Director Digital Experience & Business

In 2016, Evonik Industries - the world's leading specialty chemicals company - acquired the Norwegian startup MedPalett AS. 

MedPalett specializes in anthocyanin-containing dietary supplements and markets the unique branded product MEDOX®: For over 17 years, subscribers in Norway have sworn by the power of wild Scandinavian blueberries and blackcurrants, which are rich in anthocyanins.

## Full service from a single source

In order to expand new digital business models, the subsidiary Evonik Digital GmbH, based in Essen, Germany, was founded in 2016. While searching for a full-service agency for the product launch of MEDOX® on the German market, the young company became aware of communicode. The focus of the selection process was on experience in different disciplines: what was required was a service provider who was convincing both conceptually and strategically as well as technologically. As one of the largest digital agencies in the Essen area, communicode was able to assert itself against the competition in the pitch. The focus of the new project is the product launch of MEDOX® on the German market.


## Digital product launch in Germany
In order to continue the success story of the Scandinavian superfood in Germany, a target group and market analysis was carried out first. On the basis of the information gathered, communicode conceived a digital market launch campaign for MEDOX®. After evaluating suitable marketing channels, a comprehensive media plan was created. Continuous performance optimization as well as a branding campaign to increase brand awareness were in the foreground.
In order to spread the innovative food supplement throughout Germany, communicode created targeted campaigns for display advertising as well as social media channels. These are flanked by SEO measures. In its function as overall project manager, communicode controls all service providers involved in the product launch.
The special challenge of the project was to professionally serve all necessary channels from one source and to be responsible for the market launch as a full service digital agency from the very first hour on.


## Online marketing at the highest level.

Currently, MEDOX® is only available online. communicode advised a "digital first strategy", which enables a simple success tracking and thus a timely adaptation at minimal cost risk. On the basis of Shopware 5.2, communicode developed a web store according to the latest technology standards. The Scandinavian brand product is only available by subscription, therefore the Premium Plugin AboCommerce is used: The plugin enables the end customer to place orders in self-determined intervals. In addition, graduated prices with special discount functions are guaranteed. To arouse the buying interest of new customers, the Shopware shopping worlds are used: The integration of videos, banners and product images present the product in all facets in a visually appealing way.
For a smooth live operation, communicode established a staging process: due to the strict separation of test and production environment, innovations can be tested without any risk. The hosting of the online store is carried out in the Cloud - via Amazon Web Services (AWS). In line with the brand image, communicode is responsible - in addition to the technical implementation - for the design creation as well as the content creation of the webshop.



## Sophisticated fulfillment processes for a service-oriented customer approach.
In addition to a wide range of payment methods and customer-friendly returns management, tailor-made after-sales services as well as sophisticated logistics processes are decisive for a positive shopping experience. communicode convinced Evonik Digital with its consulting competence in the field of fulfillment as well as the professional management of external logistics service providers and payment providers. The product launch took place within a project duration of only five months. Thanks to a holistic business strategy, the Essen-based company succeeded in equipping MEDOX® for the digital future. After a hypercare and maintenance phase, communicode will continue to accompany the brand product as a full service provider in the successive conquest of the digital market.

Evonik Industries AG

What was needed was a service provider who was convincing both conceptually and strategically as well as technologically. As one of the largest digital agencies in the Essen area, communicode was able to prevail against the competition in the pitch. The focus of the new project is the product launch of MEDOX® on the German market.

Case Study Evonik Medox in englisch als PDF

Case_Study_Evonik_Medox_EN.pdf

PDF download

evonik-medox-casestudy-header-communicode-2800x1750-72.jpg

Gefragt war ein Dienstleister, der sowohl konzeptionell und strategisch als auch technologisch überzeugte. Als eine der größten Digitalagenturen im Essener Raum konnte sich communicode im Pitch gegen die Konkurrenz durchsetzen. Im Mittelpunkt des neuen Projektes steht die Produkteinführung von MEDOX® auf dem deutschen Markt.

