At Veidekke we use the phrase value-creating partnerships. It is a phrase that is both our aspiration and thus a central component of our business strategy.
On the customer's terms
Firstly, interaction enables us to better resolve the project's challenges on the customer's terms. No projects are alike, and no customers are alike. It is therefore important for us to determine the desired degree of involvement by the customer early on and to actively listen to the requirements that are communicated to us. In this way we achieve satisfied customers who feel that they have been acknowledged, taken seriously and who return later on. Currently approx. 80% of customers in the contracting operations are returning customers, which indicates that we have succeeded with this.
Close cooperation necessary to assess risk
Secondly, close cooperation is necessary for our own assessment of risk in the project. Do we have a common understanding of goals and any challenges? Do we have converging views on what the project is intended to be for the users – the customer's customer? Is this a customer we can cooperate well with? These issues are very important for assessing risk and profitability in a project.
Joint problem solving is systematic efficiency
Thirdly, close cooperation with the customer makes us more efficient. Certain parts of the contracting sector are conflict-oriented due to an unclear division of responsibility between the principal and the contractor. In such situations good relations and the ability to jointly resolve problems is very important. We can to a greater degree take hold of potential problems at an early stage, and those challenges that arise in a project may more easily be resolved between two parties that trust one another.
Better equipped to face future challenges
These issues form the basis for the idea of interaction for added value in building projects and are important elements in Veidekke's strategic differentiation. We believe that such cooperation with the customer makes us better equipped to face future challenges in the contracting sector, and will help us achieve our strategic goals of better profit margins and a continued strong Scandinavian position.
