BUSINESS CASE

Norwegian newspaper industry

Prepared by Marius Rohde Johannessen, Associate Professor
Buskerud and Vestfold University College

INTRODUCTION
What happened to media, and what impact does it have for virtual factories?
During the last decade, Norwegian mass media has experienced big structural
changes. What was the background for these changes? First of all, the
newspapers experienced reduced advertisements leading to reduced revenues.
Secondly, new channels have appeared. The newspapers compete against
Internet-based news services, and have been forced into delivering their content
on multiple channels. In the beginning, most newspapers started providing free
content on the Internet, with the hope those users would subscribe or buy to get
additional content. The problem was that especially young persons only use the
free content. Therefore, the newspapers shifted to multiple channel delivery of
content. Today, you get some content for free, but subscribers may get paper and
digital content. It is also possible to subscribe to digital content only. Some media
has even decided to offer enhanced content online.

The example and data used in this chapter is from the Norwegian Amedia
corporation. The corporation runs 66 local newspapers, reaching around 2,4
million people across Norway. The papers are printed at 11 printing houses
around the country. In addition, the corporation owns several of Norway’s most
popular web sites, and content from these sites are used in the different
newspapers. In 2012, the corporation had around 3500 employees. Today the
estimate is around 3000 employees.

Simply put, we can say that digital technologies cause disruption in existing
business models and supply chains. The media industry has been hard hit: From
huge sales of CDs and DVDs, we have moved to streaming (both legal and illegal),
iTunes and Netflix. Completely new business models have been forced into place,
and while the music and film part of the industry now looks to be on top of
things, they are still facing challenges. Newspapers have been hit even harder,
with a decline in print circulation, competition from social media, aggreg ation
services and others. It has proven extremely difficult to find a sustainable
business model for news, as this is a commodity that consumers have come to
see as free. Some are also concerned that the click-race (focusing on stories that
get shared and watched a lot) is leading to less serious and important journalism.
The newspaper has held, and still holds, an extremely strong position in
Scandinavia. Readerships are higher, and trust in the media is generally high.
Scandinavia ranks among the top countries in the world in terms of freedom of
speech and freedom of the press, and this is reflected in the many independent
media outlets both nationally and locally. While print readership is falling also in
Norway, people still look to their local newspaper for news and information. A
TNS Gallup survey from 2014 shows that printed newspapers still have a strong
hold on readers, with 71 percent of respondents reporting they get their news
from this source. However, the media landscape is widening, and people use a
range of different channels. This has led parts of the media industry to branch
out, creating or procuring TV and radio stations, creating web sites and social
media sites. This of course has had a massive impact on supply and value chains
in the industry.

Figure 1: Response to the question "Where do you go when you want a news
update". From TNS Gallup media survey 2015

WORKFLOWS IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

In the early days (ca 1800), newspapers were simply one or a few people sharing
information. A few employees, did all the work: Writing, typesetting, printing,
distribution etc. Most newspapers had a large variety of genres: poetry, cartoons,
satire, «news»…
In the late 1800’s, newspapers became more specialized. Journalism, printing
and typography became distinct professions, and the papers were
professionalized and compartmentalized along with other industry in the wake
of Ford’s production model. This workflow remained more or less the same until
the 1990’s. In the 1980’s, computer systems were introduced, and with the
introduction of Desktop Publishing systems in the 80’s and 90’s, there was a
huge change for typographers. The workflow, however, remained largely manual
and linear.

As computers became more integrated in the production of news, a lot of

errors and mistakes started to appear, as the work flow was still largely a
manual process. Files were not moved to the correct folder, which resulted in
low-resolution images being printed in the newspaper, fonts were not embedded
in files, which led to costly reprinting of ads, and texts were forgotten. This
meant that papers were losing money on simple mistakes.
In the 2000’s, digital workflow systems were introduced, which streamlined the
process. Sales, design and production and editorial systems were integrated, and
files, fonts etc. were created and placed automatically. This drastically reduced
the number of manual errors, but introduced some new challenges, such as
finding ways to work around the system when it crashed. New skills had to be
learned in order to cope. Those papers that had these human resources
experienced fewer problems.

