The Company

World Data Lab is a global leader in data analytics and market intelligence, headquartered in Vienna, Austria. With a team of over 100 employees and an annual revenue exceeding €15M, the company serves clients across Europe, Asia, and North America. World Data Lab specializes in delivering actionable insights through advanced data-driven solutions, helping businesses and governments make informed decisions.

Challenge

Over the past 2.5 years, World Data Lab faced critical challenges in its sales operations, primarily due to adopting the Employer of Record (EOR) model for staffing. While the EOR approach initially offered flexibility during the pandemic, it introduced significant hurdles:

• High Staff Turnover: An average of 25% of contracted sales staff left within the first year, disrupting client relationships and sales momentum.
• Lack of Cultural Integration: Remote and contracted staff did not engage with the company’s corporate culture, leading to poor team cohesion and low motivation.
• Limited Oversight: The absence of structured monitoring and performance tracking made it difficult to evaluate sales activities and productivity.

These issues hindered the company’s ability to build a stable and high-performing sales team, directly impacting revenue growth and customer satisfaction.

Solution

To address these challenges, World Data Lab partnered with SGS to implement the DaaS (Department as a Solution) model. This innovative approach provided a tailored solution:

• Centralized Sales Team: SGS established a cohesive team of three sales representatives based in Zagreb, creating a collaborative and culturally integrated work environment.
• Enhanced Monitoring: SGS implemented IP telephony and activity tracking tools, providing full visibility into inbound and outbound sales activities.
• Local Leadership: A dedicated team leader was appointed to manage daily operations, ensuring accountability and streamlined communication.
• Performance Management: Through SGS’s Customer Interface Manager (CIM), the client introduced Management by Objectives (MBO) frameworks to align team goals with corporate objectives.
• Scalability: SGS offered seamless recruitment and onboarding processes, ensuring the team could grow efficiently while minimizing disruptions.

Results

The collaboration with SGS yielded outstanding results:

• Rapid Deployment:The sales team was fully operational within three months, thanks to SGS’s HR expertise and streamlined processes.
• Improved Sales Performance: Enhanced oversight and team cohesion led to increased productivity and better sales outcomes.
• High Client Satisfaction: World Data Lab rated SGS’s solution 5/5, citing top-quality candidates, a seamless integration process, and a supportive work environment.

Future Growth

World Data Lab plans to expand its sales team further to cover all continental Europe. Additionally, the company is exploring opportunities to extend the DaaS model to other departments, leveraging SGS’s expertise to drive long-term growth and operational efficiency.

Client Outcome

Overall, the cooperation with SGS has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. One of the most remarkable aspects of working with SGS is their proactive and transparent approach to addressing challenges. From day one, SGS demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring the success of our partnership, quickly resolving any issues and maintaining an open line of communication throughout.
Their ability to integrate seamlessly into our business operations and their supportive and positive company culture have significantly contributed to the satisfaction and motivation of our team. SGS’s focus on collaboration and excellence has made it evident that our success is truly their priority. For us at World Data Lab, this collaboration has been a game-changer. In just a short period, SGS has proven the viability of their DaaS solution, and we are excited about the future growth of our dedicated department at SGS. We look forward to further strengthening this partnership and achieving even greater success together.

The Company

ORBIS Austria GmbH specializes in guiding SMEs and international corporations through digital transformation, focusing on the digitalization and automation of business processes across the entire value chain to ensure competitiveness. With over 35 years of expertise and a team of approximately 850 employees, ORBIS operates across various sectors, including the automotive supply industry, construction supply industry, electrical and electronics industry, mechanical and plant engineering, logistics, metal industry, consumer goods industry, and trade. The company boasts a strong presence in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and has successfully completed over 2,000 customer projects for more than 500 clients.

The Challenge

The international success of ORBIS and the constantly growing customer base led to the continuous growth of our consulting and implementation teams, demanding more and more well-trained and experienced experts in their respective fields. One of our core convictions always has been to be close to our customers, which resulted in a very strong local team within Europe, especially in the DACH region.

As we continued to grow our ORBIS workforce within Europe, one strategic decision was to establish an office in the Balkan region with the benefits of a close distance to our core markets, a well-educated workforce, and many people with some German skills. While we were convinced that the path of opening an office in the SEE region would be a valuable addition to the group, there were some risks involved with that. With no pre-existing business in the region except for some international rollouts of existing customers, we had little to no insights into the market and the governing laws around setting up companies for hiring employees. One advantage would be common EU laws, which made a strong case for Croatia as our preferred country to open an office.

Why DaaS:

• Market Entry Risks: Limited insights into the local market dynamics and regulatory environment presented potential risks in setting up operations.
• Operational Overheads: Establishing a new office would require significant investment in administrative functions, compliance, and infrastructure, diverting focus from core business activities.
• Talent Acquisition: Recruiting and retaining skilled professionals in a new region without established networks could lead to delays and increased costs.

As an IT company, one of our most important tools is proofs of concept – the first versions of a project demonstrating the planned architecture’s viability. We quickly realised that this was what we needed: A proof of concept of our strategy – a low-risk approach with quick wins!

Solution

To mitigate these challenges, ORBIS partnered with SGS to implement the IT DaaS (Department as a Solution) model, providing a low-risk and efficient market entry strategy. Key components of the solution included:

• Comprehensive Support: SGS offered an all-inclusive package covering office space, payroll management, recruiting services, HR consulting, office management, and IT support, allowing ORBIS to focus on core business functions.
• Rapid Team Deployment: SGS facilitated the swift assembly of a team comprising junior developers, senior consultants, and solution architects, ensuring alignment with ORBIS's skill requirements and corporate culture.
• Compliance and Risk Management: Leveraging SGS's local expertise ensured adherence to regional regulations and minimized operational risks associated with market entry.

