“A continuous yet enjoyable yet clash of professionals”
Bol.com is a rapidly growing company with the ambition to be the best retail outlet in both the Netherlands and Flanders; a place where customers want to come, find inspiration and discover an unlimited range of products. To achieve this, bol.com is in a continuous cycle of innovation and it’s vital that the company’s website – and the systems underpinning it – are operational seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Technology is a strategic imperative for bol.com.
IT Director at bol.com Jurrie van Rooijen: “For about five years, Schuberg Philis has been looking after all of our business critical systems, the technical applications and infrastructure management – managing all of our underlying systems such as the ordering and payment modules for our shop. Their customer-focused approach and adherence to quality were important reasons for choosing them. Schuberg Philis makes a huge commitment: 100% availability – and, for us, that’s massively important. And there is reciprocity. We are important to Schuberg Philis and Schuberg Philis is important to us. This reciprocity needs to be there because IT is not simply a commodity for us, it’s a strategic tool. ”
Close cooperation
bol.com and Schuberg Philis work very closely together. Leon Verhagen, Manager IT Development at bol.com: “At every level, there is regular contact and exchange – we can quickly turn to each other. The engineers talk to each other on a daily basis about operational matters and Schuberg Philis is very proactive. If, for example, a critical limit is about to be exceeded somewhere in the system, then the alarm bells go off at Schuberg Philis. Before something can really go wrong, we can react. Every week we evaluate any issues or incidents, the lessons learned and what we have to do technically to ensure no further structural stress. We also have monthly management tactical meetings, we walk through the service reports – what’s the data growth and capacity required, are there any incident trends and how do we address them? There’s no lack of communication, even the Boards of both organisations speak regularly – we know how to find each other when needed.”
Friction between innovation and availability
“We learn a lot from each other through cooperation,” says Van Rooijen. “bol.com’s DNA is a start-up, rapidly developing new software with gusto and zeal – driving ordering process improvements, for example – and swiftly putting that software live. On occasion, it’s happened with excessive enthusiasm and perhaps a lack of control. But Schuberg Philis constantly insists on controlled migration and it’s made us evaluate and respect the risks more than ever. We increasingly reflect on, and respect, process and structure. This operational discipline is important and yet we always strive to maintain momentum. Enthusiasm and risk management must be in balance.”
“There is continuous friction between innovation and availability,” adds Verhagen. “Our application landscape changes every four weeks. That’s a big impact. To ensure 100% availability, Schuberg Philis would actually prefer order, consistency and tranquillity. But they keep up with our pace, and it definitely requires more flexibility than they need to deliver to other customers. I think, for example, that few banks or insurance companies innovate with such speed. In contrast, Schuberg Philis has brought the necessary stability to our table. I can say proudly that our technical application management is one of our crown jewels. It’s where we make the difference.”
Customer Team: rapid scaling and proactive working
A fast moving working environment requires – tremendously important – close cooperation and great communication. “The way Schuberg Philis operates with client teams works very well,” says Mr Verhagen. “The teams are small with no hierarchy which scale quickly and facilitate proactive working. Sometimes it can cause problems if we want to make a quick decision because we can’t appeal to a single individual with overall responsibility and just say “it has to be done this way.” The whole team has to be convinced. Of course, Schuberg Philis’ Customer Operations Manager is ultimately responsible, but he doesn’t sit above the team.”
Critical role for IT in innovation
Innovation is a necessity of life for bol.com. Stagnation means decline. And for innovation, IT is vital. Van Rooijen: “With all the ideas we have about the development of our product offering and service to our customers, IT can play both a small or major role. We will be offering an increasing range of products in a wider variety of product categories. We started with books, CDs and DVDs, but we now also offer toys and small household appliances. Right from the beginning we’ve been doing this very well and with the full 100%. Schuberg Philis’ motto – ‘right first time’ also mirrors one of our mottos. We’ve instantly brought a broad and comprehensive range of products to market and now we are selling around nine million products from hundreds of suppliers around the world. This also means that our IT requires constant communications with all these third parties and, just like the website, the entire infrastructure and connections must always be available. That’s being continuously monitored by Schuberg Philis.”
Van Rooijen continues: “In the years to come, much more innovation will follow. We’ll also be more focused on customers and personalisation, delivering more relevant products that meet customer demands better by, for example, making product suggestions that reflect a customer’s lifestyle or complement past purchases. In essence, customer-centric marketing: our website should embrace and envelop our customers and these future developments will have an impact on IT and, consequently, Schuberg Philis too.”
Developing a new product catalogue
Alongside the ongoing operation, bol.com is also working hard to update its product catalogue. With the new catalogue, bol.com can quickly add new products and the customer will be offered products in a more deliberate and focused way. For this new application, a whole new infrastructure will need to be put in place. Schuberg Philis is testing the impact of the software on the IT infrastructure and is implementing the final software release.
Van Rooijen: “Also relevant is that we’re moving to a more modern architecture, where small components can run as independently as possible from each other and are adaptable. This is great because we work with many different software vendors and if we modify one component, we don’t want any disruption to any of the others.”
Verhagen: “It’s a huge renovation. We have to replace the foundations of our home, but the doors must remain open for business and the house needs to remain intact. From a technical perspective this is a massive challenge. All the old pipes and wiring are exposed and then come some of the surprises – connections unconnected and strange meandering shortcuts. It’s a huge challenge for Schuberg Philis too; they’re looking after both old and new foundations and need to keep up with the speed of change. And, together once more, we need to find the right balance between speed and control. Fortunately, that’s working very well.”
Challenges for the Future
bol.com grows, so Schuberg Philis grows along with us. Tireless and continuous innovation demands even closer collaboration. Van Rooijen “Schuberg Philis needs to monitor and keep pace with all of the development whilst proactively generating smart and cost effective solutions. To do so, Schuberg Philis must be involved early in processes. Here we can both make steps.”
Van Rooijen continues, “Schuberg Philis is also expanding and, for them, the challenge will be in their ability to maintain and provide the same levels of quality and commitment whilst achieving and managing major growth. But I am confident that it will be fine, their growth is well managed and controlled and they are very particular about the people they hire. They want the best skills and experience on the market and their standard is incredibly high.”
Verhagen adds: “They are professionals that we trust. They firmly believe in what they do and that’s good. It can mean that, on occasion, we sometimes have frank, open and honest debates and discussions. That’s when our wild nature and aggressive pace collide with Schuberg Philis’s control mentality. There’s a frisson of tension and sometimes sparks, but that’s inevitable. It’s a continuous clash between professionals, one which brings us, and drives us forward, together. That’s what I enjoy.”
