Schneider Electric
Global B2B player going direct-to-customer during their digital transformation
Schneider Electric is a global market leader in energy management and automation with operations in more than 150 countries. Schneider Electric sold mostly on the B2B market and via resellers, now this presented in the following problem: "To better understand and support customers in the buying process, we need to know exactly what drives the end customer," said Robert Jan van Nouhuys, digital commerce manager.
Schneider Electric is primarily a B2B company, the company didn’t widely sell directly to customers; as a result, their insights into the final steps of the buyer journey were limited. This is where we contributed as Schneider Electric asked us to help build their online shop. To realize this, we used a Magento Commerce platform. "With our own webshop, we can quickly test new products, content, and tools before we roll them out widely via our partner network."
Next to customer insights, Schneider Electric hopes to learn which innovations are needed, how the branding can be improved, and which assortment resonates best with the audience. They even distribute their products over market places to have maximum control of the demand generation. It was important for Schneider Electric to start their digital transformation for the B2C market.
It was important for Schneider Electric to start their digital transformation for the B2C market.
Our solution
The Magento store is the backbone of a new direct-to-consumer approach in the Dutch market. The frictionless experience will ensure customers get the right combination of matching products, which traditionally can be a hassle for non-professional users. Not only are customers being served from the Schneider Electric platform but also throughout connected marketplaces throughout one single point of truth assuring data is up-to-date and correct.
The following challenges were addressed:
- Incorporating product configurator
- Product data compliancy Electro-Technical Information Model (ETIM)
- INSBOU order format exchange (data standard controlled by the Communication Commission for Standards in the Construction and Installation Industry)
- Incorporate 3rd party logistics and return handling
- Content marketing platform with rich content and smart product taxonomy
- Integration of data feeds towards marketplaces
Magento 2
We used the Magento Enterprise edition. Via the store, Schneider Electric can sell the home & distribution portfolio online to their end-consumers. The Magento functionalities allow Schneider Electric to display its products in new, very attractive ways. Ways that are not so commonly used yet in B2B markets. We used the store as a platform to display their products, educate their customers about the products, build strong customer relationships, and tell them about the latest trends and developments in the industry.
From B2B to B2C
With the new Magento shop, Schneider Electric is now able to sell its products on both the B2B and B2C markets via its own channel. As such, all business processes from logistics, finance, legal, and customer service processes needed to be transformed and fit the B2C market as Schneider Electric was traditionally a B2B manufacturer. "The biggest challenge we have is changing the mindset of our traditional sales channels. By directly addressing the consumer we now have the abilities to shift a very traditional market."
Experience design
Youwe's design team collaborated closely with Schneider Electric to create a comprehensive UX strategy for the global b2c ecommerce website. They conducted workshops to define this strategy and worked on the full UX and UI for the website, ensuring that it was user-friendly and visually appealing. The team also created a custom configurator where users could personalize their wiring devices. Additionally, they provided ongoing UX support to Schneider Electric, ensuring that the website remained up-to-date and responsive to user feedback. To maintain consistency across the website, the team also developed a design system that could be easily applied to different country-specific features. Finally, they collaborated on a content strategy that helped to engage and educate users about Schneider Electric's products and services. Overall, Youwe's design team played a key role in creating a successful and user-friendly ecommerce platform for Schneider Electric.
The results
In a short period of time, the project started in September 2019 and went live in January 2020, the Magento webshop was built. The webshop has a clear working UX design, that makes sure the customers can easily find the products of Schneider Electric. Besides that, the customers can find a lot of content on the webshop which makes the Magento 2 platform a real experience-driven webshop.
The result is a functioning webshop where the full order flow can be managed that ties into SAP and delivery (logistics). The Channable integration allows Schneider Electric to sell products on a large number of marketplaces while still retaining correct order handling flow.
