Good integration with the back-end is crucial for an optimal webshop experience

“We now see that many traditional companies, partly due to COVID, are also forced to develop digitally,” says Jeroen Verdonk, co-founder and director of Sping Digital Agency. “These companies often have very good ideas, but have difficulty actually implementing them. The website may look nice to customers, but the handling at the back could be better.”

One of the challenges that these companies often encounter, says Verdonk, is getting the staff on board. “There are often existing inventory systems and ERPs that have been used for years. You don't want to throw that overboard. Smart integration with existing back-end systems is precisely what Sping excels at. This saves the customer investments in many new systems and we get the staff better involved because there are fewer changes and you can move to the new, more digital way of working in phases.”

That human dimension is something that must always be taken into account, says Verdonk. “Consider click and collect, for example. That is very nice from a marketing point of view and the service to your customers, but you also need staff who can actually stand in the store and prepare packages. So you also have to get the staff on board.”

When setting up a digital strategy, Verdonk believes it is important to include everyone in the transformation. “Sping is a full-service digital agency. In practice, this means that we take care of the construction of the website, but also that we sit down with the customer to properly map out where they are now and where they want to go. We take manageable steps that involve employees, so that they are actually involved in the process. This is how you create support for the digital transformation. In that first phase we always build manageable things and test them with the entire company. This way you won't be faced with any surprises when it is actually rolled out.”

The web platform is then actually built. “We start with a minimum viable product,” says Verdonk. “We help the customer prioritize their needs and build deliverable pieces of product until we have fully met their requirements and the website is basically ready. But of course it is never completely finished.”

A well-functioning web platform can be used to facilitate growth, says Verdonk. “You can perform all kinds of measurements in the systems that go beyond just SEO and SEA. Consider the possibility of AB testing and measuring response speeds. Based on this you can see how you can further optimize your processes. For example, properly setting up your web platform can facilitate growth for your company.”