As a virtual IT manager, ESC has been supporting this ambitious company for years. Preliminary highlight of that cooperation: the realization of a newly built warehouse with a multifunctional wireless network and all IT facilities that a modern distribution center needs today. "ESC more than lived up to our high expectations in this IT case story."
Anyone who drives a little more frequently on Belgian freeways has certainly noticed them: the white trucks with blue lettering from Dematra are ubiquitous. And have been since 1976. Since then, the East Flanders company has been on a nice growth path. As a specialist in the storage of raw materials and end products in the food sector, Dematra has been a reliable logistics player for many large food companies for years. "To ensure further growth, an expansion of the current warehouse infrastructure was necessary," says Cedric De Jaeger, Continuous Improvement Manager and son of CEO Geert De Jaeger. "Last year we realized our fourth distribution site. That one is located in the De Prijkels expansion area in Nazareth. The entire project - construction and installation of all IT infrastructure - took six months. A sharp challenge, therefore, which we and ESC passed with flying colors."
That brand-new building houses Dematra's non-food activities and is equipped with state-of-the-art IT facilities. Full wireless coverage of the building, Barracuda firewalls and client devices: these are just some of the realizations that ESC shaped. Thanks to the brand new fiber connection, this new building is also connected to the other Dematra sites. An important condition for Dematra to ensure its 24/7 customer service permanently.
"ESC's activities for Dematra were originally an extension of the role assumed by our internal IT manager," Cedric De Jaeger clarifies. "In the early 2000s, we still had one all-round IT manager who managed our entire infrastructure. Because of the many rapid evolutions, we gradually needed more in-depth and specialized knowledge. This is how ESC made its appearance at Dematra. Today we no longer have an internal IT manager, but ESC as a virtual IT manager takes on that role completely."
The secret of lubricated cooperation? Dematra and ESC appear to share a lot of common values. "Both our companies are very down to earth. Our entrepreneurial mentality makes us stand with both feet in the field. We both strive for optimal customer service and find a personal approach extremely important. From day one we have a particularly good contact with the ESC consultants who supervise our projects. ESC Consultant Nick regularly spends a day at our office. This way we also get to know the people behind the IT solutions and that works all the more smoothly."
For Cedric, the construction of the new distribution center was the best proof of that well-oiled cooperation. "Our internal project manager coordinated and handled almost the entire construction and IT installation together with ESC without me being much involved myself. In April 2020 the first spade went into the ground and by the end of December of the same year everything was operational. To this day, we have not detected a single IT minus point. So we are very satisfied with the entire course of the project and the applications realized."
"This project of IT case story shows for me that our long-standing cooperation is paying off. In the initial phase, there were still some healthy tensions. You have to get to know each other and grope each other in many areas. But soon we felt a positive connection developing on both sides. It is great when you find that you form a good tandem with your IT partner in an IT case story like this. The background knowledge ESC built up over the past few years about Dematra and our needs is what made the realization of our new building go so smoothly."
"Everything hinges on a complete and modern IT environment."
"After the successful projects of the past, we are already looking fully ahead. Because at our site in De Prijkels, a fourth, even larger building will soon have to be constructed that can accommodate 70 to 80,000 pallets. We want to equip that site with picking robots, and automation is the code word for this project. Therefore, everything stands or falls with a complete and modern IT environment. And for this we again rely on ESC. But we are firmly convinced that we will also overcome this hurdle together with ESC in the best possible way."
"Why our confidence is so high? Because we know that ESC stands by us even in more difficult moments. An example to make it clear in this IT business case: on a Friday evening, one of our employees reports to me that there is a problem with external access to our IT systems. I immediately call the ESC on-call service, which takes immediate action. The next day - on Saturday morning - I went to the company together with two ESC consultants and together we managed to solve the problem that same day. Thus, the disruption to our people was kept to a strict minimum. Moreover, for me this example clearly demonstrated the added value of ESC. Just like in a marriage, there are good days and bad days. And it is nice to establish that even in bad days you can count on adequate service."
"Summarize ESC's strengths in three words? Speed, flexibility and reliability. Add to that the personal approach and you have all the ingredients for a formula for success. Having to call a general phone number for every IT problem, then give your customer number and then wait until someone has time to answer your questions? That approach does not serve our customers. And they are entitled to our constant attention. Therefore, every IT failure must be addressed as soon as possible. And yes, at Dematra we make quite high demands on our suppliers. But in exchange, we gladly commit ourselves to a long-term cooperation. We see the same approach from our customers. They appreciate our continued commitment and passion for perfection. And that manifests itself in beautiful and long commitments."
