Brüder Schlau: Smart digital strategy for the group of companies

With Merkle, the specialists for interior design are conquering digital space.

Insights into the Hammer Zuhause website created by Merkle
Merkle Success story Brüder Schlau: Insights into the Schlau Shop

At a glance

  1. 01Online shop Schlau GroßhandelNew platform for B2B customers
  2. 02Click & Collect HammerDigital shop window of the Hammer stores
  3. 03Online shop HammerExcellent e-commerce for end customers

The challenge

The Brüder Schlau group of companies is a truly traditional company: Founded in 1921 as a paint wholesaler, the company has developed into a trading group with a focus on home textiles and floor coverings – B2B and B2C. But mainly offline.

For Brüder Schlau this creates a huge disadvantage compared to competitors. The group therefore wants to create a technical basis for the digitization of its business processes in wholesale and retail. Merkle accompanies Brüder Schlau as a digital agency on this path.

BRÜDERSCHLAU-ohnePunktCreated with Sketch.
  • Sector

    • Retail & Consumer Goods
  • Disciplines

    • Strategy & Consulting
    • Conception
    • User Experience & Design
    • Technical implementation
    • Testing / Test management
    • Analytics & Reporting
    • Project management
  • Milestones

    • 2017: (Re)Launch Schlau Großhandel
    • 2017: Go-live Hammer Click & Collect
    • 2018: Redesign Hammer Click & Collect
    • 2019: Go-live Hammer E-Commerce
    • Since 2019: Operations and improvement
  • Tech Stack

    • SAP Commerce
  • Services

    • Commerce
    • Digital Strategy
Tabletansicht des Hammer Zuhasue Onlineshops

Online shop Schlau Großhandel

The online shop for the B2B sector marks the beginning of the long-standing cooperation between Merkle and Brüder Schlau. An already existing platform with complex technology will be rebuilt with all functionalities in SAP Commerce (SAP Hybris). The advantage: the company has a homogeneous and stable system landscape at its disposal – an important prerequisite for the online shop Schlau Großhandel and all other planned projects. When ordering, the craftsmen and women decide whether they will receive a delivery or pick up the products themselves in the shop.

Our approach

SAP Commerce

With SAP, Brüder Schlau relies on a flexible system. It is scalable and creates the basis for an attractive and integrated customer experience.

Cloud-based hosting

Cloud-based hosting enables high scalability
Namics Erfolgsgeschichte Brüder Schlau: Logo Schlau

One project team.

Comprehensive cooperation with the customer

Flexible B2B shop through smart commerce solution

Technology

Brüder Schlau relies on products from SAP Commerce (SAP Hybris). With the functionality of the SAP Hybris B2B Accelerator, Merkle can stay close to the product standard and always act quickly. In addition, the system is hosted entirely in the Amazon Web Services Cloud, quickly and securely.
Namics Erfolgsgeschichte Brüder Schlau: Digitalisierung des Schlau Grosshandels.

Cooperation at all levels

Merkle works together with Brüder Schlau on all levels. From strategic consulting and joint project management to cooperative implementation, the entire team benefits from close exchange. Even when time is short and intensive coordination is required, all important stakeholders are integrated.

Click & Collect Hammer

End customers also benefit from the digitization of the Brüder Schlau. A first step is the Hammer Click & Collect shop. Customers can order articles here and pick them up at the local store. Brüder Schlau thus creates the foundation for multi-channel distribution.

Recognition value despite change

Together with Brüder Schlau, Merkle is working on a web design for the go-live of Hammer Heimtex Click & Collect in 2017 and gives the 2018 website a new design following an image campaign. Hammer Heimtex becomes Hammer Zuhause. The web presence fits into the overall marketing strategy.

Frau bestellt per Click and Collect im Hammer Zuhause Onlineshop

Measure results successfully

Merkle creates and implements a comprehensive concept for Google Analytics. On this basis, customer behavior along their journey is tracked and measures for conversion optimization are derived.

Online shop Hammer

The goal of Brüder Schlau is to establish itself on the market as a multi-channel player. Merkle is therefore implementing an online shop for Hammer for the first time, which had its go-live in 2019. Together we develop a holistic concept with all business and technical requirements and integrate all relevant logistics and payment processes.

The shop offers customers a high degree of flexibility: on the one hand, they can choose from various payment methods and combine them with the loyalty programme. On the other hand, various delivery options are available, such as pickup at parcel stations, delivery to stores or to a desired address.

Our approach

Consulting

Strategic and conceptual e-commerce consulting

Technology

Integration of various interfaces for a holistic e-commerce solution
Namics Erfolgsgeschichte Brüder Schlau: Hammer zuhause Logo

Analytics

Extension of the tracking concept with event tracking and enhanced e-commerce tracking.

Excellent e-commerce for end customers

Conceptual consulting

Together with Brüder Schlau's specialist departments, Merkle runs a series of workshops to the following topics: Fulfillment and logistics, finance, customer service, checkout and self-service processes. The results of these workshops flow into a holistic concept. The user experience, tailored to the target group, always plays a central role.
Namics Erfolgsgeschichte Brüder Schlau: Einblicke in den Hammer zuhause Shop

Technology

The focus is on expanding the existing IT landscape based on the SAP Commerce standard. The connection to SAP CAR (Customer Activity Repository) plays a central role here, in order to integrate the newly established logistics in the best possible way. Payment via the provider Computop is also essential. Functional testing is a constant companion for quality assurance.
Bestellstrecke im Hammer Zuhause Onlineshop
Heiko Lewandowski-Rothe, Managing Director, Hammer E-Commerce GmbH
"Merkle has been accompanying us on our path to digitization since 2016. We trust in their extensive know-how as professional consultants and technical implementation partners and look forward to mastering further challenges with you in the future."
Logo Brüder Schlau

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