Client
Wolf GmbH
Industry
Manufacturing
Technologies
PimCore, CoreShop, Node.js, React, Kafka, MariaDB, Docker, ArgoCD
About the project
Wolf GmbH is a German company renowned for its expertise in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and renewable energy solutions. With a legacy dating back to 1963, the company has become a key player in the field, offering a comprehensive range of products such as boilers, heat pumps, solar thermal systems, and advanced building management technologies. Wolf GmbH is widely recognized for its commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable practices, making it a leading choice for innovative HVAC solutions on both a national and global scale.
The HVAC installation ecosystem extends past the capabilities of a Heating Solutions company: installers use tools and equipment such as drills, cold-weather jackets and building-site radios. While the device manufacturers cannot cover every need of the installer, they can offer the second-best thing: a way to earn from your spending. Returning installers, already accustomed to Wolf products, get the additional benefit of browsing through items gathered from several online stores: all of which can be purchased with Loyalty Points – the currency of the Wolf Loyalty program.
Compiling a list of merchandise from multiple online stores requires a robust e-commerce solution, connected both for Input and Output to the existing stores’ APIs or alternative solutions. For each store the solution is different, as the industry doesn’t have a clear-cut standard on what the best approach is, and neither does it incentivize adopting a standard yet
Challenges
We knew we had to shape our strategies to align with the distinct needs of HVAC installers. We started by finding ways to streamline in-store order management, while maintaining all the required security and stability measures. Our focus was to deliver a result that aligns with the customer needs and the Loyalty Program identity.
In-store order management
- Communication with SAP for internal operations
- Relaying order confirmations and delivery tracking information
- Orders containing products from different stores can have ambiguous states
Security
- Broad reach comes with certain vulnerabilities
Stability
- An illegible merchandise manifest should not cause the system to fail
Customer journey
- The Loyalty program should look and feel like part of the broader spectrum of digital tools offered by the brand; even though it is its own, separate solution
Solution
In the world of HVAC installation, we knew that in order to improve customer retention, we had to consider what would be the important factors for installers looking to buy equipment. That’s exactly what we did with the Wolf Loyalty System. We took four important steps that improve the shopping experience and adapted them to the app.
Shop
- Scheduled jobs to retrieve latest batch of products
- Kafka broker for internal communication with relevant SAP modules
- Internal product management for native merchandise
- Advertisement content
Security
- Customers use Azure Login solution integrated with the wolf.eu website ecosystem
- Certain microservices are only accessible from the private intranet; in turn, these microservices handle the financials
- The shop currency is Loyalty Points, making the bill layer more secure to fraud attempts
Stability
- The only “source of truth” for the Shop is the locally managed database associated with the Symfony cluster
- Errors are handled at Microservice, PIM and Frontend layers, for redundancy
Customer journey
- A returning customer can sign up and access the Loyalty program in the same way as accessing the numerous professional digital tools offered by Wolf. It makes sense to use Loyalty Points after a purchase – as does visiting the program before a purchase, to check out the best offers.
Technologies used
Results
In spite of the challenges, we managed to craft a robust and adaptive solution that revolutionized the shopping experience within the HVAC installation landscape. Our collaborative efforts with Wolf GmbH led to the creation of an integrated Loyalty Program that seamlessly caters to the specific needs of returning customers, enabling them to leverage Loyalty Points for 3rd party purchases.
Through the integration of diverse technologies, we overcame hurdles in e-commerce integration across multiple platforms. Addressing complexities of in-store order management, security, system stability, and customer journey, we unified different store APIs, fortified security using Azure Login, and streamlined Loyalty Points for seamless integration. This culminated in a sophisticated yet user-friendly solution that elevated the shopping experience, fostering loyalty and satisfaction among HVAC installers within the Wolf ecosystem.
Perspective
Together with Wolf, we’ve pioneered transformative solutions that modernized operations and set the stage for sustained growth and ongoing innovation within the HVAC installation domain. Redefining customer engagement and elevating the installer experience reinforced our commitment to excellence in technological solutions for the future.
