Proflite

2013 – ProFlite in Zutphen, the Netherlands makes flight cases, to be designed by the customer and ordered by the Internet. The customer receives the suitcase fully assembled or in kit form by: www.casebuilder.com.

Workplace innovation
Proflite puts an innovative product to market in an innovative way. The customer can design the flight case him or herself. Proflite uses advanced software for the selling over the internet. And they exploit the specific talents of employees with some disability in the provision of a new service on the market or for the improvement of the operation process. Their parts-supplier uses the site concept of Proflite and the company supplies components to the competitor and advises its ERP vendor. Their approach leads to other forms of collaboration in the supply chain and to new business models.

Approach
Proflite combines a huge (business and conceptual) smartness with an unwavering belief that every human being has usable talents available. They search the strengths of their employees and make it to ‘business’.

Result
The company started in 2007 and now there are sixteen people (many of them with problems to find a job on the labor market) and sales and exports (now half of the sales) grow strongly.

Reference
The company was named one of the ‘Smartest companies in the Netherlands’ on the ‘Energy Day 2013’ organized by a SME-network of Syntens (a former state agency to support SME’s). The jury report (in Dutch) can be found in the Annex.

Topics : Innovation and innovation capabilities, SMEs , Talent development
Industry : High Tech, Small Material
Source : Case

Properties