How Birkenstock Has Used VITG to Support Their IT from the Beginning
For the past 20+ years, Birkenstock Australia has been the Australian importer and distributor for the famous Birkenstock footwear from Germany. Their sister company Birkis4U also operates three retail shops in Clifton Hill, Melbourne CBD, and Doncaster.
The company is independently owned and operated by Directors Marcel and Manuela Goerke. The company is a family-owned business, and many employees (myself included) have been with Birkenstock Australia for many years, some more than 20 years. This is testimony to the ethical and people-focused leadership style of Marcel and Manuela and is also the reason people want to work for and stay with Birkenstock Australia.
Birkenstock’s relationship with VITG started out with a visit by Jacob Ohlson in 2003 to do some PC support. That was the beginning of a very successful partnership, which has evolved to VITG managing our entire IT infrastructure. Michael Hartmann, IT Manager
The Challenge
By 2006, Birkenstock Australia had grown significantly due to the worldwide popularity of Birkenstocks, and it became increasingly difficult for them to maintain their in-house PCs, server, and numerous store POS systems. Birkenstock, therefore, wanted to centralise all processing of warehouse and retail operations at head office and reduce all PC maintenance to the most basic functions, so they approached VITG for a solution.
The Solution
Birkenstock implemented a Microsoft Terminal Server environment, which has significantly reduced software costs, individual PC support costs, and has enabled rapid response to any support requests.
This setup has also enabled them to transition rapidly to working from home during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Birkenstock team relies on VITG for remote and onsite IT support, as well as project management and the monitoring and upkeep of their IT infrastructure.
“VITG consultants are courteous, helpful, and extremely knowledgeable. They are well-liked by our team. They keep our IT systems running optimally, which is essential to providing our customers with the best possible service,” says Hartmann.
The Results
“VITG has been with us almost from the beginning: for almost two decades, VITG’s dedication to keeping our IT infrastructure running has enabled us to build successful long-term relationships with hundreds of retailers and grow the business from a small family company to a successful medium-sized company with 20 employees.
VITG’s consultants are very professional, knowledgeable, and usually very fast to respond to problems. They often go above and beyond what is required to find a solution. VITG’s services are not cheap but worth every cent.
VITG is easy and pleasant to deal with, and I have no hesitation recommending their services.”
