The company
Albert Berner Deutschland GmbH is one of the leading trading companies for consumables, tools, accessories and services for professional users in the construction, automotive and industrial sectors. As a German subsidiary, it is part of the internationally positioned Berner Group based in Künzelsau.
The challenge
The challenge was to implement a multinational B2B platform for 23 national companies with different requirements for functions, data management and processes.
The solution
A modern B2B webshop was created on the basis of SAP Hybris, now SAP Commerce Cloud. This allows product data, pricing logics, and purchasing and approval processes to be flexibly aligned with the requirements of the regional markets. For this purpose, existing functions of eCube’s SAP system were supplemented by specially developed ones.
The result
The result is a flexible store architecture that is in line with the individual requirements of the Berner Group companies. It serves as a basis for the further development of e-commerce.
Customised SAP Commerce Cloud (Hybris)
In order to harmonize the different requirements of the local stores with regard to catalog structures, pricing logics and sales processes, standard functions offered by the SAP Commerce Cloud were supplemented and adapted with specially developed functions. eCube supported the design and development of the system architecture, including technical project management, over a period of eight years.
Data from 200,000 products
Complex product hierarchies and classifications as well as product data from a wide variety of sources made it necessary to optimise the standard functions of SAP Commerce Cloud, such as product models with subcategories and classification classes as well as attribute system, for Berner’s requirements through individual adaptations. For this purpose, eCube created additional cross-connections that enable a conglomerated display and merged numerous data sources in the system.
Price logic for 60 million prices
Product and location-based conditions and scales lead to a large number of prices at Berner that have to be managed and controlled in the e-commerce system. Standard functions of SAP Commerce Cloud were extended and adapted for this purpose, and an existing pricing engine in SAP R3 was connected. As a result, Berner now has the technical basis for a uniform pricing policy across all sales channels.
Individual purchasing processes and workflows
As in the areas of product data and pricing logic, it was also necessary to reconcile very different requirements for the purchasing processes and workflows in the stores. Here, eCube developed, among other things, special shopping cart processes that SAP Commerce Cloud does not offer as standard, but which are of great importance for the buying experience and customer expectations.
Agile store development
The Berner Group’s e-commerce platform was designed, developed and put into operation according to agile principles. This enabled the Berner Group’s e-commerce strategy to be implemented and also developed step by step. By focusing on the most important and urgent functionalities, which could be implemented in a short time, the continuous development of the platform was clearly noticeable for the users and also visible for all stakeholders. Based on this, further planning could then be done in each case with a view to achieving the greatest possible benefit.
About the SAP Commerce Cloud
SAP Commerce Cloud is the holistic solution for modern B2C and B2B commerce. In addition to classic shop functionalities, the application offers integrated product content management (PCM) as well as a modern solution for front-end maintenance with a WYSIWYG editor.