Skandinavisches Superfood MEDOX erobert den deutschen Markt

Scandinavian superfood MEDOX conquers the German market

Quality, technology, design and sustainability: these are the basic values of GROHE. Not only in the high-quality products from the world-famous sanitary fittings manufacturer, but also in the digital strategy. Quality, technology, design and sustainability: these are the basic values of GROHE. Not only in the high-quality products from the world-famous sanitary fittings manufacturer, but also in the digital strategy. System landscapes, channels and data typically grow historically - a central data pool as well as coordinated processes and responsibilities are the primary project goal that GROHE is pursuing together with communicode. 

- Data modeling using classifications, integration of SAP classifications  
- Optimization of processes for data maintenance and use  
- Implementation of SAP Hybris as a central data hub for product information  
- Connection of further source and publication systems (CELUM, WERKII, e-Spirit)  

The center of the system architecture is the Hybris PCM from the SAP Hybris Commerce Suite, which has been adapted to the requirements of GROHE’s Product Information Management (PIM). Print and web now get the product information from a data pool. 

Grohe AG

Quality, technology, design and sustainability: these are the fundamental values of GROHE. Not only in the high-quality products from the world-renowned sanitary fittings manufacturer, but also in its digital strategy. 

Frau im Badezimmerambiente mit Produkten von Grohe

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Qualität, Technologie, Design und Nachhaltigkeit: Das sind die grundlegenden Werte von GROHE. Nicht nur bei den hochwertigen Produkten vom weltbekannten Sanitärarmaturen-Hersteller, sondern auch in der digitalen Strategie. 

Produktinformationen im Fluss

GROHE - product information in flux  

Account Management

As a professional partner for the purchase and sale of precious metals in the Ruhr area, the 
knows the importance of trust and security for its industry. 
industry. That is why Moroder Scheideanstalt has decided to refine its website with a relaunch to meet current 
and thus to meet current requirements. In this way, it will continue to offer private and 
and business customers a secure platform for trading in precious metals. 
precious metals. communicode AG is looking forward to the constructive cooperation and a brilliant result. 
result.

Moroder Scheideanstalt GmbH

Standardised and automated provisioning processes and release management.We warmly welcome Moroder Scheideanstalt GmbH to communiversum. Together we are realising the relaunch of the e-commerce site based on Shopware.

moroder-hintergrund.jpg

Wir heißen die Moroder Scheideanstalt GmbH herzlich im communiversum willkommen. Gemeinsam realisieren wir den Relaunch des E-Commerce-Auftritts auf Basis von Shopware.

Der digitale Schritt in eine glänzende Zukunft

The digital step into a bright future

As early as in the 1960s, the lingerie maker Triumph ventured a step into the Asian market – this was an unusual and courageous move towards expansion at that time. Due to their combative management and shrill innovations such as the ,,Angel Bra“, Triumph rose to become the leading maker of lingerie in Japan. In order to preserve its pioneering role, Triumph already invested into e-commerce activities at quite an early stage. To remain successful and to increase revenue in the future the company decided in 2013 to replace and improve the existing proprietary e-commerce solution with SAP hybris. 

## Brand Leader through Targeted Customer Approach 
At present, the whole lingerie industry must deal with stagnant or even declining sales: new suppliers penetrate the market and put pressure on prizes. Therefore, manufacturers need to differentiate and define themselves clearly from one another. Triumph Japan decided to rely on customer service and an elaborated omnichannel strategy. For all their brands Triumph and Amos Style it conducts stationary trade. Hence, the aim is to link both worlds online and offline perfectly to one another and by doing so create a consumer centric overall shopping experience. The customer shall be perfectly advised at all levels of communication. 

The company’s central objective is a continuous development of their e-commerce system to increase turnover. That is closely linked to an increase of customer satisfaction which is enhanced by a refined customer approach in the stores. This is achieved by a consolidated data management – through usage of a scorecard for example – and marketing that reaches far beyond the realms of e-commerce into retail. So as to achieve this goal in the best possible way, internal processes had to be optimized in a further step. Therefore, the hybris customer service module is used which was adapted by communicode to Triumph’s individual requirements and is used since then by the internal stakeholders. 

