It goes beyond thinking technology. It’s about understanding.

Edwin D’Hondt

Umicore, Belgium, Senior Vice President Information Systems

Sogeti and Umicore have an enduring long-term partnership. Sogeti have been with us on a long journey of changes, starting back in the late 80s when we used their input to cover for the mainframe activities when we were going through the merger of MHO and Vieille Montagne into Union Minière.

In the next phase, from 1993 to 1998, we had to refocus the entire company, particularly from an industry perspective and to reposition IT for the future. Sogeti were involved mainly in keeping the existing applications running while we were making the changes. This was quite important. In doing so,

they showed us they were capable of being very good team players; they understood they were a critical part of the chain.

In 2000, we went through another change – Groupe Union Minière became Umicore - and again Sogeti played an important part.

They delivered the skills, the motivation and the spirit to keep things going. They were able to understand more than just ‘bits’ and ‘bites’.

Sogeti’s strength goes beyond thinking technology. It’s about understanding what the client wants and needs, and being able to align with that. If I look at the results, they were outstanding.

Then came the period when Umicore and Sogeti were both in transition; both companies had to grow and reposition. But the basis of the partnership and its way of working remained the same. And that was key for me. They helped us move forward with the mainframe and SAP deployment. They delivered what they promised.

The acquisition of PMG in 2003 added a new dimension to the company. We needed to take care of an extended international dimension. I discussed it with Sogeti and we came up with a highly challenging project. We produced a very tight plan. The commitment as well as the motivation and the economics were supported; but the key aspect was that we were pragmatic, we looked at the challenges and adapted where necessary.

We did that with a core team that communicated fast enough to adapt to the situation and could still cope with the issues at hand. The result was that it became one of the group’s success stories. At the executive committee level, it is still being used as one of the benchmarks in international projects.

Given Umicore’s current position and our long-term thinking, we are still facing changes as we move forward in about 30 countries in about 100 locations and with 14,000 people worldwide.

One of the topics is that we will use the learning curve of the previous international project experience to look again for improvements to the model for smaller projects.

It won’t be easy, but if there is no challenge, there is no fun. But again, Sogeti has a proven track record here.

Another topic is that we are going to challenge Sogeti with is test scenarios. Testing as a concept seems to be quite interesting and should be embedded internally in the workflow.      

In my view, there are three values that are important to our relationship. Trust is the first one. Trust and understanding. We both should sit at the table and get to common understandings. I want us to act as equal partners.

The second value is flexibility. We are moving fast. That is sometimes not easy internally, let alone externally. But at least there must be a willingness to employ flexibility, however difficult that may be. Sogeti has shown they were able to manage.

Third value is local representation. Sogeti has an advantage here with their global coverage..

For me it is also important to have somebody at the table whom you can challenge in terms of the journey forward, discuss scenarios, exchange ideas and experiences. That’s a real working relationship. That’s where Sogeti adds value.

The business model of Umicore is quite complex: a number of business units, with different strategies, different speeds, different IT requirements. It is a challenge. Sogeti understands that. We will only get the right results in time, if everybody knows what to aim at.

Fast and clear communication and measurable targets are key. Looking at the next years to come I want to keep Sogeti onboard. They have proven to be able to adapt quite quickly, to commit to results and deliver upon challenging targets.