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com
Headquarters
update software AG
Operngasse 17-21 tel.: +43 (1) 878 55-0
A-1040 Vienna fax: +43 (1) 878 55-220
Austria mail: info@update.com
Our customers are more successful.
Case Study
Hansgrohe
The bathroom and sanitary specialist Hansgrohe SE is mastering
two very diferent challenges with its CRM system: addressing
the needs of both conventional wholesale distribution channels
and international projects. Based in Schiltach in the German
Black Forest, this manufacturer provides bathroom fttings and
showers across the globe: Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the
world, and the palace of the Danish Crown Prince and his bride
are just two renowned examples. The requirements have changed
signifcantly over the years, but update CRM has been helping
Hansgrohe meet them since 1999. The market is moving faster
and the path from inquiries to ofers and contracts has become
signifcantly shorter. Thanks to smart phones and iPads, mobility
is increasing, as are the technical requirements of sales teams.
Water is a friendly element for those who are familiar with it and know
how to treat it, the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said.
Case Study | At a glance

Project overview
Areas of application: Sales and Marketing
Number of users: 620
Installations: 38 countries
Solution: update.seven web, update.seven mobile

Results
Single CRM system for all distribution channels
Mobile processes for feld staf
Better cooperation between sales back ofces and feld staf
Simplifed and accelerated process for ofers
Swift product information for customers
Rapid roll-out
Clear overview of relationship networks
update CRM at Hansgrohe
Modern CRM for modern design
Our customers are more successful. www.update.com
It certainly applies to the company founder Hans Grohe, who revolu-
tionized the bath in 1901: He brought the hand-held showerhead into
mass circulation and for the frst time in history, made it possible for
the public at large to take regular showers or baths. At the age of 82 in
1953 and active as ever, he invented an accessory that is regarded as
an essential part of life today: the shower rail. Perfection in form and
function is the ruling principle for this company, which was recently
picked as one of the top 10 best design companies in the world. With
its workforce of 3,300, the bathroom fttings company achieved sales of
EUR 764 million in 2011.
38 countries, one CRM
Hansgrohe has a presence in 38 countries worldwide: Around the
globe, 620 employees in sales and marketing use the CRM solution.
2005 saw the change to update.seven web and the solution was rolled
out in the branches. All branches use the Web-based solution, making
local installations unnecessary. The capability to operate internation-
ally was absolutely essential for us and update.seven web ofered
precisely what we were looking for in a CRM solution. The service and
installation work involved in all of the diferent countries is virtually
zero, Frank Semling, SCM and Processes Director at Hansgrohe says,
explaining the reasons for the introduction. Additional new require-
ments have fooded in since then. Mobility is more important than
ever today, Johannes Schmelzle, CRM consultant at Hansgrohe says.
Access to CRM with Blackberry was already possible in a number of
countries from 2007. Currently Hansgrohe is testing update.touch for
iPad, and will roll out the solution across Germany this year, and after
that in three other markets.
Mobile with perfect design
The application for Apple equipment uses another operating concept,
this means we train the employees intensively and take care of the
follow-up questions, the CRM expert said. Here too, updates tried and
tested roll-out processes guarantee that the solution is rapidly imple-
mented, while ensuring that all data are protected according to EU Data
Protection Directives.
The mobile solution is an important means of both reducing the work-
load for our employees and also making our processes more efcient,
Johannes Schmelzle says. Since the current market and product data are
available on site, tasks can be dealt with directly out in the feld and Hans-
grohe can react much more quickly to customer inquiries. Field staf can
update customer information while they are on the road, and the sales
back ofce gets all the information in real-time for further processing.
Another very clear point is the fact that very attractive design fttings are
simply predestined for the look and feel of an iPad customer presentation.
The processes will change as a result of the iPad, Schmelzle predicts.
CRM in international projects
Customer requirements have changed enormously over the past few
years, especially in terms of expected response times for ofers and
deliveries. In the IP sales process, making ofers and writing speci-
fcations is very important customers today are simply no longer
willing to wait a week before getting an ofer, Schmelzle says. Sales
staf set up a specifcation for a given project in the CRM system, and
can then select suggested products for the ofer . Suitable products can
thus be specifed in a few quick steps in the CRM system, even for large
construction projects such as designer hotels.
In the past, photos and other material had to be laboriously inserted
into a Word fle. Today, updates Web service makes it possible to quickly
create a handy PDF fle from product data. Employees can decide
whether to show prices with the pictures or not. It is easy to imagine
how much time this process saves: The old process typically involved
copying and pasting photos of 20 to 40 products from the company
Website into a Word fle. This simplifed process saves us a very large
amount of time when making ofers, and the process is documented
automatically in the update CRM system, the CRM expert explains. A
versioning feature for tracking changes to ofers is also available.
Perfect networking - internationally
Unlike typical local distribution channels, this producers international
projects are truly global in character. For Hansgrohe, a construction
update mobile for Smartphone and iPad is an important means of both reducing
the workload for our employees and also for making our processes more efcient.
The iPad will change those processes also in the context of product presentation.
Johannes Schmelzle, CRM consultant at Hansgrohe
Case Study | Hansgrohe
Hansgrohe Zentrale in Schiltach, Deutschland
Our customers are more successful. www.update.com
project in Brazil that is built to a design by a London architect and
implemented by a German engineering consultant is nothing unusual.