## Upload to the Cloud 
An indispensable basis for an efficient omnichannel customer approach is, among others, a stable system architecture. The then existing architecture had reached its limit of capacity, due to an increase of traffic and even small variations led to extremely long page loading times. This was the reason why, in 2015, Triumph and communicode elaborated a concept for the implementation of an adequate system architecture for Triumph’s Japanese e-shop. Here the focus was on scalability, thrift, minimal risk, and future-proofness. A best practice solution was sought which allows scaling due to campaign rhythm and thus adjusts the used capacity precisely to demands. The decision was made for Amazon Web Services (AWS) that could further convince through good service and global dissemination. 

## From the idea to practice
In order to minimise the risk, a proof of concept tested the feasibility and outlined a scenario in which the existing system architecture was migrated and then optimised. After simulation of load tests during normal operation as well as at peak times it became clear that in terms of pricing vertical scaling was attractive even when it comes to cloud hosting, as capacities can temporarily be booked in addition. The decision was obvious: 30 % cost savings, 50 % sales growth within the test period, 40% more users, and a 30% higher conversion rate convinced and the pilot system was then gradually expanded into the productive system.
Besides the technical realisation, communicode also took over the project management and was thus responsible for the coordination of all project related service providers. In December 2015, after three months’ duration the project was successfully completed in time and budget. In order to assure smooth operation Triumph Japan makes use of communicode’s 24/7 support. A meeting is held once a month during which planned marketing activities such as TV spots, mailings, or voucher campaigns are communicated. 

## Lessons learned 
Each and every project is unique and such is each customer. An international project confronts us with challenges different from local projects. However, the ongoing collaboration between Triumph Japan and communicode proves that today’s technology makes it possible to bridge the missing physical proximity to the customer to a great extent. Like with all international projects a different and alien language and culture lead to a special situation that is to be dealt with. A certain amount of time is needed to establish oneself as a reliable strategic partner, since mutual trust has to be built on both sides. In addition, an agile working method presents a particular challenge when working remotely: thus, certain adaptations according to specific project and customer needs are required – and especially so when it comes to working within different time zones. 
However, alongside this knowledge we also gained experience on a technical scale: whoever wants to run a hybris online shop within the cloud needs expertise in the fields of application and cloud services. Yet, hybris is definitively ready for the cloud. The highly efficient mix of instances and services together with automatic scaling saves costs and resources. Triumph Japan is now optimally prepared to further enhance their omnichannel strategy that helps to maintain the company’s leading market position in the future. 

Triumph Global Sales AG

Triumph and communicode worked out a concept to implement a needs-based system architecture for the Japanese e-shop. The focus here was on scalability, profitability, minimal risk and future security. A best practice solution was sought that would allow scaling in the campaign rhythm and thus the capacity used to be variably adapted to requirements. The decision was made in favor of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Download the case study "Triumph - Big in Japan" here.

Case_study_Triumph_Japan_en.pdf

Download PDF

Triumph_communicode_2023.jpg

Triumph und communicode arbeiteten ein Konzept zur Umsetzung einer bedarfsgerechten Systemarchitektur für den japanischen E-Shop aus. Im Fokus standen hierbei Skalierbarkeit, Wirtschaftlichkeit, minimales Risiko und Zukunftssicherheit. Gesucht wurde eine Best Practice Lösung, die es ermöglicht, im Kampagnenrhythmus zu skalieren und somit die genutzte Kapazität variabel an den Bedarf anzupassen. Die Entscheidung fiel auf Amazon Web Services (AWS).

PDF herunterladen

Big in Japan

The foundation stone for success was laid with the founding of Martin Braun in 1931. Since then, the Martin Braun Group has defined itself through enjoyment, diversity, passion and perfection. It is precisely these qualities that make the company a leading supplier of convenience products in the professional baking sector. With more than 2,700 employees and branches in many countries, the Martin Braun Group would now like to work with communicode consulting to refine its recipe for success. 

Martin Braun KG

Welcome to the communiverse! We welcome the Martin Braun Group, leading provider of convenience products for the production of baked goods, desserts and ice cream and premium frozen products worldwide.  



martin-braun-communicode-referenzen-2800x1750-72.jpg

Willkommen im communiversum! Wir begrüßen die Martin Braun-Gruppe,
führender Anbieter von Convenience-Produkten zur Herstellung von Backwaren, Desserts und Speiseeis und Premium-Tiefkühlprodukten weltweit.