Figure 2: Basic workflow in the media

As the news media branched out into new areas (radio, web, TV), the work
flow became increasingly important. New processes for multiple platform
distribution had to be introduced, and these are still a work in progress. In
addition, with increasingly high pressure from shareholders and a tougher
market, news organizations have had to restructure. In the 1990’s each
newspaper had their own printing press, technical staff, customer service staff,
and the national papers also had reporters stationed across the country. From
the 2000’s, media organizations have seen several rounds of outsourcing and
downsizing. Printing is done in a few central locations, advertising, customer
service and production in even fewer locations. This has led to cost savings, but
some argue that it has also led to more rigid organizations, unable to “stop the
press” when something big happens.

In order to cope with this increased complexity and digital vulnerability, news
organizations have had to develop a strong focus on business processes in order
to maintain an effective production and to realize the economic benefits from
centralization. Every employee has to know and follow the business processes
needed in her job, and to understand what happens before and after her own
tasks are completed.
THE FUTURE
The news media is slowly moving towards a fully digitized workflow. This
transition is hurting the business today, as printing and physical distribution
costs has to be spread across and ever lower number of readers. At the same
time, papers are not yet ready to go digital, as this would lead to a massive loss in
readership (print, while in decline, is still the biggest source of income in both
advertising and subscription). Within a few years, the newspapers are likely to
cut down on the number of days the printed newspaper is distributed, and the
industry is constantly working on finding new sources of income. The Norwegian
Amedia corporation is currently (2015) testing several models of pay walls for
digital content, with mixed results. Readerships drop, but some pilots report that
the readers who pay for access are more valuable customers. They stay longer on
the site, read more and are exposed to a lot more advertising. And as they are
logged in to the system, tracking their user behavior is a lot easier. In Q1, 2015,
the corporation reports they have a total of 260.000 digital subscribers.

How is all of this relevant to the topic “digital factory”?

The newspaper industry has been one of the hardest hit by the digital revolution,
seeing their entire business model challenged by digitization, changing user
behavior and reduced income. Their continuing struggle for survival shows how
challenging the process of digitization can be, and the amount of work that must
be done in order to survive in a changing landscape. There are three lessons in
particular to be learned from this:
Digital is disruptive – Digitization requires business process redesign, new ways
of thinking and working, new skill sets in the work force. There is a lot of trial
and error involved in finding a new place in a changed landscape, and figuring
out how to create value is a long and difficult process.
Digital is lucrative – Those businesses that have succeeded in digital transitions
have high levels of income. Facebook and Google have taken a huge piece of
advertising revenue in recent years, mostly due to their enormous amounts of
data about users. The media industry is slowly catching up, and the potential cost
savings and revenues from a fully digitized media platform are potentially huge.
Digital challenges the core functions – The media is criticized by many for being
to focused on “click journalism” – the stories that go viral and create buzz. These
stories are lucrative for advertisers, but are rarely what we would call important
and ground braking journalism. The media has to find ways of balancing this in
order to remain the “fourth estate”, and this challenge might also appear in other
industries. What happens with quality in a digital factory where everything is
optimized and focused on cost savings? What about flexibility, when everything
is rigidly process controlled? These questions are important to raise, in order to
avoid potential pitfalls of digitization.
BUSINESS CASE

Volkswagen AG
http://www.volkswagenag.com

Presented by Lasse Berntzen, Professor

Buskerud and Vestfold University College

INTRODUCTION
The Volkswagen AG with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, is one of the
world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe.
The group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen
Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche,
Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN1.

The group produced 10.1 million cars, trucks, and vans in 2014, which generated
more than €202 billion in sales revenues. The operating profit was €12.7 billion.
In addition its share of operating profit by joint Chinese ventures was about €5.2
billion. That gives the group an operating profit of almost €18 billion2.

The group operates 119 (May 26, 2015) production plants in 20 European
countries and a further 11 countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Every
weekday, 592 586 employees worldwide produce nearly 41 000 vehicles, and
work in vehicle-related services or other fields of business. Volkswagen AG sells
its vehicles in 153 countries3.

In 2014, €11.5 billion was spent of research and development4.

This rest of this business case focuses on partnerships with suppliers, not on
manufacturing or customer relations.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS

According to Laudon and Guercio Traver (2013, p. 795-796), the Volkswagen AG
annually buys components, automotive parts and materials worth about €95
billion. Procurements are with few exceptions done through its portal
http://www.VWGroupSupply.com.

1http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/the_group.html

2http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2015/05/HV_2

015.bin.html/binarystorageitem/file/Speech+Prof.+Dr.+Winterkon.pdf

3http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/the_group/production_plants.html

4http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2015/05/HV_2

015.bin.html/binarystorageitem/file2/Presentation+Prof.+Dr.+Winterkorn.pdf
More than 45 000 suppliers are connected to the portal, and more than 206 000
persons use the applications (Laudon and Guercio Traver, 2013, p. 796).

