Sponsorship is one of the most important sources of income in volleyball. Even so, many clubs still manage their partners with scattered spreadsheets, folders and email threads. The Volleyball Bundesliga is now changing that. Together with Paktum, it is reorganising its partner management, not only at league level but for its clubs as well.
Key takeaways
The Volleyball Bundesliga (VBL), Germany's professional volleyball league, and Paktum have entered a partnership, initially for two years.
The aim is partner management for the league and its clubs that is central, efficient and transparent.
SVG Lüneburg, TV Rottenburg and VC Gotha are already working with Paktum.
The clubs also benefit from sharing knowledge and proven processes within the league.
Why the VBL is reorganising its partner management
In many organisations, offers, contracts, rights and invoices are kept in different places. That costs time, causes errors and makes it hard to keep track. The VBL wants to replace these structures, which have grown over the years, with a single way of working that will hold up in the future.
“The efficient digital development of our partner management processes is an important step in taking the Volleyball Bundesliga and its clubs to a new level organisationally. In Paktum, we have gained a partner that understands the demands of sport and helps us make the organisation of our partnerships more professional, easier and more transparent,” says Kim Oszvald-Renkema, Managing Director of the Volleyball Bundesliga.
What Paktum takes care of for the league and its clubs
Paktum brings every step of partner management together on one platform:
Offers: Put together packages for partners and create offers directly in the system
Contract management: Store contracts centrally and keep terms and deadlines in view
Rights management: See which rights have been sold and which are still available
Invoicing: Generate invoices automatically from contract data
Controlling: Know where your sponsorship stands at any time
This removes manual work and sources of error. The time saved goes where it belongs: into looking after partners.
“What convinced us most is that Paktum combines technology with practical experience in sport,” says Kim Oszvald-Renkema.
SVG Lüneburg, TV Rottenburg and VC Gotha are already on board
The partnership is already having an effect at club level. We have welcomed three clubs from the Volleyball Bundesliga as customers: SVG Lüneburg, TV Rottenburg and VC Gotha. They now manage their partners, contracts and rights centrally in Paktum, making them pioneers in the league.
Other clubs can build on the same foundation. Rights catalogues, contract templates and processes that have proven themselves in Lüneburg, Rottenburg or Gotha can be adopted and adapted to each club.
SVG Lüneburg
In Lüneburg, we marked the start with a jersey presentation outside the arena. Since then, SVG's partners, contracts and rights have been managed in Paktum.
TV Rottenburg
TV Rottenburg also kicked off with a jersey bearing the Paktum logo. The club now brings its partner management together in one place as well.
VC Gotha
With VC Gotha, we have agreed a long-term partnership.
What clubs gain from working together
The clubs in the league face similar tasks: putting together packages for partners, keeping track of deliverables and deadlines, sending invoices on time. Usually a small team in the club office handles all of this. A shared system takes work off that team's plate and makes it easier to exchange ideas with other clubs.
“Together with the Volleyball Bundesliga as a pioneer, we are providing a tailor-made sponsorship management system with Paktum that replaces the spreadsheet chaos of the past. The fact that SVG Lüneburg, TV Rottenburg and VC Gotha are on board from the start shows us how great the need is among the clubs,” says Patrick Laux, Founder and Managing Director of Paktum.
The shared goal is clear: not just mapping processes, but improving them.
What happens next
Following our partnership with the DEL2, working with the VBL is another important step for us towards a system that meets the needs of sport as a whole. Over the coming months, we want to help more clubs in the league make the switch to Paktum.
Do you work at a Volleyball Bundesliga club and want to reorganise your partner management? Book a demo with Paktum. In 30 minutes, we will show you what the switch could look like for your club.