Martin Braun-Gruppe

Martin Braun Group

##Improved user experience for happy sales partners

###How Hörmann is providing increased digital support to dealers and architects.

Since its founding, Hörmann KG has sold more than 20 million doors and is known in the industry for its quality and versatility. The challenge for dealers and architects is to select from the multitude of products those that meet the specific requirements of their projects. To make this task easier, Hörmann has developed a digital product catalog with communicode, which makes it possible to find and filter the products they are looking for based on their characteristics.

Furthermore, Hörmann has undertaken a large-scale digitalization project in order to place their entire product range on a smarter and broader digital foundation, thus improving the user experience. Here, communicode was particularly convincing with its consulting and solution approach. The long-term goal is to optimize Hörmann's entire B2B customer journey in order to offer an improved user experience and to facilitate the selection process for dealers and architects. 

###The initial situation: Complex product access at Hörmann.

Before the digital project, Hörmann's products for dealers and architects were spread across various access channels, including printed catalogs, telephone contacts, price lists and architect programs. This fragmentation made searching for and configuring the products considerably more difficult.

##The communicode way: a holistic approach to user-centered design

**Understanding:**
In order to grasp the user context, the target groups and the status quo of the Customer Journey, our UX experts conducted workshops, interviews and user tests. The user tests with retailers and architects gave us a very detailed insight into the flow and processes of their daily work and highlighted potential hurdles. Important usability weaknesses were uncovered, and user goals and needs were defined. 

**Conceptualizing:**
Based on the user insights we developed ideas, defined clear goals and created a comprehensive UX concept.

**Design:**
Our UX team developed creative solutions for the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) and visualized both the UX and UI components to represent the intended user experience. To do this, we used Hörmann's style guide, which we extended to include store components.

**Implementation:**
communicode created a web component library for Hörmann. By using simple, independent modules, no additional control of the implementation is required. The result is a constant user interface for various web-based applications.

**Testing:**
Through several internal tests, we ensured that the product meets user requirements, provides an optimal user experience, and that both the UX and UI design are effectively implemented.

###Result: Innovative customer benefit and improved user experience.

Hörmann has successfully mastered this challenge with communicode by integrating various access paths into a user-friendly digital product catalog. This catalog enables architects, dealers and end customers to easily find products with the help of a faceted search and filter function. This has taken the user experience to a new level and offers real added value.

The intelligent product catalog allows users to search products and information on multiple data levels. All relevant information, including instructions, certificates and accessory references, is easily accessible on the product pages. In addition, seamless integration with upstream and downstream processes for dealers ensures a smooth flow from selection process to purchase. These improvements have significantly strengthened customer acquisition and retention for Hörmann. 

##A look into the digital future

In order to further advance the digitalization of Hörmann KG and to offer customers as well as partners a unique user experience in the digital Hörmann cosmos, Hörmann and communicode are currently working on the establishment of a user-friendly and holistic Hörmann Business Platform. Further important B2B functionalities such as order processing, complaint management and other self-services will be centrally played out via the platform.

Hörmann KG Sales Company

Hörmann KG, headquartered in Steinhagen in eastern Westphalia, is one of the world's leading suppliers of high-quality doors, gates, frames, operators and access control and storage systems. Hörmann has 38 production plants in Europe, North America and Asia and is represented in more than 40 countries.

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Die Hörmann KG mit Sitz im ostwestfälischen Steinhagen ist einer der weltweit führenden Anbieter für hochwertige Türen, Tore, Zargen, Antriebe und Zufahrtskontroll- sowie Stauraumsysteme. Hörmann verfügt in Europa, Nordamerika und Asien über 38 Produktionswerke und ist in mehr als 40 Ländern vertreten. 

Hörmann öffnet die Tore für den digitalen Produktkatalog

Hörmann opens the gates for the digital product catalog

Carl Roth is a provider of chemicals and labware for the B2B market. The company looks back on a 135-year history, in which to this day competent consulting and service form the foundation of the company’s success. Way back, in 1899 Carl Roth sent the first mail order catalogue to his customers. Being one of the first, the company presented its entire product portfolio as online catalogue via infuniq with order functions on the internet. 

