Liebherr

Digital transformation of the Liebherr brand: interactive tools transforms this B2B company’s corporate website into a global umbrella brand portal.

Liebherr Corporate Website

website

Founded by Hans Liebherr in 1949, the company has remained an owner-operated family firm to this day. The group employs over 43,000 people at more than 130 companies in over 50 countries. The 11 heterogeneous product lines cover construction machines, cranes, transportation systems and much more. The central task for interactive tools was to drive the digital transformation of the premium B2B brand Liebherr by implementing the international umbrella brand portal in a holistic and user-centred way.

 

Services:
Strategy, design, editing and text, brand portal, technical advice, import tool, search function, application development.

Technologies:
FirstSpirit CMS, front-end, back-end, Java, .Net, Elasticsearch

VISIT LIEBHERR-WEBSITE

Continuous relaunch

As lead digital agency, we perform the international rollout of the corporate website together with Liebherr-International Deutschland GmbH. At the beginning of the project, we not only ran usability tests on the old website, we also examined what expectations potential customers have of the new website. These insights provided the main background for the concept and the information structure of the umbrella brand portal, which was implemented as a continuous relaunch. What does that involve? Well, instead of doing everything as one mammoth task, the website is rolled out seamlessly in smaller releases and rounds of optimisation.

Global contacts display

Liebherr maintains a worldwide sales and service network. In order to provide a central and easy-to-use database, we developed an integration solution that combined Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the FirstSpirit CMS and Google Maps. The application is available in 18 languages and can be flexibly configured in the CMS as well as specially tailored for various purposes. That means Liebherr clients can swiftly find the right contact person and all their contact details presented on a Google map using georeferencing.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] Weltkarte mit Liebherr Standorten

Technical innovation using the FirstSpirit CMS

The FirstSpirit content management system enables company-wide content to be centrally handled. The content can be displayed in various channels and brand portals. It’s possible to call up data across departments for multiple use in IT systems. In terms of the search function, we attached special value to performance and functionality. With the aid of a full-text search based on Elasticsearch, the user can refine their search to individual areas. At the same time, all document types can be called up in the required language versions. We enhanced FirstSpirit using a dynamic output layer based on Java Spring. This way, each individual area of the page can be expanded into a dynamic application – the range of functions and the properties can be set in FirstSpirit.

 

 

Future-proof web design

Responsive implementation enables the adaptation of content to various resolutions and displays on all devices. Individual system modules are freely adaptable, too. They can be simply and appealingly adapted for microsites and the presentation of product brands, and they can be used extensively in the context of new templates.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] Internationalisierung bei Liebherr Grafik

Internationalisation

The relaunch of the group’s central portal is part of an internationalisation strategy. The customisation of the FirstSpirit content management system allows the company portal to be called up in multiple languages. All texts can be maintained in multiple languages via various interfaces and displayed accordingly on the country pages of the umbrella brand portal. The country pages of the group website are set to go live in the third phase of the relaunch.

 

Product presentation and innovative storytelling

By using stories which clients can relate to, the products and services of the Liebherr divisions are presented in a whole new way. From a wine refrigerator to a lattice boom mobile crane, from striking images to technical details – thanks to a dynamic presentation, interactive platforms and an interface for each product line, the user gets the chance to actually experience Liebherr products.

 

„The new website succeeds in communicating the basic values of the family firm across all the various areas and, at the same time, presenting Liebherr as a global premium brand in the B2B sector. “Dr Gerold Dobler, Corporate Communications, Liebherr-International Deutschland

Product comparison: Comprehensive information at a glance

So that the visitor can easily and clearly compare the products they’re most interested in, the product comparison is an important feature that can be used in each division portal. During their visit, users can add the products from a particular line to their own individual product comparison. On the comparison page, the selected products can then be clearly compared in a table. Groups of product attributes can also be shown or hidden if desired. All product characteristics are called up from the central product information system so that only a single database interface is required.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] Screenshot Online Geschäftsbericht für Liebherr

Online business report with the look of a magazine

With the digital realisation of the business report, Liebherr and interactive tools have achieved a further milestone in the digital transformation of the Liebherr brand. The vivid and unique presentation of the business areas grants intense insights into the diverse world of the corporation from Biberach. Distinctive highlights give the extensive report an unmistakeable look and feel: from platforms and videos that stretch across the entire width of the browser to animated graphics and scroll events through to tabbed modules for detailed information. Additional new animated menu and diagram modules are used for the presentation of the most important facts and figures.

B2B award

For the project “The digital transformation of the Liebherr brand”, interactive tools received the prestigious “GWA Profi” B2B award from the German Association of Communication Agencies.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] GWA Profi Award 2016 geht an interactive tools
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