From Product-Oriented to Customer-Centric: Building a Fully Digital Customer Journey

About Anjo van der Spek – CIO of De Mandemakers Groep

Anjo van der Spek is the CIO at DMG. He leads the technological and digital evolution of De Mandemakers Groep. Under his leadership, the organization has transformed from traditional retailer into a leading omnichannel player with more than 20 consumer brands and 250 stores. Within the core divisions for which Anjo is responsible, around 3,000 people are employed.
Anjo’s mission is to seamlessly connect business and IT to enable sustainable growth and deliver a superior, data-driven customer experience. He built DMG’s IT organization and enterprise architecture from the ground up, creating a scalable platform that supports the company’s strong growth. DMG has been working closely with BPM Company for many years. We spoke with Anjo about his experiences and future plans.

 

From Product-Oriented to Customer-Centric

Anjo: “DMG used to be a product-oriented organization, internally focused and heavily engaged in efficiently managing our processes. We wanted to shift towards a more customer-centric approach. In our industry, a positive customer experience and well-orchestrated customer journey are essential to achieving growth. With a well-thought-out omnichannel strategy, my goal was to enable and optimize that transformation.”

 

Digitizing the entire Customer Journey of De Mandemakers Groep

“The strategic plan was crystal clear: to build a fully digital customer journey. We divided this journey into four phases:

• The pre-purchase phase: focused on identifying customers, collecting their information and encouraging them to visit one of our stores.
• The sales process.
• The fulfilment process.
• The after-sales and service process.

We initially focused on kitchens, our largest revenue generator. In this sector, we saw the greatest opportunity to truly make a difference by working in a more customer-centric and transparent way. Additionally, online sales in this sector are increasing and customer expectations are rising. They expect a complete service concept. We wanted to ensure that we built an excellent reputation both online and offline.
By gathering input from our customers, we gained a clear understanding of where we were performing well and where we were falling short. By addressing these pain points, we could provide an even better service experience for our customers.”

 

“We decide how we work, not IT”

“I enjoy thinking strategically and operating at the intersection of IT and business. My goal was to leverage the right IT solutions to enable a more customer-centric approach.
A crucial success factor was the strategic positioning of the initiative within the organization. I deliberately framed the broad Customer Engagement initiative as a CRM project, emphasizing the documentation of the customer interactions. This framing ensured quick acceptance and recognition from the business.

Next, I launched a selection process, evaluating Salesforce, Microsoft and Pega. At first, Pega didn’t seem like the obvious choice. There were smaller solutions we could have considered, but because we are a company that always operates under the principle: “we decide how we work, not IT“, I was looking for something highly configurable and adaptable. That’s how Pega emerged as the winner.

My philosophy has always been to hold a single party accountable for the entire process. In this case, that would be Pega. At the same time, I realized we needed a local partner to expertly guide the project.

We conducted several reference visits, including meeting with representatives from large system integrators. We are a pragmatic company and to be frank, we didn’t connect with the people from these big integrators. They simply spoke a different language. Pega then recommended that we get in touch with BPM Company.”

 

BPM Company as Dutch Knowledge Partner

“I was looking for a knowledge partner, not merely an implementation partner. When we met with the management team of BPM Company, there was an immediate connection: a Dutch company with the right expertise and skills, and importantly, not too large in size. We would be an important client for BPM Company and therefore able to have some influence. It was also crucial for us that BPM Company employs many Dutch-speaking staff, as Dutch is the working language on the floor and within our management team.
We quickly began forming teams consisting of people from DMG, Pega and BPM Company.

The first area we tackled was after-sales. We wanted to enable rapid iterations and communicate our first internal successes as quickly as possible. To make this feasible, we decided to give BPM Company the lead role in the project. This direct collaboration went extremely well, and we quickly reached a point where several initiatives could be launched live.”

 

The transition from online to offline should feel like a warm bath

“By quickly delivering a fully functional after-sales application, without requiring employees to revert to the old system for certain features, enthusiasm for this project grew rapidly within DMG.
We approached the process systematically, working from back to front: from after-sales, through implementation and sales, to pre-sales. The CRM functionality in sales now operates flawlessly and all intermediate processes have been digitized. The final crucial step is the online-offline integration: customers should be able to transition seamlessly from our digital channels to our physical stores. Our goal is to create a ‘warm bath’ experience during this transition.”

 

It’s about people

“Ultimately, everything comes down to people. A company’s reputation is shaped by the people you work with. The consultants from BPM Company fit our culture and have become an extension of our teams.

We view BPM Company as a true knowledge partner. They bring in expertise and ensure that people with the right specialization are deployed within our organization. Several consultants have now become key drivers within our projects.

Our collaboration has evolved into a close partnership, which was especially evident during the COVID-19 period, an uncertain time that demanded flexibility from both sides. During that time, we truly operated as partners.

An illustrative example is how BPM Company responded when we wanted to build our own Pega expert team. They didn’t see it as a threat; instead, they discussed it openly and offered to help us recruit together. This led to the joint establishment of a trainee program.

It is a strategic partnership in the truest sense of the word.”

 

Artificial Intelligence

“After the implementation phase, we are now moving towards a stable environment. The focus is on consolidating and optimizing so that we can fully reap the benefits of our investments. BPM Company plays an important role in this: they help us maintain a stable environment while keeping us alert to innovations such as AI and Constellation.

We follow AI developments with great interest. A concrete example is the automation of order confirmations and invoices. Each year, we process 50,000 order confirmations via OCR and automatically import them into our ERP systems. However, manual work is still required for various exceptions and details. This is where AI presents an opportunity: you can train systems to handle that complexity, provided you set clear frameworks.”

 

Knowledge provider & strategic thinker

“BPM Company not only provides expertise but also thinks proactively alongside us. They help us create the right conditions to achieve our business objectives.
It is reassuring, in this dynamic field, to be able to rely on the support and knowledge of a committed and dependable partner.”