Torfs

Raf De Leu's business card says he is IT Operations Manager at Schoenen Torfs. Quite a mouthful, but the things Raf is responsible for are extensive: the network, the infrastructure, the security and various things around the website and the IT of the shops.

I started in 2008 as a System and Network Engineer at Torfs. At that time I was the second IT person in the company, but in the meantime the team has expanded. For example, we did not have a decent cash register system at that time. That literally went through a gigantic old IBM server under my desk.

Raf and his colleagues then developed the necessary software themselves, replaced old servers and rolled out a new ERP system. Somewhat later, they started to develop an ERP system themselves. The first people we hired were an FA, 2 .NET developers and a Software Test Engineer', says Raf.

Torfs already had its own web shop since 2012, making it a pioneer in Belgium. Later, this digital strategy was extended to the 80 physical shops and Torfs became a company with an omni-channel focus. For example, we were the first to have kiosks in the shop where customers can order shoes that are not in stock. They can then order them directly, pay for them and have them delivered to their home.'

Torfs & Axxes: we could have been twins

The team that worked on the ERP system quickly grew to a team of seven people, until it was decided that it was becoming too complex to want to develop everything ourselves. Raf: 'We tried to standardise, but that did not work out so well, so two years later we decided that we would rather develop it ourselves and we went back on that decision.'

So it is that there are now more than 15 IT people working at Schoenen Torfs. Since October 2020 Axxes consultant Benjamin De Schrijver has also been working in the team as a Software Test Engineer. 'We are busy with various IT projects. Not only the development of our ERP system, but also the implementation of the Mulesoft integration platform and the further digitalisation of our shops. An extra tester like Benjamin was more than welcome', says Raf.

It is nice to see that the company values of Axxes are so close to those of Torfs. Having the necessary knowledge and expertise is important, but it is even more important that your people share the vision and culture of the company. Benjamin comes across as someone who we could have easily hired ourselves: from day one it seemed like he had been here for years!

Part of the team

One of the first things Benjamin did at Torfs was to set up testing automation. Raf explains that only one hour after Benjamin's demonstration, he bought the necessary software to implement this way of working. 'In the meantime, he has really become part of our team. When we organised an online event in January, we also gave him a surprise at home. Consultant or not, he’s one of us!’