New online construction material shop and inspiration for wall and floor coverings united in a single platform
Smart e-commerce & corporate platform with SAP Commerce Cloud for HGC
The construction industry is changing. In order to keep up with the latest developments, the construction materials retailer HGC is advancing digital transformation at the company – together with valantic.
With an integrated commerce and corporate platform, HGC is fit for the future in B2B online trading. And there’s more: It creates a digital space for inspiration and valuable content that is unmatched in the industry. SAP Commerce Cloud is the reliable technological basis.
HGC: Build easily and efficiently
HG COMMERCIALE (HGC) is more than a dealer of construction materials. The independent trade association of the Swiss Master Builders’ Association regards itself as a service provider for all aspects of construction. HGC is mainly active in the B2B sector. In particular, however, when it comes to wall and floor coverings, the company is increasingly also addressing end customers.
- 3.700 members from the construction industry, who are mostly also customers
- Companies from all construction sectors
- Product range: Construction materials. as well as wall and floor coverings
- Industry focus: B2B online commerce
Project objectives
Create an integrated platform for the "Commerce" and "Corporate" sectors
Completely renovate the online shop
Pursue consistent omnichannel orientation for higher market volume
The challenge
Trade contractors, construction contractors, various private clients, and the public – each target group has its own needs. And that was precisely the challenge for HGC and valantic: to fulfill individual requirements as well as possible and integrate them into the new platform.
No Google indexing, no UI optimization, and poor performance: The deficiencies of the old shop were corrected as part of the project.
The new online shop takes the digital sales channel for the construction materials business to a new level. If you can find products easily, you are likely to order again. A buying center with different roles and corresponding authorizations should ensure this in the future. Issues such as increased customer loyalty and greater efficiency become more of a focus.
With 40 stationary outlets and 18 exhibition spaces for wall and floor coverings, the last challenge is certainly to ensure a consistent omnichannel orientation.
The solution
Usability, technology, digital commerce, and productivity – four focal topics that HG COMMERCIALE and valantic have addressed jointly. The aim was to consider the needs of very different target groups. And similarly, the special features of B2B online trading.
- User-driven design
- Information architecture based on target group interviews
- Industry-specific navigation
- Search across entire platform as core functionality, and other smart features
- High-performance shop scaled and with zero downtime in the SAP Commerce Cloud based on Azure Cloud
- W3C-compliant for accessibility
- Responsive design
- SAP Commerce for Shop and CMS as a platform unites and integrates into SAP, MeDaPro PIM, and Salesforce
- SEO-optimized platform
- Login mechanism geared to the construction industry as a secure application in the SAP Commerce Cloud
- Multi-cart
- Order lists with company sharing
- Quantity unit converter
- Delegated administration and user management
- Order and document history
- Analysis and statistics set for derivation and optimization of the jumps and increase in sales (KPIs)
- Redesign of the registration and order processing processes
- Goal: Optimize new customer processing from 2 weeks to 4 hours
- Automatic order processing
- Platform quality and stability
Customer benefits
Industry-specific inspiration and information
Optimized registration and ordering processes
Personalized service solutions in the buying center
The results at a glance
These are the main components of the new e-commerce & corporate platform:
- Fusing of two worlds: Construction material online shop and inspiration platform for wall and floor coverings
- Complex user management: Multi-user with different rights and use cases
- Simplified re-registration: Reduced from 2 weeks processing time to 4 hours
- Multi-goods cart: Buying center that purchases for different projects at the same time
- Order via company lists
- Unit calculator: How many packaging units are required for how much area?
- Availability of goods: Based on location and delivery capacity
- Customer-specific prices: List price, net price, and individual discount by project
Presentation at SAP now Switzerland: Insights into project implementation
At SAP now Switzerland, the platform, which was successfully launched, was presented to a large audience. In an interview, Manuel Hutter and Thomas Schwarz reported on their personal highlights, the biggest challenges and they provide valuable tips for successful project implementation. Thomas Schwarz also reveals that the project is by no means completed and gives an outlook on the next stages.
Smart e-commerce & corporate platform with SAP Commerce Cloud for HGC
Would you like to learn more about the HGC case study? The free PDF will provide you with all the details!
Your Contact
Alexander Zoulkowski
Head of Business Operations
valantic