For several years, We Know IT has worked together with URW to develop and improve a digital work preparation portal in Sweden. The portal has become an important tool for structuring work processes, collecting the right information and making the handling of work preparations more efficient across shopping centres.
Now, the solution has taken its next major step. For the first time, the same type of system has been expanded outside Sweden. The work started at the end of 2024, continued with development and testing throughout 2025, and the portal is now live in two shopping centres in the Netherlands: Stadshart Amstelveen and Westfield Mall of the Netherlands.
Work preparations in shopping centres involve several stakeholders, routines and information flows. When work is planned or carried out, the right information needs to be submitted, reviewed, communicated and approved in a clear and structured way.
The Swedish version of the portal had already been developed and improved over several years. The next step was to adapt the solution for a new market, new users and new local requirements. For URW, the goal was to create a more scalable digital process that could support both Sweden and the Netherlands, while still allowing each market and shopping centre to have its own adjustments.
For We Know IT, the project became an important example of how a digital solution can grow from a local platform into an international tool.
The project began with setup, planning and requirements gathering at the end of 2024. From there, the work continued through backend development, frontend development, testing, quality assurance and launch preparations.
A central part of the collaboration was understanding how the portal needed to work in practice for the Dutch shopping centres. The solution had to support a new market, but also remain familiar, scalable and easy to manage over time.
The portal was adapted with support for country selection, multilingual functionality, updated login flows, adjusted data structures and tailored email flows for each shopping centre. The interface was also adjusted for the Dutch market, including translations, layouts and local settings.
Beyond the market expansion itself, an important part of the project was to make the application process easier to understand and more accessible for users.
We Know IT worked with accessibility improvements and added guidance through tooltips throughout the application flow. These tooltips help users understand what information should be entered, why it is needed and how different parts of the application should be completed.
The goal is to reduce uncertainty, make the portal easier to use and help users submit more complete and accurate applications from the start. For URW, this should lead to fewer manual follow-up questions, fewer incomplete submissions and a smoother review process.
Over time, these improvements are expected to contribute to shorter handling times, better data quality and a more consistent way of working across multiple shopping centres and markets.
A key factor in the project was the role played by Christian Schultz, Client Project Manager at URW. Expanding a solution from one country to another is not only a technical task. It also requires a deep understanding of local workflows, stakeholder needs and the practical challenges that users face in their daily work.
From the client side, Christian helped gather and clarify requirements, identify potential obstacles and explain how the work preparation process is used in the Netherlands. This input was important for making sure that the portal was not simply copied from the Swedish version, but adapted to fit the Dutch context.
By translating operational needs into clear priorities and feedback, Christian played an important role in helping the project move forward in the right direction. His involvement created a stronger bridge between the technical development team and the people who would use the portal in practice.
"The Westfield Mall of the Netherlands is a complex environment — over 120,000 m² with almost 280 tenants, meaning there is always someone on site carrying out maintenance, a renovation, or a fit-out. Managing that safely requires structure.
The portal gives us exactly that.
What makes me most proud is not just the portal itself, but the way we built it together with We Know IT as a true partner, our contractors giving honest feedback, and a result that now gives our entire team the structure and confidence to manage the largest Mall in the Netherlands."
- Christian Schultz, Technical Manager, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands
The portal is now live and in full operation at Stadshart Amstelveen and Westfield Mall of the Netherlands.
For URW, this marks an important step in the continued digitalisation of work preparation processes. Tasks that previously required more manual handling can now be managed in a more structured, traceable and scalable way.
The accessibility improvements and tooltips are also expected to improve the overall quality of applications. When users receive guidance directly in the flow, they are more likely to submit complete information from the beginning. This creates better conditions for faster reviews, clearer communication and less administrative work.
For We Know IT, the project is a strong example of how a long-term collaboration can create value over time. A solution that started in Sweden has now been adapted for a new country and can continue to evolve as URW’s needs grow.
“Seeing the portal grow from a Swedish solution into a scalable international tool has been a very rewarding process. Together with URW, we have focused not only on technical expansion, but on creating a clearer, more accessible and more useful experience for the people working with it every day. We are proud of the result and excited to continue developing the platform further.”
- Lucas Olsson, Project Manager, We Know IT
We Know IT is proud to be part of URW’s continued digitalisation journey and looks forward to continuing the collaboration.
