They have won Creators for centuries award for innovation and investment in entrepreneurship in Central and South-Eastern Europe, The golden marten in 2016, for best mid-sized company in Međimurje county, Lider invest 2016 reward and many others. Intersport, Samsung and Nike are among their clients. Their profits and number of employees has been continually growing and 60% of their profit comes from export.

This list only partly demonstrates how successful SOBOČAN-interijeri d.o.o. is and how important they are for Međimurje County economy. What is the secret to their success? By analysing their path carefully, we can see the link between continuous production and business processes optimization and the resulting success.

Business optimization, logistics and storage advancement were the main features of their business in recent years and this makes a great foundation for digital transformation – a goal they are decisively heading towards. Franjo Sobočan, owner and director of the company, said market opportunities are becoming increasingly challenging while customer expectations are ever so high.[1] Since they do business on the global market, it is to be expected that the standards they have to reach are high. Their customers expect them to be able to follow a controlled production process resulting in customer satisfaction.

HOW THEY STARTED

SOBOČAN – interijeri d.o.o. was founded in 2000, in Mursko Središće, Croatia. The company's main activity includes equipping business and shop interiors with furnishing equipment. As an authorized partner of internationally renowned brands, the company is a significant exporter in its region and is placed at the top of the European market for furniture and furnishing equipment. The most effective cooperation is established in the German-speaking areas such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland as well as other Western European countries.   

The company offers its customers individual solutions and a wide range of services:  innovative concepts development, prototyping, consulting, successful delivery and precise installation as an “off-the-shelf” solution in Croatia and around the world.

In 2015, the company built a new locksmith workshop and two canopies on the surface of 3200 square meters and founded Innovation and Technology Center (InTeC) at the headquarters. Half the investment was co-funded from EU Structural and Investment Funds. With this investment, conditions for business process optimization and reorganization of the existing machine park have been provided which will result in increased efficiency and competitiveness in foreign markets and numerous other benefits with digital transformation being one of the strategically most significant.

In 2016, the company started with production process digitalization, including different work organization and production process monitoring, business process, logistics and storage optimization. Special scanners are being introduced into production process so that every workshop leader and operational manager can scan the product and add the bar code so the product can be traceable in every production phase.

This is the only way of doing business if they want to respond to the needs and demands of clients Europe wide, with traceable products, compatible with high standards set by the costumers.

THEY CONTINUALLY INVEST IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

A 16 million HRK investment was initiated in autumn of 2018. It is focused on the improvement of the complete production process - from creating an offer, job contracting, product design, production preparation, ordering input and materials, production process and packaging. This investment includes the construction of new production facilities where logistics and storage, final product montage and control, package and shipping processes will be located. New technology for business processes improvement will also be financed with this investment, so that the product quality is in line with expectations of customers Europe wide.

The idea behind the story is not just the continuous investment in new technologies and facilities - it is the change of the whole business concept they accept willingly which results with flexibility and the ability to respond to customer higher demands. The production process is very important part, but just one part of the new value creation process. A company needs to be fully aware of market demand and customer needs to be able to respond to them.

New revolution is happening right now and changes in the way business is being done are happening worldwide. These changes should not pass us by, we have to be ready for them. In the future, the existing concept of products and production process will thoroughly change. Production process will still be basic and indispensable, but just a part of the whole business system. This implies the completely new selling concept for SOBOČAN-interijeri, said Franjo Sobočan.[2]

SUCCESS FORMULA

In the story about SOBOČAN-interijeri we can find important digital transformation elements and learn a valuable lesson: digital transformation is not just the process of buying and installing new equipment and software. Companies should know their business model, their market and their customers very well and continually upgrade the knowledge they have. This is the only way to respond to the market adequately.

It is necessary to have a detailed insight into the business system so it can be adjusted with the market, fulfil its purpose and achieve success. So, get to know your business model, all its resources and processes, know your market and your customer and be ready to invest your time and other resources needed in this process and after that be ready to apply the knowledge and conclusions you got as a result of the research.

Digital transformation is just that – transformation and it requires commitment and a great deal of work, but at the same time, it is the only way to survive and succeed in the market.

Quote sources:

[1] Source: Article on the portal Međimurske novine „SOBOČAN-interiors stepped into digitalization to raise business and product quality“, published on 4th November 2018, available here.

[2]  Source: Article on the portal Međimurske novine „SOBOČAN-interiors stepped into digitalization to raise business and product quality“, published on 4th November 2018, available here.