At the end of 2001, it was difficult to introduce a cloud solution to municipal lost and found offices. And yet FundInfo quickly became the market leader. As a cross-municipal service for more than 800 towns and municipalities with a single, shared database, FundInfo was a success story right up to the end.
The “lost and found office concept” has one major strength: there is exactly one place where a found item must be handed in: (usually) the municipal lost and found office. This is the only way for the loser to know exactly where to get the lost item back. The disadvantage: the loser often does not even know the location of the lost item (e.g. after a sightseeing tour in Berlin). In addition, there are lengthy paths in workflow and communication, so that replacement is often the quicker solution.
In November 2001, Dr. Westernacher & Partner Unternehmensberatung AG launched FundInfo, a cloud solution that eliminated this disadvantage by enabling the connected lost and found offices to use a single, shared database. The loser could now search from home around the clock.
The lost and found book. A familiar sight in 800 lost and found offices for almost two decades.
The success of this cooperative concept made FundInfo the market leader as early as 2003. In Germany alone, more than 800 cities and municipalities with more than 20 million inhabitants have been part of the FundInfo information network for many years. In 2018, Westernacher Solutions parted ways with the Lost & Found division for strategic reasons – but is still benefiting from the experience gained here today.
A consistent concept from the discovery of a lost property to it´s utilization when it is not taken back by the loser or by the finder. The solution is characterized by easy handling and quick results for employees in the citizens’ office when entering data and for citizens searching at home. Cost-benefit analyses are positive at the latest when the police and other public authorities are involved – not to mention the image gain.
Volker Arms // IT manager of the town of Gifhorn and initiator of the cross-municipal use of FundInfo in the district of Gifhorn // March 2004
SHARE OF SERVICES (%) FROM OUR SERVICE PORTFOLIO
TECHNOLOGY
Team Assistant Janina Faist // Office Manager Pascal Dewes
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