In March 2014, the company asked communicode to modernise the system architecture and to implement new shop technology. In over 10 years, the complexity of data, also due to branch-specific, legally required information and certificates on the internet have increased substantially. Based on a product concept catalogue and agile principles, we have added and individually adjusted the B2B Accelerator of SAP Hybris. 

- Relaunch based on the B2B Accelerator of SAP Hybris Commerce 
- Integration in the existing process chains (ERP, PIM) 
- market-specific presentation of portfolios and languages in the online shop 
- Fully managed hosting of the app by communicode 
- individual customer support “SLA by Call” 

As a service-oriented company, Carl Roth is now able to present the special features applying to the purchase of chemicals and labware, in a safe, comfortable, completely digital and integrated manner. Digital marketing and personalisation are the next steps – increasing sales and new customer segments are the objective. 

<a href="https://www.infuniq.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Please visit the infuniq-Website for more information about the infuniq PIM-Solution and agile Product Information.</a>

Carl Roth GmbH & Co. KG

communicode was commissioned to modernize the system architecture and to implement a new shop technology.

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communicode wurde beauftragt, die Systemarchitektur zu modernisieren und eine neue Shop-Technologie zu implementieren.

Carl Roth - Next Level E-Commerce

## Thalia: a Leading Omnichannel Retailer 
Thalia has been networking its sales channels for many years and is constantly driving forward the digital transformation. In addition to more than 350 bookstores, there are a large number of online services that currently offer around 10 million products. Spurred on by impulses from culture and society, new offers for customers are constantly being created. Among other things, the company is a member of the tolino alliance, which was founded in 2013 and has since been joined by more than 2,000 bookshops internationally. Thus, the tolino e-reader family has become well established in this country as an alternative to the Kindle. 

In the future, significantly more books and articles are to be marketed online. The organisation of this growing portfolio of products and services across the entire value chain poses an immense challenge. A networked infrastructure that is powerful and user-friendly is necessary for this. Aware of this, Thalia's management launched the redevelopment of its in-house PIM platform. The overriding premise: Instead of a monolithic software, diverse applications for specialised services are to be introduced. 

## A Look Behind the Scenes - Millions are at Stake Here.  
Different Thalia departments spread across countries work with over 300 million data records, hundreds of attributes and dozens of channels every day - and the trend is rising. Over time, millions more items need to be organised. Approximately 35 data suppliers report bibliographic article data. To optimise data quality, additional manufacturers and external agencies are to be directly connected to the IT in the future. 

All data flows together in the in-house PIM system, where it is refined and distributed to the sales channels. It forms the starting point for continuous performance and process optimization at Thalia. In the meantime, the functional progress in application development had brought the existing system to its limits and it needed to be renewed


## Making Good Things Even Better: With New Technology and a User-friendly UI 
The Thalia development team had already set the technological course with the single-page application approach based on Vue.js. Now the task was to find the right partner who had the necessary experience with the special features and requirements of an enterprise PIM system and at the same time was able to design a user interface according to modern standards for such a platform - user-friendly and powerful, so that intuitive and at the same time professional work would be possible for years to come. With a clear strategy, many years of interdisciplinary experience around the topics of product information management, user experience/user interface and agile working culture, communicode was able to convince in the pitch. 

## Intelligent Product Management Through Optimal User Experience 
PIM systems are used for mass processing of product information and have two main perspectives: manual and automated processes. An optimal user experience empowers the user in demanding manual tasks and automates recurring activities. The following goals and measures were defined for the initial project: 

- Design of a sustainable PIM strategy for Thalia 
- Analysis and modelling of business value driven workflows  
- Design of a modern operating and design concept 
- Development and implementation of the initial product backlog 

The initial aim of the project described here was to design a sustainable PIM strategy. Understanding the tasks of individual roles at Thalia on the one hand as well as the goals of the company on the other hand is the art here. Relevant business processes were examined and modelled by communicode to derive new, effective user journeys - PIM experts and UX designers worked hand in hand here

## A Heart for the User Paired with Strategic Thinking  
The resulting concept particularly highlights the view of individual roles in the company on data, processes and channels and makes them transparent by means of the new operating concept and user experience. communicode developed a product backlog, in which the entire PIM platform was described based on around 100 user stories. Together with the stakeholders and users at Thalia, communicode's PIM consultants and designers identified the following main topics: 

- Search & Retrieval 
- Content Creation
- Content Enrichment
- Content Publication
- System Administration 

Based on these findings, communicode designed the corresponding information architecture and relevant application scenarios. Automation potentials for redundancy avoidance and process optimisation are consistently used to make product management more intelligent, clearer and more efficient. Thus, the new PIM application becomes more intuitive and versatile and improves workflows and coordination processes. The project supports and promotes the continuously progressing change management process at Thalia. 

