The optimal data & technology mix with SAP
How can big data treasures, self-sufficient sales worlds and diverse touchpoints be intelligently combined to create a seamless customer journey? Together with valantic, DAW SE shows how a harmonious data and CX mix can succeed. The SAP CX portfolio sets the course for “Hello you” communication and personalized customer experiences.
>6.000
employees
€1,7 bn
annual turnover (2022)
25
production sites worldwide
What Alpina wall paint is to private DIY enthusiasts, Caparol is to professional painters: Both brands are among the bestsellers of Deutsche Amphibolin-Werke (DAW SE), Europe’s largest private manufacturer of building paints and thermal insulation. Founded over 130 years ago, the family-owned company from Hesse counts millions of DIY enthusiasts as well as painting contractors, architectural firms and housing associations among its customer base. In addition to producing paints, varnishes, and facade and insulation technology, the group also specializes in corresponding services for professional construction trades. In addition to the production of paints, varnishes and façade and insulation technology, the group’s specialty is providing services for professional building trades. With Alpina and the professional brand Caparol, DAW is now represented in 40 countries and operates 25 production sites across Europe with over 6,000 employees.
DAW uses a two-tier sales organization to serve both the trade and brand sectors. The diversified customer base of both worlds comes into contact with various digital offers and services, including the Caparol World and the Caparol Club, a loyalty program and the website with corresponding applications. Just like these touchpoints, the customer journey was characterized by a heterogeneous system landscape that had grown over decades. This resulted in multiple “non-touching points” and system breaks, which slowed down the customer experience.
Due to the use of two CRM systems, data was isolated and allowed little overarching insight. The consequences: inefficient reporting, contradictory measures and marketing campaigns that were difficult to individualize. Despite the vast data assets available, customer communication thus long followed the “Hello Everyone” principle.
To move to a personalized approach, it was necessary to unify the system landscape and make data usable for all areas. The aim was to create a harmonious CX that offers more personalized, relevant experiences across all channels and purchase phases with the help of consolidated data.
Alexander Kuhl
Head of Data at DAW
”We want to tailor our offerings even more strongly to the needs of the different professional target groups and design the customer experience in the digital world of painters in a way that supports their everyday life. To further develop our product and service range in a targeted manner, we needed to make better use of our data treasures.“
To give the customer journey a custom touch, DAW set three overarching goals:
Building a digital customer ecosystem
…to pick up each customer at the right digital touchpoints at the right time
Harmonized CX
…to achieve an intelligent 360° view of customers across all touchpoints, understanding their needs and preferences
Future-proof technologies
…to deliver new, improved products and services with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
5 use cases as the foundation for the right tech mix
Just like a painter who first prepares the surface by sanding it down, the foundation for the CX project also had to be laid first. This meant identifying relevant data that is important for optimizing the customer journey and for long-term customer retention.
Then the project team focused on the groundwork, which related to five specific use cases. These use cases defined by DAW formed the basis of the project and influenced the development of the target architecture:
Customer classification & churn
Marketing automation
Customer lifetime value
Next best action or next best offer
Crossselling & upselling
The 3 components of the new DAW CX world
As DAW had already been using a strong SAP ERP system for years, the technology choice ultimately fell on a corresponding best-of-suite solution: For the first time, the SAP CX portfolio was integrated and implemented via the new real-time standard connectors, consisting of three components:
SAP Customer Data Cloud (CDC)
With the backend solution for Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM), a uniform customer login across various touchpoints was created. Among other things, SAP CDC is used for preference and consent management for legally compliant consent to the use of data, for example for newsletter subscriptions. Thus, the SAP CDC enables a central login for the myCaparol portal, where customers will be able to log in at various touchpoints with a customer profile.
SAP Customer Data Platform (CDP)
The SAP CDP brings together all the data from the various touchpoints, CRM systems and the marketing tool, creates a 360° profile for each customer and, based on this, can perform targeted segmentation and send corresponding signals to Emarsys. The CDP forms the basis for close real-time integration of the systems.
SAP Emarsys
Supported by tracking, product and sales data, the marketing tool SAP Emarsys is a key element for automating marketing campaigns across all digital channels. To ensure personalized content is delivered to the right target groups at the right time, there is a direct connection to the SAP CDP. An interface with the CDC is integrated for data protection-compliant newsletter sign-up and opt-out processes.
With this technology toolset, DAW can always use the right data mix to provide its diverse customer base with targeted personalized offerings and create holistically convincing customer experiences.
Think big. Start small. Scale fast.
Clarity in goal setting and strategy as well as in time and budget planning were just as important for DAW as a joint vision and “cultural fit” with the experts who were to advance the CX project. In the long term, the company wanted to take control of technology, data management and marketing automation and was therefore looking for a partner who not only knew how to provide an excellent solution, but also how to provide knowledge on handling, support and possibly also small further developments. In mid-2023, DAW finally came to valantic.
The partners took half a year to get to know each other and for comprehensive SAP IT consulting. During two workshops, the project team developed the target architecture and roadmap before the implementation kicked off in January 2024. Just under ten months later, the go-live went ahead as planned.
In addition to a consistent focus on the user and customer perspective, transparent communication and structured stakeholder management contributed to the smooth project process. Each participant had a sparring partner; developments were carefully documented using tools like JIRA, Confluence and collaboration boards. The involvement of DAW’s employees was also considered from the outset to create technology acceptance and understanding among those who will work with the new systems in the future.
Axel Voelcker
Head of Digital Customer Experience at DAW
”I can't remember the last time I was involved in a project that ran so smoothly. T On the one hand, this was due to the intensive preparation phase. On the other hand, with valantic we had a long-standing SAP partner at our side who provided the best resources for IT consulting, implementation and all aspects that ensure seamless operation.“
DAW and valantic are already planning the next steps. Contact and touchpoint management will be tackled soon in order to further optimize internal and customer service processes. In addition, the digital channels and offerings for the European craft sector will be available in multiple languages in the future. Furthermore, the team is already working on measures for social media monitoring and content management in the B2B area.
(DE only) OMR Masterclass: (Data-)mix for Better CX. How 360° Customer View and Marketing Automation lead to more loyalty, revenue, and leaner processes.
Learn in the recording of our OMR Masterclass how DAW and valantic have started their digital transformation and masterfully implemented it. Dive into the exciting development from the initial planning to the realization of an extraordinary customer journey. Discover how various digital touchpoints can be captured and analyzed, and how they come together to create a tailored customer experience.
Performance Boost for Your Marketing Campaigns – with Emarsys
Boost your marketing efficiency with valantic and Emarsys! Our integrated platform enables you to seamlessly automate marketing strategies, create personalized campaigns, and use real-time data for informed decisions. Discover how we can help you build stronger customer relationships and maximize ROI.
Customer Data Management with SAP
Discover the future of customer data management with valantic and SAP! Our advanced solutions, including the SAP Customer Data Platform (CDP) and the Customer Data Cloud (CDC), provide you with the tools you need to seamlessly integrate and analyze customer data. These technologies enable you to create personalized customer experiences based on precise data and deep insights. Learn more about our innovative approach and how we can help you transform your customer relationships and advance your business.
