silver.solutions GmbH

SHERA Werkstoff-Technologie GmbH & Co. KG is a leading provider of basic materials and supplies for dental technology and other fields. It is serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Job:

Shera also wants mobile reach to its customers. Desired was an e-commerce app for iPhone and iPad. As in the online shop, prices, inventories and order recommendations directly from ERP are to be used in the apps.

For the sales force the apps offer special functions, in order to also be in a position to fulfil customer requests while travelling.

Solution:

With great success for already more than 5 years SHERA has used the e-commerce solution silver.basic with the Web Connector for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Since 2010 silver.solutions is offering a mobile version of its B2B e-commerce solution.

The mobile applications use the logic, data and the interface to the ERP, which are already being employed for the online shop. 
In this process, not only the master data or prices can be transferred, but also additional product information, availabilities and news, company information or login data. No extra data maintenance is required.

silver.mobile offers a publicly accessible catalogue for all users. Customers can use a fully functional shop with prices and order features with the login information they are already familiar with from the shop. A real-time price calculation is made by ERP, at the latest when the shopping cart is called up. For the processing of the order, the app adopts the address data and payment modalities stored for the customer in ERP. Orders are directly transferred from the app to the ERP at Shera and thereby timely processing is ensured.

Benefit:

With the SHERA app dental technicians can obtain information anywhere and at anytime about the entire range of SHERA products and they have access to the up-to-date technical documentation, they can also use instructions or user tips about the products. In addition, current news from the company is available. Customers who already have access to the SHERA online shop can log in easily with their existing access data and can order directly and swiftly via the app. The ERP link ensures that the orders will be transmitted to SHERA in real time and that they will be shipped at the usual speed.

Fruchthof Nagel GmbH, based in Neu-Ulm, southern Germany, is a leading fruit retailer and logistics provider. For more than 50 years Fruchthof Nagel has offered its customers quality, freshness, up-to-date pricing and an increasing number of product-related services.

The objective of the project was to establish a B2B online shop containing around 1500 active items. It should only be possible for users to access the shop after logging in. Visitors without login details should be able to view the products as a catalogue without prices. As well as reducing the workload of sales staff, another important project objective is 24/7 accessibility for customers. The shop should also give the company a better online presence for potential customers.

The solution involves a silver.basic online shop with integrated eZ Publish CMS. The tried and tested Web-Connector handles connection to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP and enables complete integration of the B2B shop.

Selling fresh products brings with it a whole host of special requirements. One particular requirement is that customers must select their preferred delivery date immediately after logging in as this date determines the availability of products during the ordering process. Many convenience products are ordered from manufacturers just-in-time to ensure maximum freshness. Time for them to be procured in the shop must be taken into account. For example, there are products which must be ordered by 10am on a Monday for delivery on Tuesday. In the shop the first possible delivery date is shown beside these products.

Fruchthof Nagel uses numerous marketing functions to present the product range in its best light. For example, best sellers, special offers and new products which the shop identifies from corresponding labels in NAV are displayed on the home page. Similar products are displayed in the product details. Any number of documents and images can be added to any item in NAV and made available to the customer to download from the shop. This can be used to produce a detailed product profile, for example.

After logging into the shop, block indicators, customer numbers, sector information and the saved additional charges for partial packaging units are retrieved from NAV during the run time.

In the event of a block in the ERP, the customer is informed that orders cannot be placed at the present time.

Extra rights have been set up in the online shop for sales staff. Staff can use a delegate function to assume the role of one of their customers and place orders for them. Staff orders have special labels and are handled directly in the ERP without any additional checks. A modified form of the delegate function is also used by key account customers. As soon as an employee from a key account customer's head office logs in, they can select which branch or subsidiary they want to place an order for.

In terms of shop design, the customer requested a self-contained design based on existing marketing materials. This fresh, new design was developed by our partner Netgen in Croatia in close collaboration with the customer and silver.solutions who converted the concept design into the necessary templates.

Fruchthof Nagel now has a fresh, modern and most importantly very efficient online shop which smoothly transfers business logic from the ERP to the online shop. The silver.basic shop solution and Web-Connector have even managed to smoothly implement special requirements of the sector. Internal processes are thereby optimised and customers can place orders at their convenience around the clock.

n the summer of 2007,international, national and regional European radio stations joined forces in the European Radio Network Euranat. The participating radio stations produce contributions in various EU languages. These contributions then form the basis for producing and broadcasting monolingual programmes. The aim of Euranet is to broadcast in all 23 official EU languages by 2012.