Figure 1 – Registration process for suppliers

PRODUCT OR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

The Volkswagen Auto Group decided to build its own B2B platform, instead of
joining Covisint. (Covisint was founded in 1990 by five of the largest automobile
manufacturers: General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Peugeot. The idea
behind Covisint was to connect thousands of suppliers to a few big buyers using
reverse auctions and procurement services).

The development of a private platform made it easier to integrate existing

business procedures. It also gave Volkswagen AG full control on which
companies to invite. The site now handles more than 90 % of all global
purchasing for the group.

Laudon and Guercio Traver (2013, p. 796) describes it as one of the most
comprehensive e-procurement system in the global automotive industry.

VIRTUAL FACTORY
The portal has grown from 7 applications in 2003 to more than 60 applications.
These include request for quotations (RFQ´s), contract negotiation, catalog
purchases, purchase order management, engineering change management,
vehicle program management, and payments (Laudon and Guercio Traver, 2013,
p. 796).

Even small suppliers can access the web site (VWGroupSupply.Com) with
standard web browsers. New suppliers have to go through a registration
process. The registration process is shown in figure 1.

The online catalog contains around 2.5 million items from 590 global suppliers.
14 200 internal users conducted over 1.5 million transactions through the online
system. The value of these transactions were €380 millions. The site also
contains applications for online negotiations where suppliers bid on purchasing
contracts. About 13 000 different vendors have taken part in such online
negotiations. In 2011, the portal handled around 2 500 online contract
negotiations, with a total value of €2.6 billion (Laudon and Guercio Traver, 2013,
p. 796).

The portal eliminates paper-based procurement. This saves time and cost, and
reduces the environmental footprint. It also facilitates efficient relationships
between the group and its suppliers.

One specific application “Electronic Capacity Management” (eCAP) let suppliers

tap into the production plans and material requirements. The suppliers can be
alerted of changes in production. If a change in production may cause problems
for production, an alarm is activated, and the supplier is brought into discussion
on what can be done. The eCap handles 400 suppliers and around 4000 critical
parts (Laudon and Guercio Traver, 2013, p. 796).

THE FUTURE
50 new models, successors and upgrades will reach the market in 2015. The
group will invest over €85 billion in products, technologies and plants over the
next five years. On top of this, joint ventures in China will invest €22 billion5.

REFERENCES

Laudon, Kennet C. and Guercio Traver, Carol. (2013) E-Commerce 2013 - Business.
Technology. Society (global edition). 9th edition, Pearson.

5http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2015/05/HV_
2015.bin.html/binarystorageitem/file/Speech+Prof.+Dr.+Winterkon.pdf
INTRODUCTION  
VIATECLA   is   a   software   house   established   in   1996,   founded   in   a   spirit   of  
entrepreneurship,   creativity   and   innovation   to   help   business   organizations   to  
maximize   their   productivity   goals.   VIATECLA   provides   innovative   technological  
responses   and   oriented   results   according   to   its   mission   to   develop   critical  
information  systems  for  customers  businesses.  

 
For  the  range  of  services  it  provides  to  its  customers  and  the  complexity  of  the  
operation   that   manages,   Viatecla’s   structure   has   been   designed   to   work   in   a  
flexible   way,   and   is   organized   around   four   business   areas:   Viatecla   Software,  
Viatecla  Consulting,  Viatecla  Operations  and  Viatecla  Labs.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Viatecla  Software  
Viatecla  Software  is  dedicated  to  the  development  of  corporate  software.  Viatecla  
has   consolidated   its   know-­‐how   and   its   transversal   vision   of   vertical   business  
models:  this  has  been  the  starting  point  for  the  consolidation  of  innovative  and  
out-­‐of-­‐the-­‐box  products  that  are  targeted  to  the  corporate  market.    
 
Viatecla  Consulting  
Viatecla   Consulting   is   Viatecla’s   area   of   consulting   services   in   information  
systems,  guided  by  delivering  value  to  its  customers  by  supporting  organizations  
in  achieving  their  business  goals.  Viatecla  has  had  the  opportunity  to  develop  a  
notable   set   of   critical   solutions   for   business   customers:   these   projects   are   now  
recognized  by  the  market  as  a  significant  success  stories.  
 