The update system transparently maps international information by
linking together all the people who are involved in a project in diferent
countries, Schmelzle says. Each of them has access to the same data,
contacts and preferences of the contact partners. All information gleaned
by a contributor is available to the others as well. Knowledge about the
relationships between participating architects, project clients, general
contractors, consultant engineers and installation companies that is
collected in the course of a project is also entered into the CRM system
and forms the basis for important insights. The update industry solutions
tools for simply capturing and representing the most complex relation-
ship networks are among its biggest strengths; this is one of the reasons
why the bathroom fttings producer wants to change to the update
industry solution (ISI Template). Soon, the extremely valuable knowledge
about who is working together with whom will be readily available.
On site and always in the know
Conventional distribution channels with local feld staf follow a quite
diferent set of rules: new products are presented to customers such
as installation companies or sanitary products wholesalers on site, and
sales staf must ensure that all the latest models are exhibited. A very
important point here is that the CRM system now exhibits the current
products, because this information provides the basis for the special-
ised dealer search on the company website. Site visitors can search
for special products available in their area. Any authorized employee
can instantly access the customer base, contact history and all ofers
and contracts at the click of a button . When preparing visits, the feld
team can view all relevant customer and product information, clearly
arranged on a customer master data page.
Much has changed in marketing too. Every single activity is planned in
the CRM systems campaign management from simple newsletters to
full multi-level, interactive campaigns. An external e-mail marketing tool
linked to a live interface handles newsletter circulation, so that news-
letters are browser-neutral and reliably get past spam flters to reach
customers and other readers. In a number of countries the CRM system
is also used to manage events.
Continuous development
Until now, customer data has been transferred from SAP-ERP to the CRM
system using fat fles, and only in a few countries. In future, the SAP inter-
face will be updated to make it possible to integrate ofer and contract
data in real time. Social media are also an issue for Hansgrohe SE, and
the frm is active on Twitter, Youtube and Facebook. The employees in
Schiltach already obtain product feedback on the Web, but integrating
social media into CRM with the update module COSMIC could
prove very interesting for the future, according to Schmelzle. Currently,
switching to the latest version of the industry solution (ISI Template) is in
planning. The new template incorporates a large number of processes
that can replace the companys own customized processes, and intro-
duces uniform processes across the entire corporation.
The CRM system is continuously expanding as new countries are added.
Including customizing and training, we need about three months for
a roll-out, Johannes Schmelzle says. Workshops are held to introduce
key users to the system and presentations are available to demonstrate
the benefts of the CRM system to all new users.
No CRM without employees
When you show them all the possibilities, employees are delighted but
the motivation drops when you move on to the updating work for the
data. One of the big challenges in CRM projects is convincing employees
to use it consistently , and providing a bridge to it for them, Schmelzle
said. The company is making sure that there is always a contact partner
available on site who can answer questions and ensure that employees
use the solution intensively. In order to make using this software both easy
and fun, the company has opted for a slim CRM solution, with the felds
reduced to a minimum. In addition, these few felds are explained precisely.
The catalogue felds do not contain all available worldwide possibilities
either, instead ofering a local or regional subset only.
Using your own language is a very important point, with appropriate
wording and customizing to motivate employees, Schmelzle said.
The software is now used in 12
languages, including Russian and
Chinese. Customizing also includes
mappings of various diferent legal
systems and catalogue entries,
while special processes are also
adapted in some cases to optimize
the cost/beneft ratio. The objec-
tive, however, is to achieve global
standardized processes; 95 percent
of the CRM solution at Hansgrohe
now consists of a uniform core
software.
Case Study | Hansgrohe
This simplifed process saves us a very large amount of time when making ofers,
and the process is documented automatically in the update CRM system.
Johannes Schmelzle, CRM consultant at Hansgrohe
Johannes Schmelzle, CRM-Consultant
www.update.com
www.update.com
copyright 2013 | update software AG
All company and product names contained in this document might be protected trademarks of
the respective entities. All information contained herein may be changed at any time if required,
without any prior notifcation and may not be reproduced or circulated in any form without the
prior written approval of update software AG. In no event shall update software AG be liable for the
completeness of the information contained in this document.
Headquarters
update software AG
Operngasse 17-21 tel.: +43 (1) 878 55-0
A-1040 Vienna fax: +43 (1) 878 55-220
Austria mail: info@update.com
Our customers are more successful.
About About Hansgrohe
Over its 111-year company history, Hansgrohe headquartered in Schil-
tach in the Black Forest, Germany, has acquired a reputation as one of
the world innovation leaders for technology, design and sustainability
in the sanitation industry. With bathroom fttings, showerheads and
shower systems, Hansgrohe SE has created original products that make
bathrooms more functional, comfortable and aesthetic. It is no accident
that these products are used in the most prominent prestige projects in
the world such as the giant cruise ship the Queen Mary II, Terminal 5 at
Heathrow Airport in London, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Federal Chancel-
lery in Berlin, Yoo Luxury Apartments in New York and the Masdar Insti-
tute in Abu Dhabi. The company and its products have won numerous
awards, most recently the UMSICHT Science Prize, the gold German
Design Award and the iF Gold Award 2012. The company with its
brands Axor, Hansgrohe, Pharo and Pontos achieved sales of about
EUR 764 million in 2011 (2010: EUR 693 million). The Hansgrohe Group
currently employs 3,300 people around the world, with about two
thirds of these in Germany. The company, which is intensively involved
in the fght against intellectual property theft, produces in six plants in
Germany and also in France, the Netherlands, the USA and China.
www.hansgrohe.com
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Our customers are more successful.
Interested?
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Kerstin Schmidt
Marketing Manager Installed Base
tel.: +49 (69) 427 231-101
mail: kerstin.schmidt@update.com