CALVI was founded in 2001 and has had its focus on the telecom bill for almost two decades. CALVI takes responsibility for the complete user experience surrounding the bill and is a pioneer in the field of Bill Communication. CALVI believes the bill to be one of the most crucial components in the customer relationship. They envision a world in which all bills are hassle-free and easy to handle. Together with their customers, they turn the bill into an asset.
Throughout the years, CALVI has established a strong market presence in several key markets in Europe. CALVI’s customers include all telecom operators in the Netherlands, the incumbent operator in Belgium and two operators in Germany. Last year (2018) CALVI felt that the timing was right to further extend their market presence by opening an office in Toronto (Canada). This newly opened office helps them expand their global footprint.
The journey continues
But the story in Europe hasn’t ended for CALVI as there are still many operators that could benefit from CALVI’s Bill Communication solution. Southern-Europe was identified as a key target area for them. They are well aware of the cultural differences and possible language barriers, so they decided to look for a partner that could provide assistance in these specific areas.
Maarten Immink (Key Account Manager at CALVI, focusing on the South-European market): “We carried out an extensive due diligence process and interviewed various potential partners. Eventually, we selected Aexus. They were able to provide us with a team of local sales executives, who speak the local languages, understand the culture and – most importantly – had an extensive track record in the telecom industry. They brought a network of personal contacts, at multiple levels and in various departments within the South-European CSPs to the table, which we could leverage in our initial market entry. Besides, it was clear to us that Aexus is in it for the long run. They are able to manage complex sales processes for a niche product such as ours and understand that sales cycles in our industry can take a long time. Since we were also looking for a long term, strategic engagement, the match with Aexus was very obvious.”
Off to a promising start
After the scope of the activities was defined, Aexus invited CALVI for a training session to its Barcelona office. Immink: “We gave a training about our mission, vision, organization and product, and despite our short time together we were immediately convinced about Aexus’ quality and intelligence. We decided to sign the contract on the spot and felt confident that we were off to a promising start.”
Aexus delivered on its promise. Immink: “Before working with Aexus, I’ve had several online meetings with prospects in Italy, France and Spain, which led to interesting opportunities. But the fact that we are now working with a local organization offers us so much more. Aexus adds a lot of value by assisting us during meetings, communicating in the local language and the follow-up after a meeting. The Aexus team briefs us before we step into a meeting. Their local network opened several doors in a short period of time and the follow-up of the meetings seem to be more effective. Even though our partnership has just started, we are already working on several very concrete opportunities.”
Strategic importance
CALVI noticed that C-level executives are delighted about the strategic partnership. Immink: “Our prospects value the fact that we have identified Southern-Europe as an area of strategic importance. They notice that our organization is in it for the long run and they appreciate the fact that we now have local presence. Through very structured reporting, transparent and direct communication, Aexus keeps us updated on all relevant happenings in the market.”
The collaboration between Aexus and CALVI in Southern-Europe is most likely only the beginning of a much broader partnership. Immink: “We are impressed with the level of dedication of the Barcelona-team and are looking to extend the collaboration to other areas as well.”