Nilpeter: Put us to the test
Nilpeter tested Christian Gravgaard for a morning free of charge and has worked with him ever since.
Get a consultant for three hours, free and with no obligation. If you like what you see, let us make a deal.
The printing press manufacturer Nilpeter said yes to that offer when it was looking for a competent Notes partner.
"It is a fine proof of concept to dare to say: I will work for you for free for half a day, because I believe you will use me afterwards," says IT manager Anders Søndergaard, Nilpeter, about the approach from the IT consultancy Christian Gravgaard.
"It was a really good way to start a partnership. Christian Gravgaard showed that he knew what he was talking about. It was not just hot air."
Put it to the test
The idea of letting potential customers put the Notes consultant to the test made the choice of partner easier for Nilpeter.
"Our installations are fairly complex, but Christian Gravgaard was extremely fast at getting an overview. And he was just as quick to start solving some of our challenges."
"In fact he solved some of our problems in the course of a morning. Things we had struggled with for a long time."
"He test ran a number of things for us, so we could see what he could do. He did it so convincingly that we have worked with him ever since."
Not like the others
Nilpeter is an international Danish company with almost 100 years of history. The company is an expert in printing presses for self adhesive labels, flexible packaging and more, and operates in a number of countries. In Denmark Nilpeter is based in Slagelse.
IBM Notes is part of the technical foundation at Nilpeter, and it was exactly a Notes consultant the company was looking for. Someone who could supplement the internal resources and solve the Notes tasks that the company's own staff lacked either the skills or the time to handle.
"We talk to a number of different suppliers all the time. But it does not always lead to anything. It did with Christian Gravgaard, because he could do something we needed. He has a broad palette of Notes skills."
"The nice thing about him is that he does not spend hours reinventing the wheel. He admits right away if a task requires something he does not know himself. Then he either has an employee or someone in his network with the skills we need."
"That saves time, and for us time is money."
Self driven and efficient
Nilpeter appreciates that their Notes consultant is self driven and conscientious.
"Some suppliers you have to chase around constantly. They sit and burn time, and that is frustrating, because we know what it costs. IT people are not cheap, so they have to be efficient when they work."
"It is different with Christian Gravgaard. When you give him tasks, he makes sure they get solved. You do not have to follow up on everything all the time."
Comes when needed
In the beginning Christian Gravgaard visited Nilpeter often, so they could get the company's Notes installation under control, find the sore points and have them fixed and removed. But now that the basics are in place, there is more time between consultant visits.
"Christian Gravgaard said from the start that we would need a bit more time at first to find out where our problems were and get them sorted. He also said that the frequency typically drops once the first challenges are out of the way."
"That is the right way to do it, rather than turning up week after week and just staring into the air. Christian Gravgaard comes when we need him."
"It means I see him more as a kind of helper than as someone just trying to bill hours."
The customer's needs come first
"If something is urgent, we can always call him or send him an email. Then it gets looked at right away."
"Otherwise we agree from time to time when we should meet again. There is typically more and more time in between."
"So in that way he is also atypical compared to other consultants. Once they get in the door, they want to come every single week. They are sometimes a little indifferent to what the customer gets out of it."