Viatecla  Operations  
Viatecla   Operations   is   Viatecla’s   area   that   is   dedicated   exclusively   to   the    
operation,   maintenance   and   management   of   its   customers’   solutions   which   are  
critical   to   their   day   to   day   businesses,   and   are   housed   and   maintained   at  
Viatecla’s  datacenter.  
Viatecla   datacenter   is   a   competitive   advantage   for   the   success   of   organizations  
whose   business   platforms   are   housed   at   our   infrastruture,   due   to   its   high  
reliability  and  availability:  7  days  a  week,  365  days  a  year.    
Viatecla   also   provides   professional   services   of   management   and   architeture   of  
storage   systems,   Cloud   computing,   networking   and   security,   back-­‐up,   and   real-­‐
time  monitoring  and  management.  
 
As  a  recognition  of  its  work,  VIATECLA  is  part  of  the   COTEC  innovation  network  
and   holds   a   technological   partnership   with   Microsoft   Corporation,   having  
reached  the  Microsoft  Gold  Certified  Partner  status.  
 
VIATECLA's   work   relies   on   values   such   as   innovation,   performance,   security   and  
competitiveness,   all   of   which   are   reflected   by   the   improvement   of   companies'  
procedures  and  in  the  optimization  of  resources  and  costs.  
 

INNOVATION  
Innovation  Labs  is  the  research  and  development  area  of  Viatecla.  
 

 
 
The   innovation   process   has   been   one   of   Viatecla´s   major   success   factors.   This  
process  is  present  and  concentrated  on  its  structure  areas:  (i)  in  product´s  team  
with   technological   innovation   applied   to   each   of   Viatecla´s   products   (e.g.  
KeyForTravel,   Scriptor   Server,   Brigde4Media,   Nicereader,   FutureboxTv),   (ii)   in  
the   R&D   core   Viatecla   Labs   is   responsible   for   creating   new   concepts   and  
products   in   a   business   /   commercial   trend,   (iii)   in   Excellence.NET   Center,   I&D  
core,   and   technological   transfer   from   academic   environment   to   Viatecla,   (iv)  
R&D   projects   co-­‐financed   by   QREN   program,   developed   with   universities,  
investigation   centers,   and   public   institutes.   The   whole   innovation   process   is  
really   focused   in   product   area,   and   it   is   applied   in   new   product   genesis,   or   in  
improving  existing  products.  
 
 

VIATECLA  LABS  
Viatecla   Labs   is   the   heart   of   innovation   in   Viatecla   being   therefore   responsible  
for  creating  new  products  and  pushing  forward  the  existing  ones.  
In  the  research  of  new  business  or  technological  paradigms,  we  have  a  dynamic  
team,   in   order   to   create   new   concepts   and   developing   them,   going   further  
beyond  proof  of  concept,  building  the  roots  of  new  products.  
Innovation   is   Viatecla´s   focus,   and   it   is   always   adapted   to   client´s   business  
(attending  and  participating  in  the  innovation  process  since  its  first  prototype).  
Viatecla  Labs  puts  its  effort  on  agile  prototype  methodologies,  recurring  to  latest  
technologies,   and   its   ergonomic   implementation,   building   rich   interactive  
environments  for  the  final  user.  
 
LABS  ÉVORA  
The   Excellence.NET   Center   is   the   core   of   Viatecla´s   R&D,   applied   to   the   academic  
environment.   This   center   comes   from   a   three-­‐way   partnership   between   the  
Viatecla,   Microsoft,   and   Évora   University   (where   its   offices   are   located).   Focused  
in   academic   investigation,   the   center   purposes   to   experiment,   validate,   and  
transfer   academic   knowledge   to   Viatecla´s   business   units.   The   strong   effort   on  
the  relationship  between  the  Center  and  the  academic  community  (in  particular  
with  Évora  University)  is  visible  through  undergraduate,  graduate,  and  doctoral  
projects,   regarding   Viatecla´s   products,   or   in   domains   that   are   related   (e.g.  
Tourism,  Media,  and  Content  Management).  There  are  also  conducted  technology  
transfer   projects   with   specialist   teachers,   particularly   in   the   areas   of   Artificial  
Intelligence,   Machine   Learning,   and   Extraction   of   Knowledge   Information   in  
Natural  Language.  
 

PRODUCTS  |  SOFTWARE  PORTFOLIO  

 

   
Complete  e-­‐commerce  and  distribution  platform  for  video  contents  (e.g.  movies  
and  series)  directed  to  all  organizations  focused  on  maximizing  profits  for  their  
media   video   contents   by   managing,   organizing,   distributing   and   selling   in   a  
multi-­‐market,  multi-­‐store  and  multi-­‐device  logic.  
 
