No sooner has the property industry become acquainted with terms such as “lean”, “agile” and “scrum”, up pops a new buzzword for innovative forms of cooperation, namely “innovation track”. The term stands for constructive dialogue on new approaches to commer­cial real estate business and international knowledge transfer, and queries whether a company can really be a customer and an innovation partner at the same time.

Bart Kalshoven: “I think that’s true. During collaboration in the innovation track, Sweco was able to contribute its own ideas on the de­sired functions without having to develop the actual solutions itself. I think it is the ideal situation for both Sweco and Kalshoven Automation. Our focus is on producing standard applications developed by and for the market. Thanks to Sweco’s know-how, we are in a position to develop new standards that are quickly accepted by the market. And what’s more, these new functions can be used immediately by our other customers, too.”

Sander Groot: “And that can only be a good thing. Because if you only develop solutions on an individual basis, you hinder their acceptance by the market and shorten their shelf lives. We give our customers the space in which to share and grow their standard solutions in line with changing needs. And we’re convinced of the benefits of a collaborative approach to software development based on curiosity and the exchange of know-how.”

Bart Kalshoven: “The synergies between Kalshoven Automation and Sweco are further consolidated by the fact that we are part of the international Aareon Group. The teams at Aareon and Kalshoven Automation work together intensively when developing and integrating new products. Know-how and expertise acquired in the respective markets are discussed regularly and form the basis of our product roadmap. Kalshoven Automation continues to share information with Sweco throughout the process so that the customer’s requirements are incorporated into the target solution. Aareon provides technology and develops generic components and solutions that are of great value to both housing cooperatives and the independent property sector.”

Sander Groot: “The innovation track’s first concrete deliverable is an app for tenants. In the coming months, Kalshoven Automation will also be fully digitalising our repair job process with traders and suppliers. The implementation of digital ordering and invoicing is also part of the innovation track. At the moment, we still issue jobs by e-mail and suppliers send us their invoices in pdf format.”

Bart Kalshoven: “By combining the Mareon service portal for connecting traders and suppliers with the UBL platform for invoice processing, Sweco is able to fully digitalise the process of communicating orders and invoices. Mareon supports the supply chain standard for construction and installation companies. As well as seeing when a real estate manager has issued a job in the Mareon digital solution, suppliers can also directly transfer digital information on planning and progress made, along with a notification when the work is completed. By integrating Mareon in REMS, this data can be processed directly and automatically in the ERP solution. The UBL platform for digital invoicing supports various taxonomies. This means that in the future, Sweco will be able to receive and process all other invoices digitally.”

Sander Groot: “In terms of providing a quality real estate management service, it’s important not only to have the latest technology at your disposal but also to ensure that management processes are developed and enhanced on a continuous basis. Wholesale digitalisation means that jobs are processed faster and errors significantly reduced, while providing owners and users alike with top transpar­ency. So our innovation track helps us to introduce new technologies step-by-step so that our operating processes are consistently optimised.”