Spotlight: Bart Knoop

MEET BART KNOOP

A GSS SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW JUN 2020

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

BART KNOOP

Bart Knoop, Head of Global Sales at Global Systems &
Software (GSS), joined the group in 2012 as part of the
sales team. He sat down with us to talk about the role of
the sales team role within the organization, the tailored
solutions GSS offers to their clients, and what he looks
for when hiring new colleagues.

GLOBAL SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE | WWW.GSENS.NL

HI BART, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ROLE OF YOUR HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY WITH GSS BEGIN?
SALES TEAM AT GSS?
My journey with GSS started eight years ago and it has been a blast
GSS supplies hardware and on-site services to clients around the ever since. Back then we were a smaller company, maybe a fifth of the
globe, so we work in a very dynamic environment with different time size that we are now, and our main market consisted of
zones and different languages. The sales floor at GSS is always multinationals headquartered in the Netherlands. The sales office
buzzing with phone calls! Our focus is to understand our clients’ was situated right next to the warehouse, so we often went down to
needs, create the perfect solution for their IT infrastructure challeng- check on incoming or outgoing shipments. Also, when extra hands
es and become their single point of contact (SPOC) throughout their were needed, we often helped the warehouse team to prepare and
whole journey of defining and implementing global IT standards. We ship an order. Today, with around twenty full-time employees in the
truly believe in building long-lasting partnerships with our clients, so, warehouse, that’s not needed anymore.
throughout any project or contract, regardless of the scope, we work
hand-in-hand with them. We strive to become an extension of their IT As GSS grew, we expanded our reach outside of the Netherlands and
team. started working with multinationals headquartered in other European
countries. In 2016, I started to focus more on business development
That being said, in the initial phase, when a client reaches out to us and the improvement of the operational side of our global reach. This,
with a request, we first focus on understanding the current composi- on itself, brought a new learning curve for me, as these companies
tion of their IT infrastructure. We then identify how far along the client deal with a whole set of different needs, ways to operate, cultures
is in the process of defining its global standards and where the imple- and customs. I must say, it was a welcomed challenge! Last year, I
mentation mandate lies within the organization. After we gain a bet- became Head of Global Sales so I shifted my focus to a more strategi-
ter understanding of their needs and challenges, we put together a cal role in our proposition and client engagement.
project team with representatives from our internal departments such
as operational sales, the warehouse, our export desk, professional WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOUR CLIENTS
services and finance. This allows us to craft the right solution for our FACE?
client and execute a hassle-free project or contract. The warehouse
department focuses on providing a variety of in-house services and Our customers are mostly multinational companies, and as such, have
preparing the hardware for shipment. Then, our export desk makes complex IT infrastructures. They deal with the complexity of various
sure that the equipment reaches its destination, and finally, the standards, legacy equipment and applications, local procurement
professional services team carries out the global installations when mandates and cultural difference within companies and teams.
necessary. We offer our clients all the services needed around the box.

I think you could say that our days are very energetic!

GLOBAL SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE | WWW.GSENS.NL

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

So, while all companies are different, most of their challenges lay within the areas of security,
compliance and risk management which rise from the lack of flexibility and agility in their IT

infrastructure.

YOU POINTED OUT THAT MOST OF YOUR TIME IS SPENT FINIDING THE RIGHT
SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR CLIENTS. HOW CAN GSS HELP IF A MULTINATIONAL
FACES ONE OR MORE OF THE CHALLENGES MENTIONED?

Global challenges require global solutions. GSS helps multinationals with facilitating the
standardization and centralization of their infrastructure through our global IT deployment
solutions and by providing professional services. Our extensive network of global partners
allows us to offer multinationals solutions in virtually every country, with the exceptions of
embargoed or warn-torn areas.

Let me give you an example scenario. A company may have locations in different countries
such as Hungary, Brazil and Russia. They need to allocate hardware in these three locations
with the same standards and capabilities. In this scenario, our sales reps would arrange the
procurement of the equipment based on our clients’ needs while our export desk would make
sure that all the equipment arrives at its designated location within the timeline previously
agreed upon with the client. After the equipment has arrived at the client’s office, our team of
engineers will go on site and make sure all the equipment is imaged and migrated. At GSS we
understand the value of culture and language, which is one of the main drivers for our “global
reach, local touch” strategy. This means we organize the procurement and logistics centrally
from the Netherlands, but we involve trusted local partners to provide the local services,
managed by project managers from GSS. Regardless of the scope of the project, we take care
of all the nitty-gritty facets that are involved in the last stages of implementation. We call this
“the last mile”.

GLOBAL SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE | WWW.GSENS.NL

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE LAST MILE?

In the early years of GSS, Martijn Niessen, our CEO, and Roberto de Back, our Managing Director,
focused on building a company that could service the whole lifecycle of the clients’ IT
hardware. So, our solutions aimed at fulfilling all the stages of implementation and are tailored
to each client’s needs - from global deployment to installation, user migration, audits on the
IT infrastructure and asset recovery. As mentioned before, we want to become an extension of
the clients’ IT team and eliminate all the hassles that come with getting and implementing the
IT infrastructure they need. We talk about the “last mile” in our recently published white paper
“Security and manageability by standardization in global IT infrastructure.

AS MENTIONED, GSS HAS SEEN A SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN LESS THAN A
DECADE. ARE THERE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT YOU LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING NEW
COLLEAGUES?

Absolutely! When we are looking for a new team member for the sales floor, we need a very
enthusiastic person and an avid problem-solver. As mentioned before, our clients are mostly
multinationals with varying needs, challenges and different ways of working. We need a person
that can think fast on their feet, easily adapts to different cultures and customs and has an eye
for detail. Additionally, this person should also have a great ‘can do’ mentality and a great
attitude towards crafting tailored solutions that will simplify our client’s IT infrastructure needs.

BART, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD
LIKE TO ADD?

Thank you again for your time. Yes, I would like to tell the readers to feel free to contact me at
[email protected] if they have any questions about the solutions we offer.

GLOBAL SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE | WWW.GSENS.NL

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW
GLOBAL SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE | WWW.GSENS.NL