Press Release
The digital agency dotSource GmbH developed a B2B online platform for PERI, a supplier of formwork and scaffolding systems, with the help of which the customer base is to be expanded. The platform was implemented as a minimum viable product (MVP) in order to provide PERI with an online presence as quickly as possible so that valuable insights can be gained with little risk. Based on this, the company can assess whether the offer is popular with a new target group and whether it should be expanded.
Whether it is new buildings or renovations, whether they are ten or 828 metres tall: when it comes to working on buildings, formwork and scaffolding are indispensable. For this reason, PERI products have been used on large construction sites since 1969. The company is headquartered in Weißenhorn and works with construction companies, scaffolders and craftspeople on projects all over the world, for example the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, the Mumbai underground, a high-rise complex in Sydney or cable-stayed bridges in Charleston, USA. However, PERI now also wants to open up the mid-market segment and offer excellent services to smaller companies with up to 20 employees.
MVP for Initial Market Insights and a Sound Basis for Decision-Making
With the goal of developing an innovative digital solution for smaller companies, thus generating enthusiasm for its modern and safe products and services, PERI approached dotSource. On a new platform, content and commerce elements were to be connected with each other to make purchasing, sourcing and procurement processes easier for customers. In order to provide a convenient and unique customer journey, the company decided to integrate a 3D configurator into the platform. This configurator enables customers to easily configure scaffolds and calculate costs. This innovative offer provides real added value to users and makes PERI’s online services one of the best in the industry.
However, to eliminate an unnecessary entrepreneurial risk and to save time as well as resources, dotSource developed the new B2B platform as a minimum viable product (MVP) – a version that covers customer, market or functional needs with little effort and can be expanded to a full-featured and comprehensive solution in further stages. The MVP solution provides PERI with first insights into the new market segment and allows the company to make well-founded decisions on future steps based on initial data obtained.
»The cooperation at eye level and the constant willingness to get acquainted with completely new systems impressed us about dotSource. With the interdisciplinary team consisting of strategy, digital marketing, software development and user experience design experts, we were able to benefit from consulting and implementation from one source,« Adrian Thomas, Head of E-Business at PERI, praises the cooperation with the Jena digital agency.
MVPs Allow for Testing in Different Countries
At reasonable costs, dotSource was able to implement two new solutions in just eight months instead of the twelve months that had originally been planned. By choosing to launch an MVP version of the B2B platform, PERI remains very flexible in terms of its future decision-making regarding the expansion of the platform: depending on how popular it is with the new target group, PERI can react accordingly. The new solution is now being tested by PERI’s international subsidiaries in Hungary and Denmark. What makes the Danish version so special is that scaffolds are not offered for purchase, but for rental. This allows PERI to examine the rental segment as well and to expand it further if the feedback is positive.
