Wholesaler of car parts AD Baltic, UAB, actively develops e-commerce projects and implements the most up-to-date trade models in the Baltic region and Belarus. In further development stage, it decided to entrust the maintenance of IT systems to external partners, i.e. Penkių Kontinentų Komunikacijų Centras, and concentrate its resources on the main business.

Tomas Malinauskas, Head of the Information Technology Department of AD Baltic, emphasizes that optimization of business processes from the placement of order with the supplier to the delivery of the item to the customer is based on IT technologies. "Our e-trade activities, product delivery and logistics issues are handled by means of the latest technologies. Our range comprises nearly 16 million items. Almost 75 percent of all wholesale trade take place in the cyberspace," explains the Head of the company.

According to him, these services and the use of the latest technologies generate added value; new solutions are implemented. "We needed a reliable partner who would be able to ensure timely and proper functioning of IT systems. Added value is obtained, when we no longer have to use our own resources for routine maintenance and can concentrate on our main business, i.e. improving e-trade platforms, looking for new ways to trade," added T. Malinauskas.

According to Robertas Ragauskas, Head of Commercial Department of Penkių Kontinentų Komunikacijų Centras, UAB, that ensures maintenance of over 250 computer workplaces of AD Baltic in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, IT maintenance services for businesses are becoming increasingly popular. "We have developed a ProfIT concept for such services. These are used by well-known groups of companies. To ensure smooth operation, we constantly improve IT systems of our customers and problem-solving methods," says R. Ragauskas.

Complete separation is part of the plan

According to T. Malinauskas, maintenance and system handover to third party is merely the first step. "The plan is to hand over to the company the entire IT department and receive a monthly invoice for the service," said the information technology strategist of the company.

According to him, accounting and maintenance of fixed assets, costs of the IT staff and other relevant expenses are a waste of time. "Printers, computers, the relevant security systems should not be our concern. These will be taken care of by a specialized company with certified professionals, experience and technological knowledge," continued T. Malinauskas.

Several years ago, when he discovered a non-consolidated IT structure within the group of companies and individual system administrators working in each Baltic country, the professional started introducing changes influenced by the Western trades. "If you asked a German company, where its IT administrator works, it would most probably fail to understand your question. Only specialized companies do the job there," explained the professional.

We have to grow together

According to R. Ragauskas, when offering such a service, it is highly important to provide the necessary consulting and grow together with the customers. "In view of customer needs, we draw up an annual administration plan, we help our customers to avoid incidents in the future and optimize their IT infrastructure," said the professional.

T. Malinauskas explains that he finds retaining rapid business growth very important, thus partners have to act as consultants able and capable of dealing with new challenges.

Modern systems today are tasked with a number of essential functions: they are used to shape marketing promotions, carry out sale processes, keep accounting and organize logistics. In the near future, AD Baltic plans to change the warehouse operations significantly, install conveyors and reorganize supply chain management. All of this is aimed at faster product delivery and closer connections with the customers, so the importance of e-tools will only increase.