The Challenge

The client-supplier relationship can sometimes take an interesting turn, which becomes apparent from the cooperation between 3W® Direct Management Solutions and Canon Belgium. Canon Belgium is the Belgian subsidiary of the multinational Canon Inc, which was founded in 1937 as the first Japanese company to produce miniature cameras with the shutter inside the camera. Through the decades Canon has evolved into a technological innovator and a versatile producer of image formation technologies. The company produces photo and video cameras, multifunctionals (including IT Solutions such as Document Management, Publishing Manager, …), faxes, laser and bubble jet printers, webcams, LCD projectors, professional scanners, large scale printers,… Canon approaches the market from two large business units: the “Canon Consumer Imaging” and the “Canon Business Solutions” unit. It is with the latter that 3W® Direct Management started a business relationship, although initially from a potential client-supplier angle. 3W® had just moved and was looking for a copier, but not just any copier. The Plug In® Managers network – experienced experts that can be immediately deployed to temporary missions - needed a multifunctional appliance. The idea was to integrate this appliance in 3W®'s technological GateSync® platform. With this need the CIO and Research & Development Manager of 3W® Direct Management Solutions turned to the Belgian branch of the copier expert without realising his role would evolve very quickly and he would not only be a Canon client but also a Canon supplier. And that had everything to do with his thorough knowledge of LDAP or the Light Directory Application Protocol which is integrated in the Canon copiers but is not well know in the market. 3W®'s CIO was able to work well with this protocol and therefore could easily switch to his role of supplier and Plug In® expert of this matter.

The Approach

At 3W®, all candidates follow the same procedure to join the network. 3W® makes a point of meeting everyone who is part of the network face-to-face. By means of GateSync®, a state-of-the-art made to measure HR management system with an integrated portal, 3W® keeps an overview of all active profiles and maintains contact with everyone in the network. This makes 3W® almost the only organisation in the sector that can offer a benchmarking of the best profiles within 48 hours. The GateSync® Document and Project Management modules enable a perfect follow-up of both individual and team projects. This completely integrated programme ensures a structured approach per project and considerably shortens the search process. Because 3W® does not charge a selection fee, it can offer its client highly competitive rates. In addition, for more specific profiles that can be hard to find, 3W® Direct Management Solutions can draw from its vast network of professionals with years of experience in all functional areas of a company. This, however, was not relevant in the case of Canon Belgium because without knowing it, client and supplier were both the one and the other. 3W®'s CIO first turned to Canon to find the ideal multifunctional copier but soon found a real need which he, as Plug In® Manager, could fill. “LDAP is an internet protocol like http. It can be found in the Canon copiers, which proved to offer considerable advantages for 3W®,” the CIO of the 3W® network remembers. “With the help of Java and the LDAP protocol, certain functionalities in a copier can be used differently. I was looking for a multifunctional appliance which could be linked to our GateSync® platform and this turned out to be possible in the twinkling of an eye. In the Canon Belgium showroom I could carry out the necessary adjustments without any complications and link the appliance to our backend infrastructure at the office. This showed to be a new given for the people at Canon, which they learned with great interest. It goes without saying that the people at Canon cannot know all the possible environments their copiers might work in, but the advantage LDAP had to offer them became immediately apparent. They asked if I could set up an internal workshop at Canon about LDAP and its uses and suggested I accompany them on a next visit to one of their clients who might benefit from the use of LDAP. I immediately put on my Plug In® hat and was glad to be of help to them. I was pleased that I had not only found the right solution for 3W® but could also share the advantages with Canon itself ánd one of its clients.”

Quote

“The Plug In® principle represents expertise and flexibility”, says Walter Bauwens, founder and CEO of 3W® Direct Management Solutions. “This means our Plug In® Managers are always and in every situation aware of their role as temporary experts, without taking into account the duration of the assignment. In the specific case of Canon, the company did not even make an initial request. We had initiated contact because the Canon appliances were ideal for us. We were delighted to find ourselves unexpectedly in a situation in which we could also offer a lot to the other party. Our CIO was available and, according to the rules of our Plug In® principle, was able to immediately put his knowledge and experience at the client's service. The assignment was short and very specific, completely in accordance with a true “ad hoc”s motto. It shows that such assignments can also be perfectly filled by a Plug In®. And we all gained from this situation. I can therefore whole-heartedly share Canon's opinion!” the head of the 3W® network concludes.

The Result

The result is worth mentioning because not one, but three parties benefited from this turn of events and were able to enjoy the advantages of Canon technology and the expertise of an experienced LDAP specialist. As a Canon client, 3W® found the perfect solution and subsequently entered into the role of supplier. On the basis of the Plug In® principle, 3W® organised a seminar at Canon Belgium in order to enable the Canon employees involved to learn more about LDAP and its use in Canon equipment. In the end the client Canon also benefited, because an already existing need could be met without further delay thanks to the adequate combination of the LDAP and Canon technologies. Not only Canon but also its client discovered the advantages of the relatively unknown but useful LDAP protocol and will undoubtedly be able to enjoy the benefits in the future.

The Client's Comment

“That initial introduction round with the 3W® CIO certainly took a turn for the unexpected,” the Service Manager Brussels of the department Service & Support in the Canon Business Solutions-unit confirms. “It was clear he knew what he was talking about and managed to familiarize us with the LDAP process. You could say he opened up the world of LDAP to us and that was certainly worthwhile! The machines we make are integrated in all sorts of environments and LDAP is one of the tools to do this. Naturally we know our products, but not necessarily all the environments they end up in. It does not happen every day that your client becomes your supplier, but for us this experience was definitely a win-win situation,” says the Canon man.