Devoteam – Mercato provides an all-round market administration system

There are eight markets in The Hague, including an antiques and book market, a farmers’ market and five neighbourhood markets. The jewel in the crown, however, is without doubt the convivial Haagse Markt with over 500 permanent stalls and 25,000 daily visitors, making it one of the largest open-air markets in Europe. To improve the management and control of all these markets, the municipality made a radical switch from ‘paper to digital’ with the aid of the agile development method. Devoteam was called in to act as an intermediary between the client, i.e. the municipality of The Hague, and the builder of the new market administration system, Mercato. Rick Warnar, interim Head of Markets, highlights what has been achieved and what the advantages are.

Responsive, real-time management of markets in The Hague

The market is an outdoor event that achieves various social objectives. It contributes to the economy, provides employment and promotes social cohesion in a neighbourhood. The market fulfils a primary needs but also has a ‘fun’ component, particularly in the case of the Haagse Markt. There are also various aspects relating to sustainability and enforcement. We look at the organisation of our markets, the granting of permits, the primary processes and information provision from all these perspectives.

From Notepad to Real-Time: A Revolution in Market Management

The main objective of Mercato was to interconnect all these various components and processes around the organisation of markets. Whereas the market superintendent had to do everything inefficiently with a notepad, he can now view all relevant market information in real time on his tablet and supervise market stallholders more effectively. Do they have a permit? Are they in the right position? Have they paid? And, for example, is there anyone on the stall who has no work permit? This real-time operation was the game-changer. The market superintendent now has all the facts at his fingertips and can therefore act decisively.

Uniting Stakeholders: The Key to Successful Development

The primary challenge in creating Mercato was involving the many stakeholders across the municipality. Devoteam’s crucial role was to act as the link between the local authority and Mercato’s creator. They drew up the functional requirements in collaboration with all departments, safeguarding everyone’s interests during development.

The agile methodology was a great help, enabling stakeholders to see the market administration system gradually take shape. This close collaboration between the operational side and information provision is vital for success.

Devoteam effectively facilitated this collaboration, ensuring that despite evolving regulations, each version of Mercato was thoroughly tested and went into production on time.

Data-Driven Decisions: Enhancing Services and Ensuring Compliance

Mercato has become an indispensable part of our day-to-day work. We can access valuable data to constantly improve the markets and their supervision, even using visitor footfall patterns for marketing. Links to the police, tax authority, and social security agency allow us to ensure legal compliance. A recent data discovery project helped us identify and ban stallholders involved in illegal acts like money-laundering and working without a permit. Improving services for stallholders is also a priority. We are developing a business portal for them to view their information and for daily stallholders to check pitch availability. Future plans include new links to the Chamber of Commerce and Municipal Personal Records databases, ensuring the platform is constantly enriched.

Pioneering the Future: From Market Administration Success to Managing All Municipal Assets

That will enable Mercato to be constantly enriched and help ensure the smooth organisation of market administration systems. The Hague is really leading the way with this solution and I can see why other local authorities are interested. Because why would you want to develop something yourself if there’s already a working solution that has proved its worth? Work has now also started with Devoteam on the development of GISIB, a solution focused not so much on the market processes, as in the case of Mercato, but on the management of municipal property. That includes, for example, the permanent market stalls with shutters in the Haagse Markt, but also other non-market-related property such as lampposts and fixed flower boxes in The Hague. In this way we’re contributing to the ongoing digitisation of government, cost reduction and improvement of our services.