A digital B2B and B2C Platform for all Brands
Munich, June 1, 2021: Vileda, a brand of Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions, and valantic, one of the fastest growing digitalization and IT consulting companies in Europe, have created a new centralized digital platform for business customers (B2B) and private customers (B2C) that greatly improves the customer experience with the help of SAP Commerce Cloud. The seamless integration into the existing infrastructure will certainly lead all local companies with their specific brands and special features into the digital future.
With the new central platform for B2B and B2C with SAP Commerce Cloud, Vileda is focusing on the perfect customer experience with a modern user experience. The goal is one digital platform for all customers. With valantic as a partner and SAP Commerce Cloud, Vileda and its parent company Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions GmbH were able to confront this challenge.
Today, the platform is used in approx. 30 countries, including China, Russia, and the Middle East. Different languages, currencies, and cultures are brought together in a uniform presence, which is housed on a central platform based on SAP Commerce Cloud.
Goal: Consistent customer experience
The goal: The customer experience should be perfect – worldwide. For B2C: When customers buy, things have to move quickly and easily. Therefore, it was clear for Vileda: Customers should find products easily and if necessary, obtain additional information about the products and their use. And marketing wanted an appealing and responsive website to match the company. Especially B2B customers are supplied in the professional area with industry and product-specific information.
With the new platform, Freudenberg ensures that brands are positioned adequately and that they can be recognized and found. Justice is done to the specific requirements of each country and brand.
A central team controls guidance on the corporate level: Design specifications, layout, features, and functions. These can be rolled out centrally within SAP Commerce Cloud. If necessary, country-specific features can be adapted directly by the country in question. Each country maintains its own content, for this is where the knowledge of specific requirements on-site resides.
Decision-making support for B2B
Corporate customers (B2B) are assisted with decision-making and provided with relevant information. Question such as “How are products used correctly? How can you select products correctly according to the sector?” are answered in the Vileda Professional section. Here, in addition to detailed information about the special products, there are also virtual, industry-specific rooms. Customers can see examples of where which product can be used. The linking and placement of products in virtual rooms was implemented with SAP Commerce Cloud’s Inspiration Cockpit.
Multi-brand shop for B2C: Clean and modern
The modern shop in the consumer sector uses the same technology and platform, only for a different target group and offers the customers a clean shopping experience. Here, the brands have their own place and customers get precisely the information they need.
In the back end, SAP Commerce Cloud provides the functions that are needed to make the shop environment international. Various payment service providers are integrated for smooth payment handling. SAP Commerce Cloud is connected directly to the SAP ERP via middleware, which ensures the fastest possible order processing. A RESTful API provides the automatic transfer of inventory and order information to the shop. Customer inquiries can be processed directly thanks to the connection to SAP Sales Cloud.
Sandip Chowdhury, Global Director E-Commerce, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions “In the past, we had severe restrictions on the placement of rich content and our user experience was outdated across all digital channels. With SAP Commerce Cloud, we have now developed processes that allow us to deliver our compelling brand and advertising content to our global customer base in a large scale and with great flexibility. Our content also helps us convert inquiries into sales and achieve our business results. For example, sales at our Vileda UK web store have exceeded our sales at one of the UK’s largest online retailers.”
Monika von Düring, Senior Corporate Director Processes & Systems, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions, adds: “We wanted a global solution that fits into our coherent, comprehensive strategy. A central platform as framework, one that is open in all directions and can be expanded. SAP Commerce Cloud (formerly SAP Hybris) suited our needs best.”
Conclusion
valantic and Vileda’s central platform for B2C and B2B allows private and business customers to shop in a new dimension. The focus is on the user experience. All products are easy to find, and relevant information is available at a glance. In the future, this will continue to create a sustainable shopping experience for both B2B and B2C customers.
Case Study Vileda