## Designing a System 
Following the workshop and prototyping phase, communicode designed a UI component system for the look and feel of the new Thalia PIM, which forms the foundation of the user interface and internalises the Corporate Design. These UI components can be found in the Thalia development framework. 


## Rich wireframe with Vue.js 
Vue.js was chosen by Thalia because the framework is based on Google's Material Design and is therefore particularly suitable for browser-based applications. As a so-called progressive framework, both smaller prototypes and larger, more complex applications can be developed with it. 

## Agile to the Goal: Tools for Successful Collaboration 
Prompt collaboration and regular incremental results require an organisational environment which is as agile as possible. Here, Jira was recommended for project tracking and Gallery.io for presentation, feedback management, documentation and developer hand-offs. Furthermore, a common UI component system was used to avoid friction losses between design (communicode) and development (Thalia). 


Thalia Bücher GmbH

Founded in 1919, Thalia has been Europe's most important family-run bookselling company since its merger with Mayersche Buchhandlung. Its mission: reading should remain present in people's lives and customers should always find the right reading wherever they are. The unique mix of personal advice, inspiring product ranges and innovative digital solutions creates seamless shopping experiences. 

Download the case study "Thalia: The epitome of future-oriented reading worlds" here.

reference-thalia.pdf

download PDF

Moodbild Thalia Case Study Aufgeschlagenes Buch im Licht

thalia-casestudy-header-communicode-2800x1750-72-2.jpg

1919 gegründet, ist Thalia seit dem Zusammenschluss mit der Mayerschen Buchhandlung Europas bedeutendstes familiengeführtes Buchhandelsunternehmen. Seine Mission: Das Lesen soll im 
Leben der Menschen präsent bleiben und Kunden sollen immer und überall die passende Lektüre finden. Der einzigartige Mix aus persönlicher Beratung, inspirierenden Sortimenten und innovativen digitalen Lösungen bildet nahtlos ineinandergreifende Einkaufserlebnisse.

Thalia –  Inbegriff für zukunftsweisende Lesewelten 

Thalia - the Epitome of Forward-looking Reading Worlds 

Turck is a globally active company which offers products and solutions for factory and process automation. communicode developed a web application for Turck for the presentation of all products and accessories for international markets. Our PowerSearch for successful finding allows faceted searches across all product characteristics. 

- Import of product information from asim® PIM into the online catalogue  
- Migration of all products and accessories with infuniq  
- Application of the Turck website layout to the web catalogue  
- Integration into the OpenText WCMS  
- Storage of application profiles for customers via PowerSearch 

communicode has successfully accompanied Turck in the further development and operation of the solution for many years.  

For more information on agile Product Information Management and the PIM solution infuniq, please visit the <a href="https://www.infuniq.com/product-information-management-loesungen" target="_blank" rel="follow">infuniq Website.</a>  

Hans Turck GmbH & Co. KG

communicode developed a web application for Turck for the presentation of all products and accessories for international markets. Our PowerSearch for successful finding allows a faceted search across all properties of the products. 


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OpenText und infuniq bilden hier eine Einheit. communicode entwickelte für Turck eine Webapplikation für die Darstellung aller Produkte und Zubehör für internationale Märkte. Unsere PowerSearch für erfolgreiches Finden erlaubt die facettierte Suche über alle Eigenschaften der Produkte.