The goal of the website relaunch was to restructure the content and give the website a facelift. Euranet now places even greater focus on European themes and on promoting collaboration between the participating radio stations. The platform’s core content is made up of audio files augmented with other suitable content. Users will be able to participate more in future.

Euranet will continue to use the complex CMS solution eZ Publish that has been optimised for media companies. The latest version of the CMS will now be used. This will bring an improvement to the user interface, especially for editors. Together with the latest version, the innovative portal solution eZ Flow can now also be used. eZ Flow allows the homepages to be flexibly designed and provides comprehensive functions for managing site content.

The most important new development of the relaunch when it comes to content is a focus on the radio programmes. There is now only audio content, supplemented by editorial contributions, images, videos and slideshows. Tailored to the needs of Euranet, an interface to the so-called audio exchange platform was developed, where all audio files are managed centrally. These are continuously transmitted via FTP to eZ Publish and imported into eZ Publish with the relevant metadata. The editors can then simply add to this and place it in the column for publication.

The JW Player will still be used to play back the audio files, but it has now been integrated globally and is available on every page. A new feature are the freely definable playlists, which can be created from anywhere.

Euranet currently offers content in 15 languages. The plan is to integrate all 23 official EU languages by 2012. There will no longer be a strict separation by language. Flags will indicate the languages in which a contribution is available. This is designed to promote cross-border communication and highlight the various perspectives in Europe.

The weekly “Euranet Special”, which is the same for all languages, forms the centre and hub of the new service. Each week, a different editorial department is responsible for the content and the individual countries contribute content from their own perspective. It is therefore now possible, for instance, to listen to radio contributions on a single topic in 10 different languages. As soon as a new “Euranet Special” is created, the previous content will be placed in a dossier. In parallel to this, other content can be created individually as a dossier, which will deal with one specific topic in-depth.

Communication via social networks is an increasingly important component. Euranet uses the services of AddThis to link contents to many different social platforms. There is also a Facebook page which is linked up directly. On Euranet, users can talk about the contributions directly using the comment function. The Euranet Twitter feed is integrated, as are the latest comments. The survey tool was expanded in such a way that the results can now be viewed overall as well as individually for the different countries.

With its relaunch, Euranet focuses on its core competence – radio. The website is now tidier and clearer and provides more space for user involvement. The multilingual presentation of contents opens up interesting perspectives, sparks discussions and is thought-provoking. Europeans are starting to talk to each other.

Tyczka Totalgaz is one of the leading liquid gas specialists in Germany. Tyczka Totalgaz is a joint venture of two major partners: Tyczka Energie, based in Geretsried, and TOTAL Deutschland of Berlin. The head office is in Geretsried. Two Service Centres in Geretsried and Leipzig as well as more than a dozen storage facilities and bottling plants assure broad service coverage for customers.

K3 Innovation, as the general contractor, has requested the participation of silver.solutions as a specialist for the integration of the SAP System. The goal of this common project was the development of an extranet solution initially targeting the German market. The new online customer area is now aimed at both individual and business customers. Tank gas and bottled gas orders can in future easily be placed and processed in the online customer area. In the background, the Extranet is also intended to facilitate work processes for the JV’s staff. In parallel to the Extranet, the K3 Innovationen agency has also redesigned and relaunched the website, rebuilding it with eZ Publish.

The project was implemented together with K3 Innovationen of Düren.

The silver.basic shop solution is used for the online customer area, which communicates with the customer’s SAP System via the Web-Connector for SAP. The main data source for the item master file, the customer data as well as for the pricing information and delivery conditions is the SAP System. In the Web CMS eZ Publish environment these data are supplemented with marketing texts and further information. The connection to SAP enables display of customer specific conditions on a real time basis. The bottled gas ordering system graphically represents the pallets filled by the customer, thus facilitating the ordering of bottled gas.

Tyczka Totalgaz customers will in future be able quickly and easily to report meter status online, simultaneously reviewing their gas consumption as compared to the last report at any time. Via the “My Tytogaz” feature, customers can easily download invoices and manage their data online.

For questions there is a Callback function intended further to improve customer communication. With just one click, customers can enter their query in a form and ask for a call-back by stating his/her telephone number and the desired call-back time. The Service staff will call back to answer the query in person.

A function that is particularly important for business customers is the differentiated operating facilities and offices selection option for goods recipients as well as a targeted selection of the meters and containers required at each site. Orders can also be placed for ongoing deliveries at customer determined intervals.