Results

The collaboration with SGS yielded significant benefits for ORBIS:

• Swift Market Presence: Within the first six months, ORBIS successfully established a team of nine professionals in Zagreb, accelerating its market entry without the complexities of setting up a legal entity.
• Operational Efficiency: By outsourcing administrative and support functions to SGS, ORBIS maintained focus on strategic initiatives, leading to enhanced productivity and streamlined operations.
• Scalability: The DaaS model provided flexibility for ORBIS to scale its team based on business needs, with SGS offering services to transition to an independent entity if desired in the future.

Future Growth

Building on the successful proof of concept, ORBIS plans to continue expanding its team in the region, adding new roles and capabilities to support its growth strategy. The ongoing partnership with SGS is expected to play a pivotal role in this expansion, providing the necessary infrastructure and support to adapt to evolving business demands.

Client Outcome

"The cooperation with SGS has been overwhelmingly positive. Their transparency, responsiveness, and commitment to our success have been remarkable. SGS's open communication and supportive company culture have significantly contributed to our team's satisfaction and productivity. It's evident that SGS views our success as their own and is dedicated to ensuring it."

The partnership between ORBIS and SGS exemplifies how the DaaS model can effectively address market entry challenges, enabling companies to expand their global footprint efficiently while maintaining operational excellence.

The Company

Our client is a modern property management provider focused on digital solutions for residential living. They aim to revolutionize property management through smart, efficient, and sustainable practices, targeting investment companies, insurance companies, project developers, and cooperatives in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Their approach combines state-of-the-art technologies and innovation to strengthen the connection between people and buildings.

The Challenge

Our Client, a technology-focused property management company encountered two main challenges at their headquarters:

• Difficulty in recruiting the right talent for their R&D team and retaining them.
• The competitive market led to high turnover, with employees often leaving for larger organizations.
• Demanding higher salaries after training.

The Solution

To address this, the company adopted Scalable Global Solutions' Department as a Solution (DaaS), a strategic move that stabilized their R&D department. This solution offered a less competitive local environment, leading to reduced turnover and significant operational cost savings, presenting a win-win situation for the company

Plants for the Future

Over the next two years, the company plans to expand the successful Department as a Solution (DaaS) model beyond the R&D team to include potentially Customer Service and Order Entry departments. This strategic move is expected to further enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve employee retention across these critical functions. The goal is to create a more unified and stable working environment that fosters innovation and drives the company's growth.

The Company

Wholesale Investor is Australia's leading private investment platform, connecting innovative startups and emerging companies with high-net-worth and professional investors looking for unique investment opportunities. Based in Australia with a subsidiary headquarters in the UK, we aim to expand our reach and impact across the European continent.

Challenge

As an Australian-based company eager to scale our operations and increase our presence in the European market, we faced the challenge of connecting with more startups and investors across Europe. Our UK subsidiary has ccessfully conducted business, investments, and investor events, but to truly capitalize on European market opportunities, we recognized the need for a strategic approach to scale our sales and marketing efforts efficiently.

Solution

Implementing a Department as a Solution (DaaS) for our Sales department was the first step towards achieving our expansion goals in Europe. This innovative approach allowed us to build a cost-efficient sales department under our control, with operational cost savings compared to operating solely from the UK. By having the team in the same timezone as our potential European clients and investors, we enhanced our service availability and responsiveness. Furthermore, the DaaS model provided us with the flexibility to grow our team support with multiple languages, a critical advantage for engaging with a diverse European audience.

Future Plans

Our initial focus on establishing a DaaS sales team is just the beginning. Plans are already in motion to implement a DaaS marketing department to further bolster our European expansion efforts. This scalable solution offers the potential for future expansions into other departments such as Finance, Customer Service, or IT, allowing us to easily upscale resources as needed. The most advantageous aspect of DaaS is the comprehensive control it offers—from defining positions and departments to selecting candidates and managing teams—all under our leadership team's guidance in the UK.

Client Outcome

Our partnership with SGS in implementing the DaaS model has been incredibly constructive. The open, transparent communication and realistic goal setting have been pivotal in our success. SGS's ability to recruit the right team members, despite our high standards for skill sets and cultural fit, has been commendable. This relationship has not only supported our European expansion but also ensured that our operations are efficient, cost-effective, and aligned with our strategic objectives. Wholesale Investor looks forward to continuing this fruitful partnership, exploring new opportunities for growth and innovation in the European investment landscape

The Company

Olive House is an organization for hospitality and traveling founded in 2014 by Oliver & Jacqueline Walter. In addition to having apartments at the seaside on Pag Island in Croatia, their guests have various organized activities throughout the year.

Challenge

Their growth plan includes setting up a base of operations in Zagreb, while the on-site operations will be conducted on the island of Pag, near Zadar. To do so, they need an adequate solution to handle external maintenance and management of their business while abroad. This includes having a virtual office, meeting rooms, executive assistants, fleet management, local law expertise, and accounting support on-demand.

Solution

• On-demand executive assistants, legal support, fleet management, and office space.
• Sourcing maintenance workers throughout the year (not only during summer).
• Broadening the company’s services + complete relocation from Germany.

Client Outcome

• Handled all administration (legal, facility, office, logistics) without the client having to visit the site themselves.
• Create a Business Development Plan with a timeline of activities for the next 3 years.
• Possibility of using the SGS ONE software as a CRM system (sales + marketing as well as booking guests).