About

Häfele, is a manufacturer and supplier of fittings and electronic locking systems supplies customers in 150 countries around the world. In order to present the product range and services with a consistent, flexible and cost-effective approach,

Challenge

Häfele uses the Content Management solution from RedDot Solutions. With RedDot CMS, 30 country sites are maintained with existing applications such as address databases and an online shop being seamlessly integrated. Both Unicode and XML are used for the smooth maintenance of each of the sites. RedDot’s Premium Partner netmedia was responsible for the implementation process.

Solution

The Häfele product range comprises over 50,000 products aimed at multiple target groups. To provide comprehensive information on the products, Häfele operates a global Web site network maintained and managed using RedDot CMS. Around the globe, whether in Argentina, Dubai or Vietnam, each country site shares a uniform look and feel. Content that has been created centrally is distributed to those responsible at the country level. Context-sensitive search functions and a target group entry through www.häfele.com make calling up information easier. Data sheets, certificates and CAD data are stored in RedDot Asset Manager and can be easily updated by the editors. Throughout the Häfele organization, there is widespread acceptance for RedDot CMS and the advantages that the solution offers to the international subsidiaries.

Results

Overall costs associated with the global creation and maintenance of content on the web sites have decreased considerably. An online catalogue and an integrated electronic ordering system are now being used by 25,000 customers to order Häfele products. Customers can compile an individual catalogue with Häfele fittings online and print it out as an order list or as stock labels with bar codes. In a password-protected area of the web sites, registered suppliers have access to additional information.

The RedDot solution at Häfele:

• Construction and operation of 30 country Web sites (with 100,000 files)
• Integration of different IT systems and consolidation of the platforms used
• Web-based access to over 50,000 products
• Password-protected extranet for registered suppliers
• Exchange across countries through Content sharing