FunderMax, one of Europe’s leading providers of wood materials and decorative laminates for furniture, interior design and facades, is expanding worldwide using SAP software.
As a leader in innovation, the Austrian company will soon launch the use of iOS apps based on SAP Cloud Platform and the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS.
FunderMax offers materials that combine beauty with tangible quality – boasting an extensive product range which enables new design freedom, and leaves no limits to the creativity of architects, designers and for the furniture industry as a whole.
For indoor applications such as furniture design, shop interiors, wall cladding and partition walls, it’s important to have good intuition for refined decors and sophisticated surfaces, as well as good taste and stylistic confidence in colours and shapes. When choosing materials, particularly for exterior applications, such as a facade or a balcony covering, design quality is just as important as product quality. FunderMax’s comprehensive range of products creates upholds this, offering the perfect balance between interior and exterior.
For an innovative company such as FunderMax, the issue of digitisation is of great importance. “We have been working on our digital transformation for quite some time. We have invested a lot in training and education for our employees,” explains Hartwig Schwarzlmüller, FunderMax’s vice president of Organisation & Information Management/IT Management.
In order to drive the digital transformation, FunderMax uses powerful software tools: Two years ago the SAP HANA database was introduced. For one and a half years, FunderMax has been working on SAP Fiori, the UX-based user interface. Management is able to use a range of applications, enabling them to carry out everyday tasks quickly and easily on the move.
If an expense claim is submitted, the line manager receives a push notification and can react immediately by using an app on his or her iPhone. The next step on the path to digital transformation is the development of native iOS apps which run on the SAP Cloud Platform for FunderMax.
Digital Sales Support iOS App Under Development
150 sales employees are employed by FunderMax. Together with their sales partners, they are in contact with about 45,000 architects, processors and traders. To illustrate different application areas for the products, sales representatives refer to projects which have already been implemented. For the exterior product sector, an iOS app will soon help visualise these reference projects: Buildings can be sorted according to decors, surfaces or specific location and thereby presented to customers virtually.
Additional information, such as contact details of the architect or awards associated with a particular project, can also be retrieved – they can also be added to favourites and rated. In addition to the current ‘real-life’ sample collection, the entire decor collection can also be viewed digitally via the iPad app and displayed to customers on site.
Information can be filtered effortlessly according to desired criteria and subsequently suitable decor combinations can be presented to the client, much more easily and conveniently.
In a further version of the app, customers should be able to experience a three-dimensional reference object with desired decors and individual surroundings – for example in a winter landscape or at sunset. In doing so, it should not only be possible to take a 360° view, but also to view a building from different angles, for example, from the top of a hill.
FunderMax is currently working with its implementation partner Atos on the fast implementation of the Digital Sales Support app with the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS (software development kit). The requirements are already documented and first results are expected at the end of April 2017. A key business area of ATOS’s corporate strategy focuses on innovation in connection with SAP technologies and products. As a strong SAP Partner in the field of SAP HANA and SAP Cloud Platform, the largest European IT service provider assists companies in the definition and implementation of their digital roadmap. FunderMax is already progressing its digital roadmap; the sales app is just the beginning on the path towards a digital future.
Schwarzlmüller’s vision of the future can be described in the following scenario: Customers upload a 3D model of their object and design the facade individually. Using Augmented Reality customers could see a building on-site and change its decors with simple gestures or hand movements. The app conveys a comprehensive impression, which allows the customer to experience the future result on a whole new, emotional level. As soon as the customer has decided, he or she can get a quotation directly from the app. When the order is placed with FunderMax, production can begin immediately.
Intuitive Customer Experience Thanks to SAP and Apple Integration
The intuitive state-of-the-art Fiori for iOS design not only improves the service of our sales force, but also strengthens our response to customers’ needs and intensifies the customer experience: “With the app, we want our customers to experience a world that truly inspires them and helps them to make their ideas a reality” says Schwarzlmüller.
For Schwarzlmüller, the possibilities of native iOS apps are endless. For example, Sales Representatives could dictate visit reports straight into Siri, Apples speech robot, rather than painstakingly typing them up.
It is clear to see that FunderMax, a leader in innovation, is pushing ahead with its strategy of digital transformation. The company is truly focusing on the needs of its customers and employees with the implementation of an optimal mobile workplace, through the use of native iOS apps.
Top image via FunderMax/Christof Lackner
