Constantin Schneider and Bogdan Dumitrasconiu working through a web call to finalise the Digital Enabler’s analysis
Bogdan Dumitrasconiu is a Romanian Digital Enabler who specialises in management of projects and companies through the support of digital tools. His expertise made him the perfect professional to support the German SME efa Leipzig, which specialises in energy engineering.
We were joined by Bogdan and Constantin Schneider of efa Leipzig who told us why this matching was so good for both of them.
Hi Bogdan, Hi Constantin, thank you for joining us today. Tell us, how did you hear about DigitaliseSME?
CS: For many years we have been in the mailing list of BVMW, the project’s German partner, and we received an e-mail presenting this project and its benefits very clearly. We thought it was very interesting as it seemed to fit our needs so we registered on the website.
BD: I found out about DigitaliseSME from my contacts at PTRI, the Romanian association of young entrepreneurs. They told me this project was lead by European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, which had informed them about it and with which they worked very successfully in the past. it immediately sounded like a great opportunity.
What was your objective for joining in a match? What did you want to get out of it?
BD: I was interested in expanding my professional network and the project addressed an issue that I am also working on in Romania: I have been a consultant and a project manager working in digitalisation for a few years and I mostly work with Mid-Caps but only a few SMEs.
Bigger companies have access to consultancies and better technologies but I believe digitalisation is now necessary to be successful for all companies and also easier to access and use. Now it is almost an utility. I really like that the project helps smaller companies undertake this process.
CS: We have our tenth anniversary this year: throughout this time some parts of our business evolved but some were left behind. One of them was the IT infrastructure and the use of state-of-the-art software for our internal management. This was causing problems that we had to solve once and for all, but had no idea what to do.
It was great to receive an e-mail about a project that would send us a consultant to identify where we could act and improve as we really wanted to make our processes more efficient.
How do you feel you benefited from this experience?
CS: I have to say it went beyond the expectation. At the start we were a bit wary as this was all new and we were not sure somebody could just come in and help us improve but it turned out to be perfect.
The benefit is there, Bogdan really provided some really concrete solutions and we were able to choose the best options after he explained what we would need to prepare for. We are really happy with this.
BD: It was very good for me too – the matching was perfect. I had the right knowledge and experience that matched efa Leipzig needs at the right time. I found a growing company, a structure that could be supported by technology and people who wanted to get the right digital tools.
I also learned a lot about their business area which is surely something I can use for my consulting work. Our communication was great and language was never a barrier – having to use what is a second language for both of use actually helped to achieve a better chemistry.
Do you have any final remarks or suggestions for the project?
BD: I think everything went well – my relationship with the National Contact Points was great, things moved quickly and surely better than with other EU projects I worked with. The direct relation with the company was straightforward and even when we needed to reschedule times it worked very well.
I think many SMEs, and I believe that from my discussions with other companies, don’t really have a feeling of what they can get from digitalisation. T persuade these SMEs, you need to show them case studies with concrete examples are very important, particularly at events where you are talking to them in person, as it builds trust.
CS: The processes was generally very smooth and the project was really fitting our needs as it works now. We really hope it can continue to support other companies like ours.
If you also wish to benefit from DigitaliseSME Matching program, you can register here.
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