 
 
 
  
Futurebox.TV   is   a   platform   for   the   distribution   of   video   contents   via   Digital  
Signage   and   Corporate   TV,   ideal   for   companies   that   have   demanding  
communication  strategies  and  aim  to  offer  disruptive  TV  experiences.  
 

 
KeyForTravel  is  a  modular  platform  for  the  management  of  tourism  products.  It  
covers  the  whole  value  chain  of  tourism  players’  business  activity,  from  product  
promotion   to   business   analytics,   with   main   focus   on   business   engines   for  
tourism   (Aviation,   Hotels,   Rent-­‐a-­‐Car,   Holiday   Packages,   Travel   Insurance,   as  
well   as   other   upselling   products),   daily   management,   point   of   sales   interfaces,  
mobile  applications  and  invoicing.  
 

 
Nicereader   is   a   digital   publishing   platform   that   allows   to   create   and   make  
dynamic   and   interactive   contents   available   for   multiple   devices   (tablets   versus  
web)   and   marketplaces   (Apple   iTunes,   Android   Google   Play   and   Windows  
Marketplace)   with   different   business   rules   (e.g.   free,   ad-­‐hoc   purchases,  
subscriptions).  
 

 
Scriptor   Server   is   a   versatile   and   agile   information   and   process   management  
platform.  It  supports  internet,  intranet,  extranet  and  e-­‐commerce  solutions.  
 
 
VIATECLA   is   located   in   three   distinct   geographical   areas   –   VIATECLA’s   main  
office   is   located   in   Almada   (Portugal),   .NET   Excellence   R&D   Centre   located   at   the  
Universidade   de   Évora   premises   –   Évora   (Portugal)   and   BySense,   VIATECLA’s  
commercial  subsidiary  for  Brasil  located  at  São  Paulo.    
Currently  VIATECLA  has  35  professionals,  mainly  with  IT  higher  education  and  
specialization.  
 

PARTNERSHIPS  WITH  SUPPLIERS  

VIATECLA   strongly   believes   in   strategic   partnerships   both   with   suppliers   and  
clients,   as   a   way   to   guarantee   project   success.   Due   to   the   specific   nature   of  
VIATECLA   products   (which   are   all   IT   based)   most   of   VIATECLA   suppliers   (as  
well  as  their  customers)  also  have  a  somewhat  IT  /  technological  background.  
Specifically,   regarding   suppliers,   these   can   be   categorized   in   three   main  
classifications,   namely,   (i)   hardware   /   infrastructure   providers,   (ii)   service   /  
integration  providers  and  (iii)  knowledge  based.    
Partnership   with   hardware   /   infrastructure   providers   are   mainly   related   with  
testing   in   controlled   /   pilot   environments   latest   hardware   tendencies   (e.g.   in   the  
area   of   mobile   or   big   touch   interfaces).   Service   /   integration   partnerships   are  
usually  performed  at  a  software  level  for  having  access  to  premium  /  restricted  
APIs.   According   to   VIATECLA’s   projects   and   experience   these   partnerships  
derive  a  lot  from  product  specific  requirements  and  needs  –  as  is  the  case  of  GDS  
partnerships  in  the  area  of  Tourism  (due  to  VIATECLA’s  KeyForTravel  product)  
or   technically   related   with   Video   (mainly   derived   from   VIATECLA’s  
BridgeForMedia   and   Futurebox.TV   products).   Finally,   knowledge   based  
partnerships   are   mostly   established   together   with   academic   /   R&D   institutions  
for  constructing  proof-­‐of-­‐case  technological  scenarios,  where  specific  knowledge  
may  be  transfer  from  the  academic  environment  to  VIATECLA’s  teams.    
Due   to   the   specific   nature   of   VIATECLA   all   these   procedures   /   projects   /  
partnership  are  100%  ICT  related  –  mainly  at  the  software  level.  
 

