ALFAM Innovates Digital Processes with Corporate Start-Up Approach

ALFAM engaged Info Support to simplify the credit process for distribution partners. A challenging endeavor, as the needs and preferences quickly became apparent when surveying the requirements. For this project, Info Support advised the formation of a corporate start-up team, including employees from both ALFAM and Info Support. This created a highly multidisciplinary and independent team focusing on one specific issue, namely: what should the new digital credit process look like and how do we achieve this? With this approach, new solutions, innovations and products are developed faster.

The solution was found in the development of an open API, which now allows distribution partners to fully integrate the credit application process into their own systems. In this way, ALFAM offers distribution partners the flexibility to set up the credit process according to their own needs. This innovation was realized in co-creation with end users, leading to a better end product and a significantly faster time-to-market. The project was realized within six months.

Ab van Veenhuisen, CIO ALFAM: “The project owes its rapid success to the multidisciplinary corporate start-up team, which brought together employees from ALFAM and Info Support. This mix of internal and external expertise works perfectly, especially since Info Support’s developers are used to working in the form of a corporate start-up; they have the right culture and mindset and have a lot of experience with agile working methodologies. We therefore enjoy working with Info Support.”

Van Veenhuisen: “Because we work with Info Support in a corporate start-up team, the collaboration is very intensive and we work on the basis of partnership. This is a very conscious move away from the classic customer-supplier relationship. You notice that Info Support also feels responsible for the success of this project, which makes this relationship equal. It is extraordinary to see how involved Info Support’s developers and business managers are in achieving our goals.”

Therefore, a great advantage of working in corporate start-ups is that employees learn a certain way of thinking that they continue to carry with them. When these employees start working on other projects, they spread this mindset throughout the organization. Thus, this way of working not only puts an innovative IT solution back into the organization, but also creates an innovative culture that spreads like an oil slick within the organization.