VEMW is the primary advocate and knowledge center for companies that use energy and water. Members can obtain information through the website, newsletters, seminars, working groups, and meetings about legislation concerning, and supervision of, energy and water consumption by businesses. In this regard, VEMW maintains close contact with its members, and good communication and accessibility of information is important to them. VEMW has 400 members, representing 50% of business energy consumption and 70% of business water consumption. VEMW has been using the Procurios Platform for many years now.
The switch to the Procurios platform
"We previously enjoyed using a system that was specially made for us. However, the 'shelf life' of that software expired in 2016, so we started looking for a new system that would be a good fit for us," says Karin Burghouwt, secretary of association affairs at VEMW. "We chose Procurios because I was drawn to the flexibility of the system and the combination of specific products for associations. With the Procurios Platform, you have the ability to choose all individual products as building blocks, and that's how we created a completely suitable system for ourselves."
After 3 weeks, the main requirements were fulfilled. At the office, we were somewhat surprised, as IT projects usually don't go this smoothly.
For VEMW, it was important to be able to calculate membership fees, handle invoicing, and create and send newsletters. "After 3 weeks, the main requirements were fulfilled. At the office, we were somewhat surprised, as IT projects usually don't go this smoothly," says Karin. "There's often too big of a gap between the end users of the system and the programmers, which is why technical projects often proceed with difficulty. The working method at Procurios prevents such problems. There is continuous attention to what we want to achieve and how this can best be solved with the software. Adjustments can easily be made along the way." This is not self-evident, as solutions are often thought out in advance with little room for subsequent adjustments. "The collaboration that develops is incredibly valuable," according to Karin.
By working so intensively with the Procurios team, we gained a lot of insight into how to start, where to invest valuable time, and discover what is really necessary and what isn't.
An intensive collaboration
According to Karin, the intensity you achieve during such a collaborative project is special. "The focus you create together and the insight we gained regarding the complexity of our requirements ensures that, as a customer, you gain better insight into your own processes while simultaneously developing understanding for the project's timeline."
Karin: "To estimate how much time it takes to build functionality, you need knowledge, which we naturally didn't have. By working so intensively with the Procurios team, we gained a lot of insight into how to start, where to invest valuable time, and discover what is really necessary and what isn't."
Creating internal support
"Of course, there are things that are difficult in such a process, that's part of it. These difficult aspects in the process are not due to the system or the collaborations, but rather due to colleagues who find it challenging to adopt a new system," Karin indicates. "We had training at the time which really helped. But creating internal support was, in my opinion, the biggest challenge of the entire process. I think that as an organization, you really need to allocate budget and time for this: training, creating support, and ensuring that the new system is properly integrated into the organization. Especially since the Procurios software makes it possible to create a personalized display for each user. This is truly an added value for users."
Working together with Procurios
"I really experienced the collaboration as pleasant. I worked closely with a nicely composed team; one person was professional yet 'quirky' who you could really laugh with. Others were very critical, serious, and super smart. We had a lot of fun and the 3 weeks flew by. At the end of these weeks, I returned to the office very satisfied."
Trust in the supplier
Karin indicates that trust in your supplier is of the utmost importance. And also having trust that you'll get what you want. "Procurios has beautifully anchored this in their philosophy." And they like to extend that trust, which ultimately also led to VEMW's website being renewed by Procurios. "This way we were able to link the CRM and CMS, and now we can send our contacts completely customized information and messages."