PARTNERSHIP  WITH  CUSTOMERS  

As   previously   described   VIATECLA   establishes   actively   partnership   both   with  
suppliers  and  customers.  
VIATECLA   perform   marketing   activities   for   their   products   in   multiple   and  
complementary   ways.   The   best   approach   to   market   /   promote   a   VIATECLA  
product  is  through  the  product  itself.  Thus  most  of  VIATECLA’s  real  solutions  are  
publically   “advertised”   as   show-­‐cases   /   reference   solutions.   A   “word-­‐of-­‐mouth”  
strategy  is  then  followed  mainly  focused  on  relevant  decision  agents.  
Marketing   is   also   performed   though   VIATECLA’s   social   networks   (mainly  
Facebook   and   LinkedIn),   segmented   clients’   newsletter,   participation   as   keynote  
speaker  in  technological  and  business  forums  and  also  the  participation  in  some  
fairs  and  expos  –  mainly  related  with  the  Tourism  business.  
All  communication  between  VIATECLA  and  their  customers,  and  in  the  context  of  
software   projects,   besides   being   “informally”   transmitted   by   phone   or   email   is  
mainly   formalized   on   a   platform   called   “One   System”   based   on   VIATECLA’s  
Scriptor  Server  product.  With  this  platform  clients  have  access  to  real  time  status  
on   which   tasks   are   being   performed   by   the   VIATECLA   team   and   are   able   to  
define   priorities   and   provide   extra   clarification   all   in   a   single,   integrated   and  
unified  web  platform.  
 

PRODUCT  OR  SERVICE  DEVELOPMENT  

All   product   and   services   development   are   100%   dependent   on   ICT   development  
tools   and   frameworks   such   as   Microsoft   Visual   Studio,   .NET,   Java,   XCode,  
objective   C   and   multiple   web-­‐based   /   related   technologies.   Also,   the  
methodologies   followed   during   the   software   development   life-­‐cycle   are   ICT  
related   (and   optimized),   mainly   based   on   derivations   from   the   Agile   SCRUM  
development  framework.  
 

VIRTUAL  FACTORY  
This   “factory”   concept   exists   during   the   entire   development   phase   of   any  
software  project.  Multiple  APIs  and  software  components  have  been  constructed  
during   past   projects   being   available   to   be   quickly   assembled   together,   making  
the  solution’s  resilience,  overall  cost  and  productivity  to  improve.  
VIATECLA’s   team   is   located   geographically   in   3   sites,   and   2   continents.   A  
significant   part   of   VIATECLA’s   clients   are   also   foreign   –   mainly   in   Europe   and  
South  America.  Communication  is  vital  and  both  VOIP  based  tools  are  used  such  
as   skype   and   Viber,   as   well   as   regular   phone   over   IP   and   VIATECLA’s   “One  
System”  platform.  
 

THE  FUTURE  
ICT   is   the   base   of   VIATECLA   business.   Either   as   the   final   product   as   well   as  
providing  the  tools  and  skill  sets  for  performing  those  projects.  VIATECLA,  and  
mainly   through   its   R&D   Department   -­‐   VIATECLA   Labs   -­‐   is   continuously   testing  
new  technologies,  paradigms  and  approaches  (both  hardware  and  /  or  software  
related)  which  can  be  used  to  improve  the  overall  company  efficiency  as  well  as  
the  final  software  solutions  for  their  clients.  
 

OUR  CLIENTS  
Our  team  at  Viatecla  work  hard  to  innovate,  to  deliver  value,  and  to  support  its  
clients  in  achieving  their  productivity  targets.  
The   commitment   and   responsibility   that   Viatecla’s   team   have   invested   in   the  
challenges  proposed  by  customers  are  the  foundations  of  a  strong  image  based  
on   quality   and   reliability.   These   are   key   factors   that   allowed   the   implementation  
of   a   portfolio   of   major   projects   carried   out   in   the   various   markets   in   which  
Viatecla  operates.  
 
Tourism

           

                 
 

                 
 
 
Services and
Industry

                   
 
 
 

   
 Media

             
 

Finance

     
 
 
Public
Administration

         
 
 
 1

BUSINESS CASES

INTRODUCTION

GESTSPORT is a brand, owned by EXCLUSIVKEY, Lda, internationally recognized for its

work, developed over more than 15 years in the implementation, management and
operation of integrated ticketing solutions, access control systems and accreditation
for sports and entertainment venues and events such as the European Football
Championships, and Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), FIFA World Cup and
Confederations Cup.

GESTSPORT is acknowledged as the Portuguese brand in the field of consulting,

services and systems integration of access control, ticketing and management of
Infrastructure in the areas of Sport and leisure.
GESTSPORT is also a world reference in its business area.

With headquarters in Évora, Portugal and offices in Lisboa, Porto, Rio de Janeiro and
São Paulo.
The Gestsport team consists of highly qualified professionals in design, operation
and management of sports complexes, consultants and business professionals, in the
total of more than 20 employees.

