Progressive digitalisation has long since revolutionised trade. Nowadays, companies are more than ever faced with the challenge of aligning technical, organisational, procedural and cultural relationships in the digital market. Even in B2B business, self-service, 24/7 availability, consistent information and a uniform appearance at all points of contact are essential.

As part of the digitalisation strategy at LAPP, the new Online Shop based on state-of-the-art IT technology went live in Germany, Austria and Hungary at the end of January 2023. It replaces the previous solution and is optimised for all devices. In the coming months, the platform will also be rolled out in the Benelux countries, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, the United States and Canada. This will be followed by Portugal, Spain, Norway, Turkey and Italy, as well as the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. The Online Shop can be reached via the link www.lapp.com.

20,000 standard products around the clock

“With the new Online Shop, LAPP is even closer to its customers and has a consistent appearance as a globally operating company,” said Ulrich Rauner, Senior Vice President Global Digital Sales & Marketing Unit, who was responsible for the project and led it to its end. “With the platform, we are adapting to the changing industry and taking on the challenge of being a trustworthy partner, even for customers who work remotely. This way, our customers remain the focus of our work and we can optimally fulfil their wishes and requirements.“ This not only includes the possibility of buying 40,000 LAPP standard products online around the clock, the Online Shop is also the answer to social and industry changes. For example, the proportion of employees working remotely has tripled in recent years. Two-out-of-three companies prefer to be able to use digital self-service and an increasing number of customers are using new technologies when purchasing. In addition, around 30 percent of all purchasing activities can already be automated.

Availabilities, attributes and characteristics at a glance

In addition, the LAPP Online Shop offers customers further advantages for a convenient shopping experience: the integrated Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), i.e. the automated exchange of data, reduces the workload involved in recording and checking business documents. By processing the data directly from SAP, around 40 % of the additional ordering costs can be saved here due to the omission of manual checking and entry. The planned, deep integration of configurators and product finders allows all customers to assemble products according to their needs without much effort and to check their compatibility at a glance. The revised search function – including new filters – allows relevant content to be found faster and also allows for inaccurate or incorrect spelling. Modern renderings show all LAPP products according to their technical description. For example, customers can see at a glance all the single cores with their exact colours. In addition, availability, product attributes and features as well as prices are each currently visible. International customers also benefit from the possibility of retrieving all content in the local language.

The LAPP Online Shop is based on a thorough testing phase. As early as December 2020, selected test customers from Austria underwent a thorough test of the pilots. Continuous further development of the Online Shop will continue to be an integral part of LAPP’s digital strategy, with the aim of continuing to offer all customers a simple and fast shopping experience. In this way, the company has created the conditions for further growth and the integration of future digital trends.