The power of teamwork: Corniels heads synergetic teamwork

The Conclusion Ecosystem at its best 

If anybody knows about the power of Conclusion’s ecosystem, it’s got to be Corniels. Why? Well, he’s been part of the core team serving NS for four years now. Conclusion meets their needs in a variety of areas. For the first 2.5 years, he was in passenger transport sales, which turned into a springboard for his involvement on the delivery side. “We’ve got a team of 20 companies working at NS,” says Corniels. “Each one is an expert in its field, and by combining our forces, we supply NS with an end-to-end solution. And from that perspective, I’ve got a front-row view of the ecosystem’s prowess.” 

Conclusion handles several of NS’ key processes. For instance, we’re responsible for managing and hosting (mission-critical) travel information and updates, managing dozens of NS applications, integration landscape transformation and administration, and making NS life easier by handling SAP services. “The service we provide here is mission critical,” Corniels explains. “If something goes wrong, this affects millions of travellers in the Netherlands. Each Conclusion company supplies its own component of the end-to-end solution. They basically operate autonomously and have direct contact with NS for their own area of expertise, such as application management, integration development, or deployment of support resources. This enables them to pivot faster. My role as delivery manager is to keep tabs on the whole thing with the contract in mind. At Conclusion, the contract is never the cornerstone of the relationship; however, we are obliged to abide by certain ground rules. Realistically, I make the work of the executive teams easier by keeping track of whether everything goes by the book. In turn, they can focus on their business.”

Streamlined collaboration 

While the companies mainly do their own thing at NS, that doesn’t stop good teamwork from being absolutely imperative. Corniels: “What the different companies do at NS are all pieces of one big picture. If myBrand Conclusion implements a certain update, NS could legitimately expect and request this of Virtual Sciences Conclusion or Conclusion Enablement. Or if Conclusion Mission Critical tweaks mission-critical services, that could affect the rest of the NS landscape, which is where Conclusion Enablement is on the ground. That calls for good alignment and streamlined collaboration.” 

“At the end of the day, I’m often the representative for all these companies vis-a-vis the same NS stakeholders,” Van Winkelen continues. “NS sees us through a single lens: after all, there’s only one Conclusion, i.e., the contract signatory. Therefore, it makes no difference whether our services are provided by different companies. However, to present the client with a single company face, we also discuss ongoing issues in several Conclusion meetings. Consequently, everyone is always up to date on everything going on. Seeing companies successfully connect and anticipate each other’s needs is rewarding, especially when there’s overlap in terms of services or NS stakeholders.” 

We never say “No”

If you ask Corniels about the Conclusion ecosystem’s true strength, he’s clear: “It’s the combination of small business agility on the one hand and the robustness of a large company on the other. I’ve also been the business director of First8 Conclusion since the end of last year, and I see it clear as day there, too. Companies mainly hit us up for our Java expertise. Project management or 24/7 service isn’t our thing. Still, if that’s what the client wants, I can connect them with an ecosystem company that provides that service in no time. We have no trouble quick pivoting as an ecosystem, even when a company calls us in an emergency. A few calls later, we are already sitting down with the company. Give it a few days, and the quote’s been signed – just like clockwork. When all is said and done, all the companies’ combined forces mean we make a real difference. We have all the knowledge and expertise companies need for their digital strategy in-house. We’ve got a solution to every problem. The awesome thing about that is that we never have to tell a client “No”.