Our achievements:

 GESTSPORT consultants were responsible for the negotiation and

implementation of access control systems and ticketing in 7 of the 10
stadiums used to UEFA EURO 2004.
 In 2004, GESTSPORT consultants joined the EURO 2004 team as ”Venue
Managers” and operational officers for some stadiums, in charge of
implementing and training of the teams of stewards at the various stadiums
of the event.
 2

 In 2009 and 2010, GESTSPORT participated with a team of experts in

installing, managing the implementation and operation of the access control
and ticketing Systems of the 4 stadiums of CAN 2010 in Angola, ensuring the
interconnection between the local contractor and the various companies
forming the consortium, with particular relevance to Skidata. GESTSPORT
team joined the installed Central Committee of CAN 2010 (COCAN) operating
in Luanda. Our Team was responsible for the management of all the events
ticketing and operation complements. We also oversaw the operation of such
systems and organization of all 32 matches of CAN 2010.
 In 2012, GESTSPORT designed and installed the access control, organized the
whole operation and Venue Management for CAN 2012 in Gabon: Consulting
(Technical and Operational), Support, Preliminary Survey and Analysis,
Defining the requirements of the contract proposals, Implementation and
Operations.
 In 2012, our People Access division started its business in Brazil to be the
company chosen to supply and install the Public Access control system of the
renovated “stadium Journalist Mario Filho” (Maracanã) in Rio de Janeiro, one
of the main stages of the 2014 World Cup and eventujally many of the major
events of the Olympic Games of 2016.
 Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador, another stage of the 2014 World Cup and the
confederations Cup in 2013, was another of the stadiums in which we
implemented and subsequently operated the public Access control systems.
 3

PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS

The company relies on suppliers. Describe the supply side. How is collaboration
happening with suppliers? And, in particular, how is ICT used in these processes?

The relationship with suppliers is very important for a company with our activity.
Each time Gestsport starts a new project, we need to ensure dates for equipment
and software delivery with suppliers.

A delay of one supplier can cost us a project.

Given the importance of the information exchanged, whether commercial or
technical, GESTSPORT gives preference to email because it´s important to have a
written guarantee.
So, when the project is starting, a schedule is requested to the supplier with
equipment delivery dates and it´s integrated into the work schedule of GESTSPORT.
Thus it is provided a final schedule to the client, showing the different stages and
allowing him to control the timings of the project.

PARTNERSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS

A company needs to sell its products. How is marketing done? How do customers
interact with the company to customize the products to suit their needs? And, how
is ICT utilized to improve communication between company and its customers.?

Since Gestsport is a global company, Web presence is critical to the dissemination of

the business areas and to explore new customers.

We also send a periodic newsletter with Gestsport News and new products /
services.
The Information and communications technologies are strong allies for potential
customers to find us.
 4

PRODUCT OR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

How is ICT used in the development of products or services?

The ICT is used in the research of new technologies, and to find what our main
competitors are bringing to market.
Be aware that new innovations and market trends are crucial to Gestsport,
because only then can we keep up with the demand and be a little more ahead of
our competitors.

VIRTUAL FACTORY

How is ICT used in the manufacturing?

In particular, if the company is distributed in several locations, how is ICT
utilized to communicate between these locations?

The ICT enables us to communicate effectively and quickly, despite the working
hours of each branch / country.
The information is recorded and can be consulted at any time.
Through the software that we have, it´s possible to see which clients are being
contacted by the technical and commercial areas. In this way we can work the
statistics, products VS clients.

THE FUTURE

What does the CEO think about the future use of ICT? Have the company plans
for new ways to utilize ICT in partnerships with suppliers and customers? Any
plans to use ICT to improve production?

The focus on developing new ICT is one of the strengths of the administration of
Gestsport.
 5

The company believes that developing a good relationship with suppliers and
customers is critical to the success of the company and as such, it has stakes in new
methodology to facilitate communication between stakeholders.
The creation of an international platform in the sports area is one of the
objectives for the coming year.
This way we can have access to the various suppliers of various nationalities as
well as seeking customers in less likely countries.
Capgemini Portugal, Serviços de Consultoria e Informática, S.A.

INTRODUCTION
Describe the company: When it was started, location, how many employees, product line etc.

Capgemini is one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology, outsourcing services
and local professional services. It was founded in 1967 as a French multinational service provider,
and is present in over 40 countries with more than 145,000 people. Capgemini helps its clients to
transform in order to improve their performance and competitive positioning.