In the Extranet, Service Centre staff are provided with special functions enabling them to manage customer requirement mixes and ongoing deliveries, as well as tools to facilitate customer support and advisory tasks.

Following the relaunch, the new website presents customers with a fresh, modern and informative look. In combination with the new Extranet, it means a substantial improvement for Tyczka Totalgaz’ Customer Service. Customers are now not hampered by opening hours and can place their orders, download their bills, or send enquiries at any time of the day or night and even while off site. There is also a first-time integration into the ERP system, distinctly optimising the customer’s business processes. At the same time, this also results in clear costs savings due to the broad automation of many of the processes involved. The open interfaces and the modular structure of the software ensure that the solution can be further developed and adapted to new requirements in future project steps.

Testimonial:
Fast, simple and clear - What Bernhard Reichling, a Karlsruhe office manager, particularly likes about the new service is that everything happens so quickly and easily, and that with the clearly structured price viewing feature he immediately knows how much his order will cost. Thus any errors in the ordering process become immediately apparent. “I know that once, when ordering pallets, I entered 12 instead of 1. This resulted in an unexpectedly high total being shown – so I immediately noticed that something had to be wrong”, says Reichling.

The medium-sized company Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG is one of Europe‘s leading greetings card and gift suppliers. The entire Depesche product range is currently sold in 26 countries and 16 language versions. In Geesthacht near Hamburg, Germany, trendy products are developed and distributed in house without third-party licences.

The objective was to create a new B2B online shop to supersede the previous shopping portal at www.depesche.com. The new shop would have to be integrated into the existing site. Depesche is active across all of Europe, so the shop would also have to be available in German, English, Dutch, French and Spanish from the outset.

The shop would be connected to the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV in order to use product and customer data from there and to transmit orders directly to Navision.

The solution of choice was the integrated eCommerce solution silver.basic as well as the Web-Connector for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Both products have proven successful in more than 100 projects in over 6 years.
The customer uses the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0. The article data for the shop were imported from the ERP system. Prices and availabilities are determined at runtime via the Web-Connector. Product pictures are uploaded separately by FTP onto the shop server. Additional marketing and product group texts can be managed as required in eZ Publish, the shop’s CMS.

Existing login data were re-used in order to make the changeover from the old to the new system as easy as possible for customers. Registered customers can not only place orders comfortably in the new B2B portal, they can also have all receipts in the ERP system displayed at any time.

The quick order form has been appropriately expanded according to the customers’ requirements and can now show variant codes after input of an article number, and also lets users enter EAN numbers.

The new shopping portal for dealers is based entirely on Navision logic in the online shop. The ordering process has thus been streamlined for both Depesche and their customers. Important information need not be entered twice, rather is communicated directly from the ERP system to the shop and vice versa. The shop is available at all hours, so orders can be placed and information referenced outside the usual business hours. The new shop fits seamlessly into the overall market presence of Depesche Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG.

Testimonial:
"The solution fulfilled all our expectations and cooperation with silver.solutions was outstanding." Marno Bohlmann, IT Manager Depesche Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG

Garmin is global market leader in the field of mobile guidance systems as well as GPS satellite communications. Founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Dr. Min Kao (thus the name Garmin) with five employees Garmin is among the most experienced manufacturers in the segment of mobile guidance today with worldwide nearly 9,000 employees and locations in the U.S., Taiwan and Europe.

Aim of the joint project was the establishment of a new retailer portal with new B2B Shop in the first project phase, which was to be presented to Garmin specialty retailers at the IFA 2010.

As general partner Berger Baader Hermes GmbH contracted silver.solutions as specialist for the establishment and integration of the shop as well as for the link-up with Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

The shop replaces an existing solution and customer data has to be migrated accordingly from the old system in order to make the transition as easy as possible for specialist retailers. The solutions employed should already consider expansions planned for a second project phase.

The retailer portal including a design re-launch was implemented by the high-performance ECMS eZ Publish of the Munich agency Berger Baader Hermes. The integrated eCommerce solution silver.basic will be applied in the B2B shop. The proven web connector will handle the connection to ERP Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0.
Project requirements were prepared together with the customer, Berger Baader Hermes as well as Microsoft Dynamics Partner Navigate over the course of two workshops.

The heart of B2B is the retailer shop. Garmin products are available in the five product groups of road navigation, sports and fitness, outdoor, marine and mobile. After login, retailers will only see those product groups from the entire product range, which are relevant for them.

