Can you tell us about COOP PORTAGE?
Johnny Gislard
“I’m in charge of COOP PORTAGE, a new umbrella company that started up directly with the VSP software at the beginning of 2023.
Our company has a long history with a French group, SMART. So we had some experience of working with salaried employees, but under a different model to that of “wage portage”.
Paul Alain Boulvert
“We have a wide variety of profiles. A lot of advertising agencies, a lot of packages, single-customer and multi-customer.”
What is your role within COOP PORTAGE?
We are Johnny GISLARD, President – Founding Partner of COOP PORTAGE and administrator of the VSP tool; and Paul Alain BOULVERT, who is also a tool administrator and regular user.
Why did you choose VSP at COOP PORTAGE?
Johnny Gislard
“We had targeted 3 publishers. Basically, it was between you, VSPortage, and Dynamics wage portage.
It was a company that also offered a good solution, but for the same functionality, the difference came down to cost, which was a little lower with you. The little extra that made the difference was the electronic signature functionality.
What were your fears about implementing ERP in your company?
Johnny Gislard
“At first, we were apprehensive about both the new features of the tool and the regulatory context of freelance administration.
But for us, it was quite reassuring to be able to rely on what was configured in the tool, saying to ourselves: this is how it’s supposed to work.
Given that the tool is more comprehensive than what we had before, there was also some apprehension about how to get to grips with the interface, so we created in-house tutorials taking what already existed on your side and gearing them more towards the end user to facilitate this change.”
How did the VSP integration process go, and how did you get on with our teams?
Johnny Gislard
“Since January, we’re still in the discovery phase. We have 80 employees and 15 salaried staff. It’s not a huge flow, so it still allows us, as we go along, to fine-tune the system and adapt the parameters on the basis of feedback. That’s the way we’ve worked, by iteration since our first months in business.
In terms of settings, it’s great to be able to play with adjustments. Where before, we had a very fixed tool, in which we didn’t know where to put our hands to change a parameter, with VSP we can modify rights without fear of breaking the machine, and if there’s a problem, we can go back.
In addition, we took 4 training courses that were useful in helping us get started. It would have been complicated without it. To get an initial overview of the tool, it was really necessary.”
Paul Alain Boulvert
“The creation of Coop Portage and the setting up of VSP are linked, but as Johnny said at the start-up, SMART has existed in France for 15 years.
The company was developed with an in-house ERP and IT team. We took what was feasible and tried to transpose it to the regulatory context, so that employees using the other interface could benefit from the same functionalities.
The aim was to make it easy for users to change software without losing the support of their staff.
What do you like best about VSP?
Johnny Gislard
“It’s really nice to use your VSP solution and the support that goes with it, because we had a very aging tool. Now that we have a very stable tool with no bugs, we really appreciate it.
Even though I’m not a geek myself, I found the application to be very logical. When you want to put something in place, it’s very pleasant to search a little and generally find what you’re looking for.
The support is good too, very responsive and meets our needs, so that’s great.
So that’s really a lot of positives to highlight.”
What results have you seen after 9 months of using VSP?
Johnny Gislard
“One point that seems fairly obvious to us, because we repeat it often enough, is all the items and functionalities linked to invoicing: invoices, reminders, follow-up, and everything that VSP brings in terms of traceability. It’s a bit like night and day compared to what we had before, so it’s a real gain.
What’s more, it’s a feature that we can add value to commercially with porters, so it’s very good on that score.”
Paul Alain BOULVERT
Insofar as invoicing is internalized, this gives us real time monitoring of invoice dispatch, reconciliation, reminders, etc.,” explains Jean-Louis. Before, we had to go through different people to get the information, and with Excel spreadsheets external to the ERP.
With VSP, everything is centralized in one place, which makes a big difference.”
Would you recommend VSPortage?
Yes, completely.