There has been an increasing demand for Information Technologies, where Capgemini has a strong
role in enhancing the digital customer experience, cloud services, mobile solutions, and other ways of
business management in the digital age, across many business sectors

PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS

The company relies on suppliers. Describe the supply side. How is collaboration happening with
suppliers? And, in particular, how is Information and communications technology (ICT) used in these
processes?

Capgemini relies on third-party suppliers only for projects and services where special know-how and
experience are needed that is non-existent within the organization, in that moment. Our service
providers operate alongside customers while representing us directly.

This collaboration offers a mutual benefit, where both the supplier and the final customer have their
needs satisfied through our group. While bearing our brand, they are well integrated in the
Capgemini way of working, and aware of all norms and procedures, in order to follow a uniform
process throughout services.

PARTNERSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS

A company needs to sell its products. How is marketing done? How do customers interact with the
company to customize the products to suit their needs? And, how is ICT utilized to improve
communication between company and its customers.

Our core business is technology services, which is sold in the form of identified solutions and building
proposals that are tailored to each customer’s needs.
For that end, many marketing actions occur throughout the year, including events, workshops,
campaigns, presentations and world reports publishing on the latest tendencies in Banking,
insurance, automotive, quality markets and technology.

30 April, 2015
Collaboration is key to Capgemini philosophy, whose relationship with customers is based on the
methodology of Collaborative Business Experience. This enables concrete business results through a
people-centred approach to technology.

Each customer is encouraged to make up the rules of the game, rather than be limited by them. Our
ICT is guided by the 4 dimensions of collaboration: we target value, mitigate risk, optimize
capabilities, and align the organization to achieve the objective – to increase and fasten
performance. All this work is done by the best resources (people, technologies, solutions) to achieve
excellence, both for quality and functionality, with our customers.

PRODUCT OR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

How is ICT used in the development of products or services?

ICT is used to support projects development, using data and business analytics to simplify and
manage data both inside and outside of any business.

To develop our services, innovation is constantly used to adapt new offers and solutions, accordingly
to information taken from satisfaction reports.

Much of our efforts have been drawn to the growing concept of Cybersecurity, where Capgemini has
been a lead innovator and developer of technologies that ensure the confidentiality of internal and
financial data, through infrastructure services.

VIRTUAL FACTORY
How is ICT used in the manufacturing? In particular, if the company is distributed in several locations,
how is ICT utilized to communicate between these locations.

Although there is no manufacturing process involved in our services, we are a major distributor and
consultant of ICT technologies.

Since our projects are spread around several cities and countries, communication is made more
effective by centralized servers and an intranet system that allows real-time synchronization at all
times.

This makes inter-city projects possible, and also allows us to be in contact with other countries. Our
high levels of cooperation would hardly be possible without the ICTs through which employees can
easily exchange data.

30 April, 2015
THE FUTURE
What does the CEO think about the future use of ICT? Have the company plans for new ways to
utilize ICT in partnerships with suppliers and customers? Any plans to use ICT to improve production?

ICT act as an umbrella which includes any communication device or application, raging radio, TV,
mobile phones, computers, scanners, networks, software, hardware, etc., and the wide services and
applications associated with, such as videoconferencing, e-learning, etc. It also can include
communications equipment through which people can seek and access information (internet, e-
mail). So of course the future is wide open to be whatever we develop it to be. There’s no turning
back on technology and we need to come up with new solutions, offers, new ways to use and reuse
technology to help us and the businesses of our clients.

Our partnerships help us to be more innovative and offer us platforms from where we can evolve
and grow. They usually act as levers because we often use their products and solutions in many of
our projects. If they change, innovate their own solutions and continue to grow, shouldn’t we?

ICT has become part of everyday life of each one of us, and of course for our clients that expect
bigger outcomes from it. ICT importance continues to increase in people’s lives and it is expected
that this trend will continue if the next few years and that’s why ICT has become an enabler of
economic and social development and enhance competitiveness.

The use of ICT is crucial to most businesses, companies aiming to expand or to improve their
efficiency. The use of simples ICT’s, such as computers, internet or web presence, improve
productivity, improve quality and better respond to demand. ICT can also improve customer services
and customer demand. The way clients implement ICT solutions can also provide additional help and
guidance to define business strategies.

Since Capgemini is a multinational organization, serving either local and international clients, access
to tools that help to deliver, access, manage, analyse data, projects and services are critical
nowadays to improve businesses. Innovation and industrialization are also to key levers for our
business, only possible with the use of ICT.

30 April, 2015