This year, Centivis turns 3 and we have officially received the ISO 9001 certification. What are the challenges and milestones of running a diagnostics consultancy from Switzerland? And what does the ISO 9001 certification mean for clients and partners? We discuss with Centivis Founder and Managing Director Norbert Farkas.
Centivis turns 3 this year. What are some key challenges you have faced building the company?
1. Building trust takes time. Establishing any new brand, such as Centivis from scratch requires perseverance. Since we are supporting world-leading diagnostics and pharma clients, the bar is high and competition intense. We are aware that we have to deliver on our promise (i.e., to capture the value of diagnostics) well and consistently in order to build trust. Clients are looking for results and not empty promises.
2. We serve a niche market and operate out of Switzerland. Centivis helps to solve our clients' (digital) diagnostics access and policy challenges. This is a niche and relatively novel field. Whilst there are more such opportunities in the pharma sector, there are fewer in the diagnostics field.
Identifying such potential opportunities takes a longer time, but once we were able to find them, we have a good chance to be the partner of choice as we specialise in such projects. Fulfilling client expectations and delivering excellent results becomes even more crucial as we aim for happy and returning customers.
Operating with full-time consultants out of Switzerland is a challenge as overheads tend to be higher. As such, we work with a smaller but highly efficient team that can tap on our proprietary knowledge base to connect the dots.
We also utilise innovative technology to support internal processes (e.g. AI interview transcription bots, ready-made CRM systems). This helps us spend less time on admin and more time on solving client problems.
3. Project scoping and proposal development are even more crucial for a small start-up like ours. As consultants, we often add value by solving problems in a mental model, bringing stakeholders together or executing solutions. Having been in the industry for 15 years, I have sat on both sides of the table. Problem-solving is a partnership between consultants and clients – it is essential to define the problem accurately and find out where the client needs the most help in solving it vs. repeating what he, she knows, can achieve internally without a consultant’s help.
Whilst scoping proposals, we try our best not to overpromise and underdeliver. This is an important principle for us at Centivis.
What are some milestones are successes for Centivis?
1. Every new, happy, and returning client: Once we are able to sign up a new client, deliver a project with Eureka moments and build trust, it is truly a milestone for us. We hope to prove our expertise to clients so that they return for more.
2. Building the team and helping them grow: I am proud of my team. Finding the right colleagues who are curious, willing to explore, go the extra mile, and seeing them grow, is truly a blast
3. 2020 was a roller coaster and most probably 2021 also remains one: Adjusting to work-from-home culture due to Covid and keeping up good spirits was a challenge but the team managed to tackle that whilst delivering well. We were also able to be a net job creator and contribute to the economy in these difficult times.
In the next year, we look forward to expanding our knowledge beyond Europe (e.g. to Asia and Latin America). With more risk scores, telehealth, and apps, digital is also becoming the glue that connects puzzle pieces together and we look forward to applying our expertise in this area.
Centivis has just received the ISO 9001 certification. What does this mean for clients and partners?
The ISO 9001 is a declaration that quality is important to us at Centivis. To achieve this certification, we had to articulate our systems and document our internal work processes.
This ensures that our systems are built up structurally (i.e., not over-reliant on specific staff) and that we are positioned for a long-term game.
For clients, this means easier procurement and quicker vendor evaluation with this quality seal. Please check out our Quality Policy here. Though an important milestone for us, we aim to stay true to our promise of achieving results for clients.