Cement by click: dotSource and BayWa Building Materials create innovative online shopping experience for the building sector

From now on, a new online shop is available to private and business customers of BayWa Building Materials. The Jena digital agency dotSource GmbH supported the group in technical implementation and online marketing. Special features for business customers shall make procurement processes permanently easier for companies.

Jena, 20^th of March 2017

With around 120 locations in south and east Germany, BayWa has been one of the largest full-line suppliers in building materials trade for private and commercial customers for many decades. Against the background of the increasing value chain digitalisation as a manifestation of the general trend of our economy’s digitalisation, the Building Materials Segment of BayWa wants to combine the concept of local, customer-oriented stores with a transregional online shop. In consideration of BayWa’s specific sales concept, an e-commerce system that pools modern services was developed in collaboration with dotSource.  Whether private builder or construction expert: At one click, customers can now have the required materials delivered directly to the construction site - and even to the seventh floor, if necessary. Thanks to responsive web design, the purchase also becomes a pleasant experience on the go via mobile devices.

Apart from private customers, especially business customers shall take advantage of online shopping in future. In consideration of the specific needs of business customers, the dotSource team developed innovative features to make the procurement process considerably more flexible. For example, these features include the option to create multiple user roles with predefined rights for different employees within one business customer account in order to involve them in the purchasing process according to their hierarchy level. Moreover, customers can view and retrieve their order histories as well as bills and receipts even of offline purchases via the customer information portal “My Cockpit”. This makes the concept of digital transformation much more accessible to them.

Following the model of the local stores, which prepare individual quotations for their customers depending on location, versatile use cases with various criteria for the preparation of quotations were integrated into the new e-commerce system. Individual quotations, that have been manually prepared in complex processes before, can now be requested and calculated easily online. “Combined with detailed product information and images, this faster availability of quotations  matches the changed usage habits and needs of our customers”, says Alexander Schmelzl, Head of eBusiness Building Materials at BayWa AG.

In order to be visible to potential customers in the flood of information on the internet and to stand out against the competition in the long term, the team of BayWa received intensive online marketing training by the dotSource experts. Thus, the shop has been user friendly right from its go-live.

Along with tremendous opportunities, digital transformation also implies manifold challenges for the business world, making new demands on work processes and project management. Alexander Schmelzl share his experience concerning agile project collaboration with agencies at Handelskraft Conference for Digital Success on March 23 in Leipzig.

Detailed information about the project as well as a comprehensive case study can be found on the project page. Click here to visit the new BayWa Building Materials online shop.

About BayWa Building Materials

From the building shell to patio paving, from the basement to the roof: BayWa is one of the largest full-line suppliers in building materials trade for private and commercial customers. In the building materials sector, BayWa covers the complete range: Among others, this includes planning, maintenance, system solutions and building services. The Building Materials Segment of BayWa stands for quality, service and comprehensive advice on-site. Everything from a single source. From civil engineering and building construction through renovation and modernisation up to energy-related complete offers and solutions with renewable energies, all construction-related requirements are covered. In the building sector, which is very sensitive to changes, BayWa has positioned itself as a reliable and financially strong partner with decades of experience and a local presence. In this, BayWa is not only a building materials supplier, but also acts as a system provider of innovative solutions for medium-sized construction companies. More information at www.baywa-baustoffe.de.

About dotSource GmbH

Learn more about dotSource - one of the fastest growing digital agencies in Germany.