Igepa
Evolving Wholesaler: Unleashing Digital Potential
Introduction
Background
Founded in 2009, Igepa Nederland has grown into one of the leading wholesale companies for graphic products. Originally a paper and cardboard wholesaler, strategic acquisitions have allowed Igepa Nederland to evolve into a comprehensive supplier of Paper & Print, Office, Visual Communication, and Packaging. Every day, over 150 specialized employees ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, contributing to a healthy business operation and the continuous development of Igepa Nederland.
After experiencing some negative outcomes with digital projects such as ERP migration, slow process innovations, and costly ecommerce development, Igepa sought to explore alternative approaches. Our goal was to identify a clear strategic direction to ensure successful digital transformations in the future.
“Momentum has demonstrated its value as a reliable partner in guiding us through our digital transformation journey. Embracing their expertise has brought about strategic disruption. Their support spans a wide range of areas, from formulating strategies to collaborative implementation. Their approach is refreshingly innovative compared to that of traditional consultants.”
strategy
Digital strategy
We developed a detailed digital strategy within three months. This included a budget and a three-year roadmap that provided the board with the required direction and clarity. The plan incorporated digital use cases with corresponding financial impacts in EUR, enterprise architecture proposals, a proposed talent structure, and roadmap.
In addition to delivering the strategy, it was critical to ensure that both the board and employees were aligned and understood the proposed direction. We dedicated extra time to ensure that everyone comprehended the direction and prioritization that had been made. This helped to create buy-in and engage the team members to contribute to the initiatives.
Relevant service
Digital StrategyResults
Impact realization through initiative execution
The digital strategy served as our roadmap for executing several initiatives. These were prioritized based on potential impact on employee satisfaction, profitability, and risk.
Initiatives
Reduce time spend on admin to increase productivity
Objective
Our objective was to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks of customer and sales support by more than 50%.
Situation Prior
About half of the time spent on customer support and internal sales is used for administrative tasks that do not provide added value. This is mainly due to the limitations of the current e-commerce platform, which prevent customers from completing tasks independently.
One major factor limiting the e-commerce platform is the outsourcing of its development, which has made progress difficult and caused frustration for those involved.
Our Action
To address these challenges effectively, we embarked on a comprehensive action plan. Firstly, we made the strategic decision to insource the development team, which involved several key steps. From writing detailed job descriptions all the way to bringing features in production through a robust development processes.
Simultaneously, we worked on optimizing the product backlog. Collaborating closely with the teams, we conducted investigations to pinpoint the areas where most of the time was spent on non-differentiating administrative tasks. This analysis allowed us to set clear directions and prioritize tasks that have the most significant impact on streamlining processes and enhancing customer support and sales efficiency.
Result
We are on track to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks for customer and sales support by over 50%. This increased productivity has allowed for many routine tasks to be automated, freeing up time for both customer and sales support teams. As a result of this increased productivity, these teams now have more time to focus on sales activities, which will have a positive impact on the company’s revenue. By insourcing the development team, we achieved a 3x productivity boost within the same budgetary constraints.
Make pricing personal and differentiated to increase EBITDA margin
Objective
Our objective is to increase EBITDA margin by implementing an improved and automated pricing strategy.
Situation Prior
Currently, we are in the midst of crafting a pricing strategy that leverages modern data science techniques. As this initiative progresses further in its development, we will provide updates on this case accordingly.