Turck präsentiert seinen gesamten Produktkatalog online

Turck presents its entire product catalog online

## The Stadtwerke Schwerte (SWS) Group of Companies grows further 
Stadtwerke Schwerte pursues the goal of offering its customers not only the supply of electricity, gas and heat, but also a modern and sustainable all-round supply of energy, telecommunications, leisure and drainage. High on their priority list is to provide their customers with a better overview of existing contracts, give individual and better offers from Stadtwerke Schwerte (SWS) as well as inform about current events such as disruptions or planned maintenance work in the supply area. Together with con|energy ag, consultant for the energy industry, the digital strategy of the group of companies was realigned.  

Those responsible in marketing and sales have recognized that they can only achieve their goals if they upgrade their IT landscape for targeted marketing campaigns and more automation. The Essen-based digital agency communicode AG, recently a cooperation partner of con|energy, was able to convince the municipal utilities with its full-service portfolio and its iterative, agile way of working for conception and implementation. Alongside the digital strategy, a pilot project was set up that has the greatest business value with a reasonable budget for the group of companies and could be implemented in an adequate time. 

## Starting Point: Data in Abundance 
The group of companies already offers a variety of services in B2B and B2C. Many citizens of Schwerte are customers of diverse companies of SWS. Every company manages its own, historically evolved IT landscape for its business activity with information about customers and contracts, as well as data about infrastructure and technology. Besides the data itself, there is also the knowledge of data and its structures that is spread. What data is actually there and how can they reasonably be linked? Which gas customer also has an electricity contract? Which household has a fiber optic cable, which is not used yet? These and many other questions have been difficult to deal with. In this initial situation, it was actually not possible to make marketing target-oriented and automated. In order to be able to reach our customers with relevant information and attractive offers, a holistic picture of them is a first necessity. Michaela Zorn-Koritzius | Head of Marketing, Stadtwerke Schwerte (SWS) 

## Proof of Concept: consolidated data from all business areas 
Based on these findings, the communicode consultants, together with the Schwerter people, set the goals for the first project:     

- Development of a customer data management platform as middleware for the data sources 
- Link relevant data from distributed systems sensibly and sustainably 
- Compliance with the legal framework for unbundling business and the GDPR 

True to the principle to realize the greatest business value for the company as quickly as possible, 4 out of a large number of application scenarios from the B2C area were defined for a PoC. 

1. 360 degree customer profile (Golden Customer Record) 
2. Easy to Use PowerSearch in Google style with a consolidated search index 
3. Data selection & mining 
4. Incident history: current and past incidents across all systems  

What are your goals?Performance on Demand - benefit from our experience from this and other projects for your digital strategy. 

## 3 Steps to the Golden Customer Record: 
First, the project team analyzed the essential core systems in order to consolidate the relevant information in a data model. With the infuniq framework, communicode provided the suitable platform for importing, normalizing and matching the data. 
The recipe for success: agile working method and a focus on the bare essentials. 
With agile methods and the expertise for data modeling from communicode, a quick start in the implementation was possible. For the prototype, functions with high business value were first described and accordingly prioritized during implementation. 

## Golden Customer Record 
The project was successfully implemented within 4 phases of 2 weeks each. The experts from the departments of Stadtwerke Schwerte (SWS) were part of the project team right from the start. The team planned interruptions in advance so as not to impair the daily business of the municipal utilities. Thanks to the close cooperation within the team and transparency throughout the project, the new functions and processes were quickly learned and checked for quality. The system is ready for use and the first data selections via PowerSearch were carried out together. 

## Available data with high enterprise value 
An important milestone for marketing and sales has been reached. The new infuniq CDM platform opens up both business opportunities and savings potential for municipal utilities. The task now is to consolidate data selections and continue data mining. The real business value lies in the consolidation of this data and is realized when a marketing automation tool is implemented. 


Stadtwerke Schwerte GmbH

Today, Stadtwerke Schwerte, founded 1868 as a gasworks, is a modern supplier that is responsible and passionate about shaping modern city life in Schwerte. The social, economic and ecological needs of the region are their top priority so that the citizens feel comfortable in their city. Internet, telephony and cable TV have also been offered via the Elementmedia subsidiary since 2011. In addition, the Schwerte public baths and city drainage service also belong to the group of companies. 

