‘From hours of manual work to everything arranged in a few clicks’

Many business owners will recognise it: the calendar is full, the work keeps piling up and meanwhile you lose a lot of time to recurring administrative tasks. Not because it has to be done differently, but because that is how it grew over time.

For Duco, owner of My Events, that was the reality for years. With an events company that brings together events, festival transport, party boats, catering, coach transport and Christmas hampers, there is always plenty to arrange. That is exactly why he is continuously looking for ways to work smarter. “If it can be done smarter and easier, that is always welcome.”

A website that no longer matched the ambitions

A few years ago Duco decided to split his label Partyshuttle off from My Events. Festival transport calls for a very different look and feel than the business market My Events increasingly focuses on.

That meant not only a new website, but also an opportunity to look critically at all the processes behind the scenes. Because that is where the biggest challenge was. For every trip he had to compile passenger lists, adjust Excel files, send emails, create travel information and provide drivers with the right documents. All manually.

That not only cost a lot of time, but also made the company less scalable.

Not yet another IT specialist who only understands technology

Duco had worked with web builders and IT companies before. Technically they were often fine, but communication regularly turned out to be a stumbling block. “Some of them stay stuck in their own IT language. Then I do not understand them and they do not understand my day-to-day practice either.”

The optimisations Partyshuttle was looking for required automation and coding within the website that not every IT specialist offers. That is how, through his designer Kim, he came into contact with Lars of LJPc.

During the first conversations Duco noticed there was a click. LJPc understood the substance, so from the start there was real thinking along about the solutions. The right questions were asked, which gave direction to the conversations. The ideas were good, and LJPc’s additions made them even better. This resulted in even better solutions for the Partyshuttle website.

First understand the process, then automate

Instead of building right away, the project started with several intake sessions. Duco worked out his complete way of working, so every process was clear before any development started. “If you send someone off with the wrong assignment, you get the wrong answer back.”

Based on that, LJPc developed not only a new website, but also a custom plug-in that fully matches Partyshuttle’s day-to-day operations. Where separate systems and manual actions used to be needed, processes now flow into each other automatically:

• Passenger lists are built automatically.
• Drivers receive their routes digitally.
• Customers automatically receive their travel information, pick-up location and house rules.

During development Lars kept the contact personal and clear. New features were not only delivered, but also explained with videos, so Duco immediately knew how to work with them.

More time, more overview and room to grow

The biggest gain is not only in the automation itself, but above all in the time it frees up. Where several manual steps used to be needed, the process has now been reduced to a few clicks.

There is now less administrative work and less chance of errors. Alongside a professional service towards customers, the whole process has also been sped up. This creates more capacity to grow, without increasing the workload.

Good automation does not start with technology

According to Duco, this project shows above all that automation goes much further than building software. The technology is important, but only becomes valuable when someone first understands how a business really works. That distinction is exactly what made the difference for him.

Looking for more calm in your processes?

For Duco, the greatest value of working with LJPc is not only in the automation. It is the way Lars collaborates that makes the difference for him.

The combination of thinking along, clear communication and switching quickly meant that not just a solution was built, but a system that truly fits his business. “The automation, the thinking along and the speed... I was genuinely positively surprised by that.”