Founded in 1867 in Heidenheim an der Brenz, Voith is now a global technology group with over 19,000 employees at more than 250 locations and annual sales of €4.3 billion (2018). The broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications serves five essential markets in all regions of the world: energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive.
CUSTOMER: Voith
INDUSTRY: Mechanical engineering (paper industry, hydropower, drive and braking systems)
PROJECT: Voith Webshop
SOLUTION: B2B e-commerce / configurator
TECHNOLOGIES: React.js, Node.js
After the spare parts store for Voith Paper went live in 2015, Voith approached us in 2018 to further develop the successfully operated first store solution across the Group into a cross-industry portal into which the Voith Paper and Voith Hydro divisions can be integrated. The aim was not only to map different functionalities for the individual industries, but also different user interfaces. These were not to be programmed individually, but generated data-driven. In addition, a connection to different ERP systems (SAP, Microsoft NAV, JD Edwards) had to be implemented. These interfaces had to be implemented in such a way that other ERP systems could also be easily integrated in the future. Due to the data volume of several million materials, it was a challenge to guarantee response times of less than two seconds despite the various search options. Configurators for over 100 complex products were also to be integrated into the portal solution. It should also be possible to order the configurations directly at the click of a mouse.
In an agile project, we implemented the requirements within a very tight time frame in a development partnership with Voith. Standard components based on the latest technologies were used. The webshop portal is designed in such a way that data from different data sources (ERP systems, PIM) is transferred and synchronized on a daily basis. It provides users with a variety of search options and offers the possibility of a convenient checkout and direct ordering in Voith’s ERP systems.
The sales departments experienced a noticeable reduction in workload, as customers can now configure their individual products themselves and order them directly. In the webshop solution, particular emphasis was placed on an outstanding user experience, which is also reflected in features such as the ability to view the installed base, customer-specific prices, shopping cart transfer, partial deliveries, clickable drawings, etc. The solution has now been rolled out worldwide for Voith Paper and Voith Turbo and generates a significant contribution to Group sales in aftersales. The webshop portal has become an important touchpoint in the customer relationship and represents an important tool in customer communication for the company’s own sales department.
