thyssenkrupp Schulte

thyssenkrupp Schulte: A long-established company grows with market changes and builds a stronger connection with their customer base

With over 120 years of experience in international materials trade, thyssenkrupp Schulte has earned their reputation as one of the leading brands in the industrial sector. With a strong understanding of their customers’ needs and purchasing preferences, the company is now taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digitisation to continuously expand their online business with a new online shop. The new materials4me shop serves B2C and B2B customers alike.

Specialising in stainless steel, steel and aluminium, materials4me offers a selection of over 1,000 products from 40 categories, which private customers and tradespersons can easily purchase around the clock.

Finding products faster with Shopware Enterprise Search

With a clear focus on usability, the online shop uses Shopware Enterprise Search to help customers find the products they want as quickly as possible. The powerful search boasts stable performance and offers a content search that examines categories, blog posts and even CMS elements from Shopping Worlds.

Next to the proven thyssenkrupp quality, customers benefit from a number of features that make shopping more convenient: Material profiles can be tailored exactly to customer requirements and individualised – a requirement that can easily be mapped with the Shopware product configurator. "Shopware is the best fit for us because of its functional scope and excellent customer support," emphasises Christoph Stover, eCommerce manager at thyssenkrupp Schulte.

Connecting with customers through content

Using Shopware’s integrated blog functionality, the new online shop provides customers with valuable information surrounding their product line. From cleaning tips and ideas for projects to detailed reports, the blog is used as a means to offer more transparency and proximity with their customer base.

The company also went to great lengths to help customers make informed decisions about their purchases. Product detail pages include thorough information surrounding the properties of the materials, the product’s application and material data sheets, which are available as PDF download.

In addition to the main German shop, the company currently manages and operates three subshops in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Spain. With expansion on their agenda, the company plans to roll out additional subshops in Europe to better meet growing international demand. For the project, rather than connecting the shop with an external ERP system, the decision was made to utilise Shopware’s integrated ERP powered by Pickware.

Shipping from the Dortmund central warehouse

The company’s reliable logistical network plays a crucial role in the success of the online shop. Boasting the world’s largest central warehouse for stainless steels and non-ferrous metals, the company is able to stock over than 20,000 tons of materials at any given time. Customised orders placed from the materials4me shop are shipped from the massive 50,000 m² logistic centre located in Dortmund, Germany.

Strong cooperation sets the stage for future growth

For the implementation, thyssenkrupp Schulte turned to experienced Shopware Enterprise Partner hmmh. Together they succeeded in launching the project in only six months. "Thanks to the solution-orientated and flexible approach of hmmh, the project could be realised within the given timeframe – with a remarkable end product," says Christoph Stover, who has welcomed the shop relaunch throughout and already has sights set on future plans. With the new online shop, materials4me has a sustainable solution capable growing with market changes and challenges in the future.