SERVICE.REPORT.IT logo
Editor’s Note: One of the companies exhibiting at the May event of motio, the German reprographics organization, was SERVICE.REPORT.IT, which has launched an innovative service to link German companies that provide digitization services to potential clients. APDSP Managing Director Ed Avis asked the proprietor, Frank Gruenberg, to write about his service for APDSP Today. While the service is limited to Germany now, the idea has validity in the U.S., too.
No time. No desire. No know-how. No idea. No staff. No money. There are many reasons companies don’t tackle their digitization projects. But one reason Frank Gruenberg, the founder of SERVICE.REPORT.IT (www.service-report-it.de), will accept no longer is, “I can’t find a provider who fits my project.”
SERVICE.REPORT.IT, the new comparison portal for digitization services, aims to bring together users and providers with just a few clicks. The goal is to shorten the user's procurement process with more transparency and to provide qualified leads to providers. Even at the first contact, both sides get to the point quickly.
Perfect match of supply and demand
How does the matching work? First, vendors create profiles that explain their digitization competencies. Then when users define their needs for their next digitization project, they are matched to appropriate providers. The editorial team enriches the hit list with market and company information as well as guidebooks and checklists. In addition, reviews of the service provider are displayed.
What makes SERVICE.REPORT.IT better than a regular internet search is its specific focus on digitization services. The site provides relevant answers to the two central questions that are essential for a successful partner search from the user's point of view:
• Which service provider best fits my digitization project?
• How reliable is the service provider of my choice? What do other market participants say? Is the service provider acting at eye level with me?
In order to tailor the search to the individual needs of the users, the system allows users to set up to seven filters:
• The digitization topic for which the service provider is expected to bring project experience.
• The service that the user is looking for.
• The industry in which the service provider should have project experience.
• The company size of the user (number of employees) in which the service provider is to be competent.
• The region in which the service provider is to operate.
• The manufacturers involved in the digitization project.
• The product brands involved in the digitization project.
Ten focus topics cut a big topic into small slices
The aim of SERVICE.REPORT.IT is also to establish itself in the long term as an online marketing alternative to search engines such as Google. For the search engines, the topic of digitization services is comparatively irrelevant, and many service providers therefore have little chance of presenting themselves adequately -- even if they place advertisements. SERVICE.REPORT.IT, on the other hand, offers a platform that identifies the appropriate service providers regardless of their advertising budgets.
To attract more users to the portal, SERVICE.REPORT.IT has taken several steps to improve its search engine ranking. The SERVICE.REPORT.IT team has defined 10 focus topics and integrated them into the website as landing pages. The focus topics include scanning, inkjet printing, document management, 3D printing and teamwork 4.0 -- each viewed from a service perspective. They cut the big topic of digitization into clear and manageable topics.
Claim: Independence, Credibility and Quality
The business model of SERVICE.REPORT.IT is based on independence and credibility. The team ensures this claim through numerous quality assurance routines. Users who want to rate service providers or contact other users need to register. The assessments of individual service providers are carried out on the basis of a structured questionnaire and based on actual projects. The other rules of the game are: The portal does not convey orders, but communicates and contacts. For users, all offers are free.
SERVICE.REPORT.IT went online in 2018. Founder and Editor-in-Chief Frank Grünberg has been reporting for more than two decades on the challenges and opportunities offered by digital technologies to businesses. With the new portal, he is making this topic a part of the program: "Successful digitization thrives on the comprehensive networking of people and information. SERVICE.REPORT.IT is the first B2B portal to bring this network to life in the digitization services market. "