Mendix World is an annual celebration of the work that the low-code maker community is doing. Part of that celebration is the Customer Impact Awards, where we recognize some of the most transformative low-code work being done by Mendix customers.

As reported in Forrester’s Q1 2020 Global Digital Process Automation Survey, 77 percent of enterprises still at least partially rely on paper processes – highlighting the urgent need for digitization. It’s more critical than ever for businesses to create solutions that digitize previously manual processes, streamline disparate workflows, or provide new efficiencies to maintain competitive advantage. For this award category, we were looking for customer submissions who accomplished digitization in key areas within their business.

With that, we are pleased to announce the finalists in our Digital Workplace award category. Read more about their work below, and don’t forget to register for Mendix World to find out the winners!

Digital Workplace Award Finalists

In 2020 you showed us some of your best work – from helping citizens access critical financial aid to ensuring safer travel for passengers – and we want to celebrate how our customers’ businesses continue to evolve and grow. From team leaders to individual contributors, the Customer Impact Awards provide a chance to reflect on the great work you’ve been doing and show the rest of the world how you are making an impact with low-code.

The submissions we received were incredible! From a premier wallet brand that used low-code to manage their complex network of suppliers to a medical device company that automates the process of regulatory requirements before shipping devices to their customers, our customer submissions showed the breadth of what makers like you are capable of building.

Without further ado…

Introducing the Customer Impact Awards 2021 Digital Workplace Finalists!

Agristo Improves Quality Control Management for Perishables

Our first finalist, Agristo based in Belgium, specializes in the production of frozen and pre-fried potato products. Their products are shipped and sold to grocery stores worldwide. Part of the process for getting their goods into stores includes robust quality control checks. This includes an extensive review of every product that is being produced by Agristo to abide by their strict standards for high-quality foods.

Working with Agristo, ICT Applications Manager at Bizzomate Charles Bronzwaer developed a user-friendly application for Agristo’s quality control management process. In just 3 months, Bronzwaer replaced numerous legacy programs and reports and consolidated their various functions into a single application. New products that need configuration within their system now take minutes as opposed to days, and Agristo’s operational team has far more visibility into the quality control process than with their previous solution.

Now that Agristo’s quality control managers are using the application, they are performing their work more efficiently and have access to new data sources that help inform their quality control management process. As Bronzwaer explains, “the new app is user-friendly, efficient, and provides [Agristo] with valuable insights in variations of quality during the production process.”

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) Provides a Centralized Maintenance Platform

Our next finalist is Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), or in English, Dutch Railways. They are the main passenger railway operator in the Netherlands, serving over 1 million passengers every day. Transporting these travelers requires scheduled maintenance work to keep their trains running smoothly. NS had a previous application that provided the basic needs for their facilities managers but was not capable of providing a central platform to view relevant information about planned railroad maintenance.

Working with a multidisciplinary DevOps team at NS, Mendix Developer Eline Bijkerk at Conclusion helped develop their new platform in just 6 months. Named Gids, the new application provides detailed information to help NS prepare for scheduled maintenance, as well as support staff when the actual maintenance takes place. All NS personnel can find this information within a single, user-friendly application rather than the disparate set of applications they were using previously. The team has also automated repetitive tasks that the personnel were responsible for, helping them focus on more impactful work that helps NS passengers ride safely to their destinations.

Makro Nederland Offers Customers New Online Ordering App

And last but certainly not least is Makro Nederland, a wholesale store based in the Netherlands that offers both food and non-food products, ranging from ice cream to laptops.

One of the challenges that any wholesale organization faces is meeting demand with certain products. Makro carries a wide variety of goods, which brings the potential for unexpected surges in demand for specific products (like toilet paper in a pandemic). Any solution they implemented to help with this stocking problem had to be flexible in terms of functionality, as it needed to be used catered to each store’s needs.

Jeanette van Sommeren, Head of Innovation & IT, was tasked with digitizing their customer ordering process. Using low-code, Sommeren built The Makro Customer Ordering App, which is currently being used across Makro Nederland’s 17 stores. Working with Makro, Sommeren has taken their previously paper-based processes and digitized them within a single, centralized platform. This has improved access to their order intake procedures, improving both insights and accuracy into the customer ordering workflow. The platform that Sommeren has developed is improving transparency and communication, reducing paper and mistakes, and is estimated to save at least €250,000 for Makro.

Congratulations to the Customer Impact Awards 2021 Digital Workplace Finalists!

Don’t forget to register for Mendix world using the link below to find out who will be crowned champion. We hope to see you there!

This blog post is part of a series. Be sure to check out the other Customer Impact Award finalists to see the incredible work our customers are doing: