The investment of time in a Datawerf trajectory pays off, this is the conclusion of Aart Nobel, general manager of A Nobel & Zn. It is one of the companies that, with guidance from Datawerf, managed to take steps in digitization. Datawerf focuses on the maritime and manufacturing industry and helps entrepreneurs to digitize their businesses. The goal: to gain insight into the type of support that works best to digitize the organization.
Program coordinator Dominique Nieuwpoort: “Entrepreneurs receive support from a specially selected expert for six weeks, two days a week. Participating companies report really noticing a culture change within the company. Think: greater digital awareness, better communication and sharper focus.”
The participating companies, currently eleven, indicated at the front end that they were mainly stuck on automating their business processes. Here you can think about speeding up, simplifying and making quotation processes more efficient, inventory management, maintenance work, but also what the business case is for a new digital idea. In collaboration with Datawerf, not only are business processes now being improved, the collaboration also contributes to wider acceptance of digital solutions within the maritime manufacturing industry.
Uniform operating procedure
Delegate Jeannette Baljeu and aldermen Robert Simons (Rotterdam), Tycho Janssen (Zwijndrecht) and Maaike Zwart (Delft) visited family business and total maritime supplier A. Nobel & Zn, which, partly thanks to Datawerf, got all employees involved in making work agreements, resulting in higher quality and service. Aart Nobel:“You can keep plodding on and finishing one busy week after another. But we saw that in several areas things could be done better, differently, more efficiently. Then a moment of reflection is the best investment you can make.” The time investment paid off: A. Nobel en Zn. now has a good picture of how the work processes run throughout the company. Based on this, various components have been optimized and digitized. And this improvement process continues, also because, partly thanks to Datawerf, a culture of improvement has been created. In addition, several ideas were not feasible with the current software, so in the coming months we will look at which packages can be used.
During the visit to Nobel, the directors were updated on the progress and successes of Datawerf. Delegate Jeannette Baljeu: ” It is good to hear firsthand that with Datawerf we really know how to help companies move forward in the area of digitization. And at the same time, we also hear directly where there is room for improvement.”
Guidance from start to finish
“What makes Datawerf unique is that we help find the right expert for the issue and provide guidance from the beginning to the end of the project,” Dominique says. “Owners or directors often see the challenges and opportunities of digital applications themselves. The biggest challenge is often choosing an expert. Because how do you choose an expert with the right expertise, who is reliable and fits the organization. Datawerf has one leg in the maritime sector and the other in the digital network, which enables us to help companies with the right match.”
Also getting started with the Datawerf?
“Every journey we start is a step forward on the digital ladder and thus a more future-oriented business,” says Nieuwpoort. She therefore invites entrepreneurs to participate in Datawerf. Jeannette Baljeu adds: ” We see a greater need for guidance on digitization. In consultation with municipalities, we are therefore also looking at which SMEs could use further help. Not only within the maritime sector, but also beyond.”
Until the summer of 2025, it is possible for SMEs in South Holland to make use of guidance from Datawerf, with two-thirds of the costs being financed from Datawerf. Curious what Datawerf’s experts can do for you? Then contact Dominique Nieuwpoort at dominique.nieuwpoort@innovationquarter.nl or 06-5195 5057. More information can be found on the website of Digitalzh: https://www.digitalzh.nl/datawerf
Cooperation in the region
The Datawerf is a great example of cooperation in the region. With funding from the City of Rotterdam, Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag (MRDH), InnovationQuarter and the province of South Holland, this project has come about.
