Making a difference together is so much more fun

Joint ambition and growth

Making a difference together is so much more fun. That is the mission of Conclusion MBS. It's what the nearly 100 employees do every day. 'Together' seeps into everything Conclusion MBS does. Jan-Douwe explains: "We don't implement a system, we solve business issues. We can only do that if we do it together with the customer. Indeed, such a project requires not only knowledge of IT - which we have - but also knowledge of our clients' specific processes. And the customer has that knowledge. By bringing those two components together, we are working toward shared ambition and growth."

Two-way traffic

The relationship Conclusion MBS has with clients is a two-way street. From working with the customer rather than for the customer. In addition to collaboration, co-creation and creating value together are central to this business-for-business (B4B) approach. "We are a team made up of all entrepreneurial people," Bart says. "Everyone is willing to go the extra mile. To provide input in terms of solutions when the customer comes with a question. For example, about the benefits of the cloud or Dynamics 365, but also about mapping out a data strategy or providing managed services after going live of a project. Such questions often come up in the regular contact we have with customers after going live. When they do, we proactively think about the business processes and wishes for the future. We examine how we can further help the customer and how we can improve cooperation."

Conclusion-family

What is incredibly valuable to clients is the Conclusion ecosystem of more than 25 expert companies, of which Conclusion MBS is a part. Each company is IT and business oriented and an authority in its field. The companies complement each other in their services, so customers always get the best fit for their needs. "If clients come up with an issue we can't help with, we can very easily enlist the help of colleagues from another Conclusion label," Bart says. "As one family, we are strong and our customers reap the benefits of that. One example is the collaboration with 4NG within the Conclusion ecosystem to set up a customer portal for a global player and supplier of professional power tools. In this customer portal, dealers can find information about orders, invoices, parts, pricing and product information."

"If the fit cannot be found within the ecosystem, we work with other partners," Bart continues. "We also do this to supplement or improve our own services. For example, we have a partnership with Companial, a network of Microsoft partners, so our customers can order Microsoft licenses themselves and have visibility into the existing license inventory."

Having fun together

Not only is 'together' central to partnerships with clients, having fun is also important. "Our internal culture determines how we treat each other as colleagues, but also how we cooperate with customers," explains Jan-Douwe. "Having fun in everything we do is very important to us. In addition, we can also be strong-willed. We dare to push back. By that I mean that we are comfortable telling clients if they need to take a step in maturity in a certain area before we can help them further. Being opinionated also means daring to say 'no'. 'Your wish is our command,' - that's not how we work. After all, we're working on shared ambition and growth; that includes being honest with the customer on the basis of your expertise. This may be less fun at the time, but it benefits the end result. Being strong-willed does not mean that we are not open to new ideas, however. If someone has more expertise, we are happy to learn from them."

"Now it all sounds very serious," Bart adds, "but we also really like to have fun. It is important to us that we have fun together. That we work hard, but there is also time for a joke. If necessary, we work through evenings or weekends to meet a deadline, but then we also have a beer with the client when it's accomplished. After all, we do it together, so we also celebrate success together."

Employees take center stage

One thing that is clear to Conclusion MBS is that the main focus is people. "Behind every customer is a person, and behind every job is a person," Jan-Douwe said. "And behind Conclusion MBS are just under a hundred employees. Those employees are our focus. That sounds crazy, because you would expect us to say we want satisfied customers. We certainly want that, but it's the employees who make that happen. And that's why, first and foremost, we take good care of our employees. What clients notice about this is that MBS staff actively seek cooperation with the people at the client's site. It is not that we do something and the client receives something. No, together we are a team. Then you get on equal footing and can build partnership. And then when big decisions have to be made, we make those decisions together. Because if we have been doing it together for years, there is trust and a desire to continue that cooperation. At the end of the day, our employees take care of that and that's what we do it for."