de Bijenkorf stands for a premium experience. You also want to deliver on that promise in the back office: stable processes, clear workflows, and no surprises during month-end closing. The key question: can we confidently switch to a modern SaaS platform, with fewer dependencies and lower management costs — without sacrificing functionality or control? 

Over the course of approximately a year, we worked in short sprints towards a clearly defined scope. Integrations and the new projects module were co-designed. From April, training sessions commenced (two days a week), and from May, the focus shifted entirely to testing. In total, 22 key users were trained and actively involved, which ensured buy-in and quality assurance. Every three weeks, project meetings kept the progress closely monitored, and an additional release moment was scheduled for go-live. In July, Qobee went live; during the launch week, consultants were on-site, followed by daily consultation hours for quick coordination.

Collaboration in practice 

The collaboration was characterized by short communication lines, transparent decision-making, and a sober, solution-oriented attitude. Domain knowledge on both sides accelerated setup and minimized noise in the delivery. Not everything was ready at once, and performance issues were addressed post-go-live — lessons learned that we consciously incorporated into the aftercare and future projects. 

The Bijenkorf runs on Qobee for Finance, integrated with VIRGO, the custom Oracle ERP solution. Evaluation workflows, matching, expense notes, and invoice flows are handled via standardized processes. The organization pays less for recurring costs, is less dependent on customizations, and can continuously improve through periodic SaaS releases of Qobee in small, controlled steps. 

With Qobee as a SaaS platform, de Bijenkorf automatically grows alongside new releases. No more large ‘big bang’ projects, but continuous improvement on a stable foundation. This suits an organisation that wants to remain premium — for the customer in the store and for the colleagues behind the scenes.