English version: From JDS to Plan-IT

We would like to take you back to the early years of JDS bedrijfsautomatisering (IT-company), the starting point of a journey that would lead to the creation of Plan-IT, a leading workshop scheduling tool in the Netherlands. This is the story of pioneering spirit, technological challenges, and the first steps towards a solution that would completely transform workshop organisation.

It all began in 1985, when Julian Hendriks, just 19 years old, along with his father Piet, decided to establish Junior Data Systems (JDS). At a time when computer usage in the Netherlands was still in its infancy, Julian saw opportunities in the rapidly emerging world of IT. While Microsoft released version 3.2 of the DOS operating system, the technology was far from mainstream. Yet, Julian recognised the potential of computers and software to help businesses work more efficiently. And so, JDS was born, with the ambition to automate business processes and provide software solutions for the local market.

In its early years, JDS focused on automating business processes, mainly for small to medium-sized businesses. Technological progress was still limited, but the vision was clear: businesses could operate more efficiently with the right IT solutions. The first major step towards Plan-IT occured when a customer struggled with an inefficient analogue scheduling board in their workshop. This was the moment for Julian to think about how workshop scheduling could be automated, a groundbreaking idea at the time.

In 1996, the actual development work for the digital workshop scheduling tool began. The software was written in Clipper, a programming language that was popular in the 1980s for business software. The goal was simple: a digital version of the analogue schedule board on which technicians followed their work orders. This digital planner allowed workshop employees to see the schedule directly on their screens, without having to constantly walk over to a physical board. It seemed like a simple solution, but it would mark the beginning of something much larger.

During his internship at JDS, Rogier had the opportunity to further develop this project. What started as a simple task soon grew into a more complex development project. The workshop scheduling tool was converted to VDF (Visual Dataflex) and later to a Windows version. These technical developments brought challenges, but they also led to increasing innovation in the planner, ensuring the eventual success of Plan-IT.

In 2000, the workshop planner was officially launched as Plan-IT. The software was a simple digital version of the traditional planning board, but it quickly became clear that this was more than just a replacement for the old system. Plan-IT enabled workshop managers and technicians to manage the schedule in real-time and track the progress of work orders. The transition from the physical board to the digital planner resulted in a more efficient workshop, where employees could directly consult the schedule, making the workshop calmer and more productive.

Although the first version of Plan-IT was initially met with some scepticism, it soon gained the trust of customers. What initially seemed like a simple solution quickly became an indispensable tool for workshops seeking to increase their efficiency. The shift to digital workshop scheduling was a significant milestone in the history of Plan-IT and the way workshops were managed.

Stay updated on our progress!
In future articles, we will take a closer look at the growth and innovations that have driven Plan-IT’s success. 

Do you have any fond memories or a great story related to Plan-IT? Send it to marketing@plan-it.nl. We’re collecting these wonderful stories and turning them into an exciting anthology.