HansaWorld South Africa shines in first year

Global enterprise software company HansaWorld says its South African branch, established just over a year ago, is the fastest-growing business in its global network and already one of the top five HansaWorld sites.

"The South African operation is about 50% above the targets we set for both profitability and customer numbers," said company founder Karl Bohlin on a recent visit to the country. "We have over 70 active customers in industries including motor sales, retail and distribution."

HansaWorld`s software is specifically designed for small and medium enterprises, offering functionality including financial management and analysis, logistics, warehouse management and customer relationship management.

Bohlin said the company had been pleasantly surprised by its success: "We`ve discovered that our products and services are very suitable for this market. We have several new technologies that none of our local competitors can match, as well as great ease of use and low installation costs. That means our customers get excellent results for a much smaller investment than with some other products."

The technology to support handheld devices and mobile working has been available for sometime and there is a particular demand for this in South Africa. "You have a very big country with long travelling distances," he said. "It`s a real advantage for sales and service people on the road to have easy access to important information in the system. The new functionality enables a sales person, for example, to check a customer`s purchase history while he`s waiting at reception."

Bohlin said it had proved easier than expected to find the necessary skills in South Africa and that the company had already signed up 24 partners in South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. "Within 12 months we are hoping to have partners in every English-speaking nation south of the Sahara," he said. The company is also about to open a second office in Cape Town.