolande Boons and Gerard Spierings
from Bureau Stadsmarinier talk about Stb CRM
"We used to store all information in Word documents, which means individual, isolated data. Stb CRM makes it possible to define relationships. And not just anyway, but easily."
Jolande Boons and Gerard Spierings work at the Oude Noorden City Marine Office in Rotterdam. Just like the six other City Marine Offices, they got an assignment from the local government: to achieve safety in the neighbourhood before the 2006 local council elections.
Knowing what goes on
Gerard Spierings: "We work with a person-oriented approach. We record all the people, families, and groups that cause trouble in the neighbourhood. Then we go and gather as much information as possible about them. We store and process this information into reports and analyses. This way, we know early on what goes on in the neighbourhood. Ultimately, our goal is to see every neighbourhood in Rotterdam achieving a score of 3.9 or higher in the municipality safety index. At that point, while neighbourhoods can still have problems or issues that need to be addressed, they may no longer be unsafe."
Static working method
Jolande Boons continues: "We were looking for a database solution enabling us to link data and to record possible connections automatically. Gerard knew the FileMaker database program and saw good potential in it for us. We started by attending a FileMaker training at Stb. However, it soon became obvious that setting up a database solution on our own would not be so easy. Stb then tailor-made Stb CRM for us."
Fast turnaround and low costs
Gerard Spierings: "The fact that Stb adapted an existing product gave us the advantage of a fast turnaround and relatively low costs. From the very beginning, we've been using the system to store person-oriented information and generate reports and analyses. In the meantime, we're also entering project information into the system. This way, the system is in constant development, which, fortunately, is no problem to us. Stb can make adjustments on request."
Ivo Blommaart
from the General Administration Service talks about Stb CRM
"The Stb system helps us deliver top-level civil servants!"
All present and potential top civil servants, managers, general managers, secretaries-general, and other such state-level officers are part of the General Administration Service (Algemene Bestuursdienst – ABD). As a management development office, the ABD office supports the state in the field of recruitment, selection, and development. This involves, among other things, career guidance, recruitment and selection, coaching, training advice, and providing agency services for EU appointments. In order to carry out all these activities properly, the ABD office uses a system based on Stb CRM: the ABIS system.
Sublime system by thorough analysis
We are talking with three people from the General Administration Office (ABD): Ivo Blommaart, Bas Spreij, and Jacqueline Aponno. Ivo: "A previous version of the Stb system had been supporting our primary process for years. All actions and documents involved in filling vacancies and developing top civil servants go through the system. Receipt confirmations for applicants and evaluation forms for clients are generated automatically. But we can also order flowers, for instance, such as when someone is appointed in a position. To put it briefly: thanks to the system, we do a lot less manual work."
Bas: "Last year, we developed a whole new system for our organization in cooperation with Stb. A system that is more intelligent than the previous one. Now we can retrieve more (management) information and we can do our work even better. We started by taking a very good look at the way we work. We considered the extent to which the system corresponded to our work processes. It took a lot of time and effort, because we started by organizing – together with Stb – tens of workshops with the users, to make a list of their wishes and needs. This way, we not only made sure that the system can do everything the employees need, but we also ensured there was enough support from people for proper data entry. Of course, being able to generate the correct management information is instrumental. The tailored system that Stb has developed is unique and very good. Ivo: "The management development departments at the ministry peer at our system regularly. They'd like to join in the future."
The scope: can we make it even more intelligent?
The cooperation with Stb went fine. Jacqueline: "We worked together intensively and with pleasure. They thought along with us in order to make the system so advanced that it would provide us the information we needed. That was actually the catch: we had to be careful that the system wouldn't become too complicated. For instance, how do you register in the system someone who is currently occupying one position, but has already been accepted for another job? Stb's solutions worked, which makes it still attractive to work with the system."
There is always room for improvement
Ivo: "I see a lot of opportunities to make the system even better. For instance, to comply with government requirements, we would like to increase the diversity of the people employed. This includes, among other things, having more women in top positions and preventing the knowledge and skill of older employees from being lost. We are trying to set up the Stb system in such a way as to help us in this endeavour. For instance, by enabling us to follow women's career paths; and to estimate future vacant positions. There is also the need to get more insight into the durations of vacancies at the press of a button and maybe to see how the process around vacancy filling is perceived. All these things bring added value to the state, with the help of the ABIS system. Not just now, but definitely in the future as well!"
Go to Stb CRM
Rob Weverink
from Hobeka talks about Stb Trade
"The suite actually speaks for itself"
For 12 years now, Hobeka B.V. has been delivering large kitchen installations and requisites for businesses in the hospitality and restaurant sector, including institutions and company restaurants, especially in the Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, and Amsterdam areas. Hobeka uses Stb Trade, the system developed by Stb. Relationship management, order processing, and stock management are standard components of this system.
Rob Weverink works as a system administrator, as well as in purchases and sales at Hobeka: "We were looking for an all-in-one system. We had used different packages before and that had got messy – one address was changed and the other one not, for instance. That sometimes caused invoices to arrive in the wrong place, with all the consequences of that. We then understood that all those different packages were not working properly, so it was really time to get a new system."
After a preliminary selection, we chose the flexibility of the Stb system. "Adjustments are pretty easy to make, within certain limits of course. There was a chance to have it tailor-made, an option that other companies did not really offer."
Before the system commissioning, Hobeka did a full-day course. "The course was a pleasant experience, the information was clear and easy to remember. The suite actually speaks for itself."
If small adjustments are needed for the system, the Stb support department is able to call, so that the problem can be solved more quickly and easily. "The support is perfect, we get instant reactions by email or fax, they let us know what support points have been taken up, we are informed as to when the work is going to start and when it gets finished. Within one week, the problems are solved."
In principle, everyone is using the system, some more than others. Our field employees use the system especially for information purposes. "From my experience as a user, the search capabilities are so perfect that all you need is a tiny piece of client information and you can use it as a search term. For instance, you can search based on phone number or item number and you can see exactly how many pieces of a specific item have been sold."
The Stb system is complete. One of its strongest points is that the data entered is very easy to view. "It gives you an overview of anything you may want."
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