ORTEC expands into Central and Eastern Europe 
April 02, 2008
ORTEC, supplier of advanced software solutions and consulting services for planning and optimization is expanding into Central and Eastern Europe. At the beginning of April, ORTEC will be opening an office in Bucharest, Romania. Herman Wierenga (projects & services) and Adi Karamehmedovic (marketing & sales) will be in charge of this office; they both have worked for ORTEC for more than 5 years and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the region. "We have chosen Romania as our office location because it is the largest market in the region. Moreover, we are situated near the most important seaport at the Black Sea," explains Herman Wierenga.
ORTEC has been doing business with companies in Central and Eastern Europe for some time now. Existing customers who have already expanded their activities to this region, such as Versteijnen and Spar, can now take advantage of a local contact for ORTEC’s advanced scheduling solutions and support. In addition, we are acquiring more and more new customers who are located in Central and Eastern Europe, such as pipe manufacturer Boltjes and oil company INA. "It is essential for us to have an office in Eastern Europe to service our customers and to maintain our competitive position in Europe," declares Business Strategy Director Michael van Duijn. “Moreover, Romania has other advantages, such as a well-educated staff."
Growth Market
"Eastern Europe is an enormous growth market," Michael van Duijn continues. "Gartner’s figures indicate that IT investments will grow from $125 billion in 2007 to $155 billion in 2011. To capitalize on this, you have to know the culture." Herman Wierenga, who worked for Philips in Romania and regularly visits Romania, not only speaks the language, but is also well acquainted with the culture. Adi Karamehmedovic is a native of the region. Herman Wierenga: "It is important to understand that business is conducted differently here. Given that these companies currently have little experience with the type of advanced scheduling solutions we have to offer, it is important to gain their confidence. No matter how interesting the business or how technically advanced a product is, if the customer and the sales representative do not have a good relationship, the deal will not happen."
Trade, Transport and Logistics
ORTEC anticipates many opportunities in the market, particularly for transport and logistics. Adi Karamehmedovic: "We have an enormous number of contacts in the region and expect to be able to expand our customer database quite quickly. One of our first specific actions in this region involved oil company INA, who selected SHORTREC to optimize its routing & scheduling operation and decided to use ORION for its inventory management and demand forecasting. Like INA, many companies in this sector must invest in their logistics organization in order to remain competitive. Transport and distribution companies sometimes grow by 50 to 100 vehicles a year. Such rapid growth requires adequate systems in order for a company to maintain transparency and efficiency of its fleet operations."
Worldwide, ORTEC currently has over 800 customers, 700 employees and a turnover of more than 50 million euros. The opening of this new office fits in perfectly with ORTEC’s ambitious growth strategy. In 2007, ORTEC took over the French software company Inovia, the Swiss consultancy company Brightrivers and the innovative Team Support Systems, which develops sports analysis systems. Moreover, ORTEC has recently added various business partners, such as Polish company Infovide-Matrix.