Michiel's grandfather, Wout van den Boom, was in the resistance during World War II. Carola, daughter of the Jewish manufacturer De Haas, was in hiding with him. Michiel: “After the war ended, my grandfather decided to visit Wierden to see what was left of their oil and fat factory. The supplies and administration had disappeared, and the building was completely empty.”
Most members of the De Haas family had not survived the war, and Carola had no desire to be involved with the business any further. In consultation with her, Wout restarted the company. Over the subsequent years, he made a tremendous success of Kroon-Oil, as the company was now called. Today, Kroon-Oil has over 200 employees, and their oils and lubricants are sold all over the world.
Seize the opportunity
Michiel believes he inherited his ‘entrepreneurial DNA’ from his grandfather. “I was exposed to all facets of business management from a young age. I always said: I want to be in position myself one day where I’m the owner of a company, pulling the strings. When the opportunity arose, I seized it with both hands.”
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's describe Michiel's first steps as a professional. After studying Technical Business Administration at TU Eindhoven and a Master's in Marketing in Singapore, Michiel gained his first business experience as a consultant.
Missing link CRM
“I wanted to look around at companies,” Michiel reflects. “I wanted to go into a lot of businesses to see how things were done there and what I thought of it.”
In particular, his role as a business consultant at an ERP reseller shaped his vision of CRM. He discovered that ERP systems were not fast and agile enough to properly align business processes. The missing link had Michiel quickly discovered: CRM solutions, which were indeed constantly evolving and could offer added value to customers through ERP integration.
According to Michiel, CRM is such a good addition to areas where ERP falls short because the CRM market is continuously evolving. “CRM has to adapt to the changing outside world every year: without the flexibility of an ever-evolving CRM solution, your factory will come to a standstill,” warns the director.
Long-term collaborations
The dynamics within the CRM world really appealed to Michiel, and in 2008, he transitioned to Bluedesk CRM, initially as a consultant and project manager. In 2011, he was given the opportunity to take over this company, along with colleagues Lars Spruijt, to take over. As a ‘boutique’ CRM implementation partner, the duo has emphasized long-term collaborations from the outset. “We've had some clients since as early as 2004 or 2005. We're primarily interested in parties who are forward-thinking, who want to work in a structured manner, who want insight into their customer data, and who want to work with a customer-centric approach.”
CRM sees Michiel as the backbone of these companies. “The CRM solution will contain the core data of customers, suppliers, prospects, etc. That's where your 360-degree view is created, which is necessary for customer-centric work, and thus CRM has a central place in the organization.”
From hair products to kitchen countertops
The director-owner quickly noticed how well this vision aligned with how manufacturing companies operate, as they need to maintain an overview of an entire chain of suppliers, customers, and partners. Since the non-profit clients have been moved to a new company, Blueforce, Bluedesk CRM is focusing even more strongly on the manufacturing industry.
The 45-year-old director's heart beats faster for this industry. “Whether it's a piece of furniture, a countertop, hairdressing product of seeds are – if something is made, we think that's really cool and we can apply our expertise to it.”
Do you want to know how Michiel How else can your manufacturing company help? Contact him directly!
