Customer case: Keatech

29 October 2020- 14 min read

Customer Case

Do as Keatech and add a big spoonful of Upodi to your subscription business.

Imagine that you where dealing with this dilemma:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if you had 15 years of experience with having and running a subscription business – and then realized that the provider of your subscription platform…     

❌ forced you to - manually - move every single customer who exceeded the payment deadline?

❌ did not allow your customers sign up for automatic payment - even if they wanted to?

❌ made it impossible for you to keep statistics of your entire subscription portfolio?

❌ put the brakes on your opportunities for expanding international quickly?  

 

And no: Your existing provider was not the neighbours it-loving teenager – however, one of Denmark’s biggest players on the field…

 

What would you do?

Exactly this dilemma faced CEO Martin O. Mikaelsen from Keatech four months ago. 

And that was not sustainable for the company – who is built upon a simple, unproblematic and fully covering subscription scheme for customers:   

We provide GPS tracking and fleet management for master craftsmen and craftsmen; when they want an overview of where their cars and machines are - and where they have been, ” says Martin.

And he continues:  

And if a locksmith, for example, has mounted the tracker in his 10 cars, and he gets a call from a customer who has locked himself out - it is smart that he can send the car that is closest. Our customer does not have to call around to all his cars to hear where they are. Instead, he goes to an overview map and finds the right car there.

Keatech's customers rent the hardware - the tracker itself - instead of buying it, but WITHOUT the get-started investment of around DKK 1,000 as many others in the industry charge.

Via an ongoing subscription, Keatech's customers pay just DKK 75 per month per vehicle with the GPS tracker installed.

Make a "subscription mix" according to YOUR and the customers' taste.

With his 15 years of experience in the "subscription area", Martin knows everything about the various platforms on the market. Therefore, Keatech was for a period connected to a well-known Danish provider's subscription system:

Previously, I used XXXXXXXX's subscription module for invoicing. A lot of invoices were generated, which had a FI payment card:

I then had to make sure that the customers paid in via that card. But I had to move for the money when the customers did not pay on time. Many of the customers actually wanted to sign up for an automatic payment scheme - but it could not be done.

And in terms of report sharing regarding how one's subscription portfolio is constantly evolving: XXXXXXXXX did not have that.

But I found out that Upodi had that - as well as the opportunity to offer my customers to sign up for payment via credit card and "LeverandørService"; which are the two payment methods we use now.

By switching to Upodi, Keatech gained "automated control" over the challenges that their previous provider could not solve for them.

 

BUT… it does not stop here:

 

Martin explains:  

"Keatech also has an international aim. We do not just want to stay on Danish soil. The plan is that we will initially expand to the other Nordic and European countries. And Upodi is setup with well-functioning integration to payment intermediaries in those countries.

 

That is why we are not going to change horses with the whole ‘engine,’ when we move internationally. The infrastructure is in place; so they can help us from Day 1. And Upodi is geared so that international customers can pay with the payment cards or payment channels they know. It gives customers - and us - a huge advantage. And saves a lot of time and hassle. 

 

Look forward to the collaboration: "Upodi is not burdened by management teams"

 

YOUR COMPANY'S CHALLENGES probably do not look like Keatechs… at least not 1: 1.

But are subscription schemes included as an essential part of your business model?

Then you also save time, hassle and money when you choose our platform.

Okay - honestly: It is to be expected that we ourselves say so…

 

That's why you get Martin's words about the collaboration:

 

The collaboration with Upodi has been smooth. Like us at Keatech, they are a startup company - which, for example, is not burdened by a lot of management teams. They are very agile and know how to make things work.

If we have a desire for the system, they are quick to catch it - and then adapt things for us. We only spent four weeks implementing the new system - from the time we made the initial contact until we went into operation; and invoiced all customers through Upodi. It has gone fast.

 

Although the nice words please us, we must add one thing:

 

Well, four weeks from first contact to full-blown operation IS fast - but that is equally due to the fact that Keatech also had allocated the necessary internal resources.

 

This type of conversion can only be done when both parties work systematically and dedicated to it. And we take our hats off to the intense work that Keatech did during those four weeks.

 

If you also want to move so quickly to a new and smooth subscription system with your company, it may well be possible - if you are ready … 😉 

 

We are.  

 

Of course, we help you along the way - and equip your team optimally for the task.

Among other things, you get a contact person from Upodi; your own regular customer success manager:

 

"He helped us through the whole process," says Martin O. Mikaelsen. "And he answered all our questions about the platform and the integration - and helped us when we wanted something fixed."

 

Can you do EVERYTHING with Upodi's subscription system?

 

Everything… is a big word.

But that is the goal.

 

And we are well on our way:     

  • Your existing software can easily be transferred to our system - via our special API; which lets the programs talk "liquid data" to each other.
  • We ARE established internationally. So if you want to open a market in Germany, Norway, Spain or the Netherlands, for example, we already have the system up and running for you.

  • Regardless of your company's - and your customers' - size, Upodi is default geared to handle even the most dizzying B2B billing (including backup payment methods).

  • Even skewed subscription periods, time zone differences, ups and downs in the customer's subscription type, different billing periods, etc.… you get automatic and effortless control of it all.

 

Or as Martin puts it:

"I am positively surprised at how well Upodi has thought about everything: As soon as you dive just a little into subscription management, there is a lot to keep track of - to make it run properly.

My expectations have been met. And I can see that Upodi has the will to solve the challenges we meet. I can feel that they have the special start-up culture: Something is happening because they really want something.

I prefer that - rather than working with a large organisation.

 

But how about you?

 

What is the status for your subscription company?

 

Does your subscription system give you sleepless nights?

 

Let’s hear where you are (at the moment).

1-Jan-06-2021-09-53-13-68-AM

For example, get rid of more unnecessary speculation, redundant manual workflows and payment challenges with international customers:

Get a subscription business with a smooth operating system that is mixed specifically for you and your customers' tastes and needs.

 

YOUR WARRANTY: If we cannot help you, we will say it as it is:

 

We only promise you something we can keep. (Pinky swear)


 

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Piper McKenzie

Piper McKenzie

Piper is our Head of Marketing. He is passionate about delivering business growth through media projects and marketing campaigns. Piper joined the team in February 2022.