Tech solutions are revolutionizing service delivery pathways and @YS aims to be at the forefront automating workflows for small businesses.  Bernard Ndolo

Tech solutions are revolutionizing service delivery pathways and @YS aims to be at the forefront automating workflows for small businesses.  Bernard Ndolo

The world is now in a hybrid working scenario, but at the onset of the crisis, this was not the case. Many business owners had to close down temporarily or liquidate as they were faced with a sudden gap in communication and service delivery. Should another crisis hit in the near future, both service providers and customers need to be better equipped to avoid instances of panic buying or gaps in procuring and offering services. 

This is where the @YS app, a two in one application, comes in. It is built to empower Luxembourg’s small businesses by managing their entire product and service delivery processes and improving the customer service experience in a post-covid world. Founder & CEO, Bernard Ndolo, says most of Luxembourg’s small businesses “have struggled with this new virtual business reality” triggering the need to digitise workflow processes and interactions between clients and service providers.

The app, which officially launched on 30 June, offers a variety of services from nine local businesses in Luxembourg. This is expected to increase to at least 40 businesses by the end of the year. The criteria for selecting the business was solely founded on common ideals such as the desire for businesses to boost visibility, service and product delivery, access more customers, and manage the daily operations virtually. 

Some of the services currently on offer include dog grooming, beauty and skincare, clean air (spray simulating the smell of the forest), mind soul and body, cleaning, laundry, car wash, apple training and PC support. 

@YS also supports Android and iOS devices and is available in Luxembourgish, French, German, Portuguese and English. The app automatically adapts to the users' preferred language settings and users have the possibility to choose between the customer interface or the service provider interface all offering numerous features. 

It also uses stripe, a secure payment platform, making purchases safe for customers and efficient for service providers who can benefit from the cashflow management and invoicing features. For most of the business, who already had social media accounts, websites or no online visibility at all, the solution promises to be a game changer as it also comes at zero costs for local businesses until 2023. 

A leading motivation for Bernard and his team is to support Luxembourg-based small businesses, with several volunteers contributing their time and resources to realise the project, an effort that Bernard says contributed significantly to its success. 

Quoting Steve Jobs, the solution founder says: "you can make the greatest product in the world, but without proper packaging, the value of that product or service is reduced" 

The app also has a website providing more information with videos describing each of the businesses " because a video says a million words". 

Social media Facebook and Instagram also provide additional details and the app can be downloaded on Apple appstore and Google play store