Download the case study of Stadtwerke Schwerte onto your computer (1MB)

Case Study Stadtwerke Schwerte englisch als PDF

Referenzen_Stadtwerke_Schwerte_2020_EN.pdf

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1868 als Gaswerk gegründet, sind die Stadtwerke Schwerte heute ein moderner Versorger, der verantwortungsbewusst und leidenschaftlich das Schwerter Stadtleben mitgestaltet. Dabei stehen die sozialen, ökonomischen und ökologischen Bedürfnisse der Region an oberster Stelle, damit sich die Schwerter in ihrer Stadt wohlfühlen. Über das Tochterunternehmen Elementmedia werden seit 2011 auch Internet, Telefonie und Kabelfernsehen angeboten. Zur Unternehmensgruppe gehören außerdem das Stadtbad Schwerte sowie die Stadtentwässerung.

Von verteilten Daten zum Golden Customer Record

## Consultation is a top priority for us 
 
It is at the beginning of every collaboration and is an integral part of our projects. In dialogue with you and all stakeholders, we shed light on your digital business potential and define your goals. Our consultants provide impulses for new markets and technologies. They provide strategic and economic advice on the realisation of your business ideas and translate requirements into use cases ready for development. Depending on your needs, we provide you with the appropriate format: this ranges from a management summary to a backlog for a proof of value. 



- E-Business, Commerce & Omnichannel 
- Product Information Management (PIM) 
- Media Asset Management (MAM) 
- Business Transformation and Change Management

Business Consulting

From distributed data to Golden Customer Record

Vorwerk is breaking new sales ground with its online marketing platform based on SAP Hybris. 

With Twercs, Vorwerk offers a tool set in a tool box with a charging function for the do-it-yourself DIY and handicraft market, which shows off its special charm with a variety of creative kits tailored to it. With the corresponding materials and building instructions, the Vorwerk customer also gets the well-known guarantee of success in DIY. 

Just in time for the product launch, communicode provided a marketing platform based on SAP Hybris, which depicts all business processes in a digital and integrated way. With this, Vorwerk opened up a further sales channel with online trade, in addition to direct sales via parties and sales in the store. 

-     Interactive solution for e-commerce and party direct sales 
-     Mapping of the Vorwerk sales organisation 
-     Integration with SAP byDesign 

Since the go live, new functions and marketing are on the agenda, which we design together with the TWERCS team and integrate iteratively . 

Vorwerk & Co. KG

The long-established company from Wuppertal is breaking new sales channels with its online marketing platform based on SAP Hybris.

Foto mit Vorwerk Twercks Produkten auf einem Tisch

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Das Traditionsunternehmen aus Wuppertal geht mit seiner Online-Marketingplattform auf Basis von SAP Hybris neue Vertriebswege.

TWERCS - die Do-it-yourself-Welt von Vorwerk

TWERCS - the do-it-yourself world of Vorwerk 

As a leading supplier in the electrical industry, MENNEKES GmbH & Co. KG has been known for its industrial plugs and sockets since 1935 and also shows its innovative spirit in eMobility charging solutions, whose type 2 plug and socket was declared an EU standard by the European Parliament in 2014. MENNEKES and communicode use their newly won, powerful connection for the introduction of a Digital Asset Management with the CELUM ContentHub. 

MENNEKES GmbH & Co.KG

A connection with power! MENNEKES is further expanding its digital bridges together with communicode and distributes its energies even more efficiently through professional Media Asset Management.  

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Eine Verbindung mit Power! MENNEKES baut ihre digitalen Brücken gemeinsam mit communicode weiter aus und verteilt ihre Energien durch professionelles Media Asset Management noch effizienter.

Wir begrüßen MENNEKES als neuen Kunden.

## More performance for successful brands 
A good product and an appealing and well-functioning website form the basis for long-term success. Intelligent marketing is needed to reach your target group and generate both leads and stable customer relationships. An agile marketing strategy results from in-depth analyses of the market position as well as the touchpoints of your target group. communicode offers you a comprehensive all-inclusive package which aligns your marketing campaigns exactly to your needs and your economic objectives. 




- Consulting and development of digital brand strategies
- Conception and implementation of online marketing
- Advice on the technical implementation of marketing applications

Martin Braun Group

Keywords

Contact

Michael Wolfframm

Other Projects

Scandinavian superfood MEDOX conquers the German market

GROHE - product information in flux

The digital step into a bright future