A multitude of functionalities were implemented making access to the shop as simple as possible for the retailers. This way, they can visually search the entire portal or just the shop. On the side frame, the instant order form is available at any time for an expedited order. All shop features can be accessed quickly with a button. For example, a list of all products in the retailer shop can be accessed with one button, and also an overview of all orders, delivery slips and invoices.
The product data in the shop is updated by means of regular export from Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Associated images and info on awards are maintained and designated in the backend of the shop. Information on prices and availability are obtained from the ERP.

Aside from the shop, the entire B2B portal also has a multitude of add-on features available for retailers. Thus they may, for example, view the current customer data and individual price lists at any time. Individual technologies and terms are explained in a comprehensive overview. Retailers will moreover find support with the help of manuals, design guidelines, logos, experience reports, etc. which can be downloaded.

Over the course of more than 80 years, ABUS August Bremicker Söhne KG (ABUS) has developed from a producer of traditional padlocks to a competent brand for preventive security technology. The independent group of companies with head office in Wetter/Ruhr is internationally oriented and operates in most European countries as market leader and trendsetter. The company’s mobile security division develops and markets not just home security products but above all products for two-wheel security.

The goal of the project was to set up an online shop for speciality retailers, initially targeted at the German market. In the initial project stage, the product group “mobile security” was to be made available in the shop, offering around 1200 products. In a subsequent step, further product groups were to be gradually added to the shop. The goal is to eventually offer around 21,000 products.

We are using the eCommerce solution silver.basic as well as a specially developed web service that establishes a connection to the client’s ERP system. The web service for the distribution system AVIS that ABUS uses was provided by BMU. The area “products & shop” is designed in such a way that it can be used by end customers in the future with limited functionality. The product specifications for the online shop are sourced from the catalogue system Mediabase. In addition to marketing texts, the catalogue system also contains logos, icons, product images and technical data about the products.

Mediabase also provides additional PDFs and XML files that are imported into the shop at night. Whether new XML files are available for import is checked several times a day. Customer-specific prices and information about availability are retrieved from the distribution system at runtime.

ECMS eZ Publish allows the maintenance of additional marketing texts and other information.

To order catalogue products quickly, the shop has a “quick order” function. The inventory can be accessed via various search functions. We use the powerful search engine eZ Find. It searches full text as well as item numbers and EAN.

In addition to the product area itself, the shop also has the “My ABUS” area. Under “My ABUS”, speciality dealers can configure their access, and view orders and outstanding items. The sales tools “sales history”, “top sellers” and “promotions” are also available. To make it easier for traders to order items, shopping baskets can be saved and orders placed later.

For the area “mobile security” in particular, a VeloConnect interface was implemented. VeloConnect is an open standard for B2B communication in the two-wheel sector which many retailers use. The interface allows the direct transfer of orders from the retailer’s ERP via the online shop to AVIS.

The new ABUS B2B shop allows traders to gain even more up-to-date information about the product range, check availabilities and see their individual conditions. After only a short period of time, a significant share of the turnover was generated through the shop. The VeloConnect interface makes things easier for retailers and facilitates order processing for ABUS.

Minitüb is the world’s leading tier 1 supplier of reproductive technology for livestock and is active in the fields of artificial insemination, embryo transfers and associated biotechnologies. The company is based in Tiefenbach, Germany, and delivers to customers around the world. Its global customers are handled by the highly qualified staff of local subsidiaries, representative offices and resellers.

The aim was to develop an appealing and professional website combined with an online catalogue for industry customers. The catalogue was initially planned to be in four languages (German, English, Spanish and Russian) and addresses the international market. The new website was to bring together the various company websites around the world and communicate the company’s identity in the best possible way.

A completely overhauled website was developed on the basis of the content management system eZ Publish. This CMS allows the content of the individual countries’ pages to be managed individually, meaning that the content can now be updated quickly.

A completely overhauled website was developed on the basis of the content management system eZ Publish. This CMS allows the content of the individual countries’ pages to be managed individually, meaning that the content can now be updated quickly.

The first project phase entailed developing key elements such as general pages of company information, a comprehensive catalogue with a shopping basket function and a download section.

Visitors to the website arrive at a centralised corporate section in four languages which gives them a list of countries to choose from. The visitors are then forwarded to the relevant country website or sales region, depending on which country they select.

The catalogue’s structure and products are based on the ERP system. ERP entails the products that are to appear online being marked and allocated to a region. This then guarantees that each and every customer who uses the online catalogue is presented with the products available in their region. An XML file is used to update the product master data every night. There is also a manual upload function in the website’s back end.

The high-performance CMS can be used to add marketing copy and further information to the existing catalogue pages.

The online catalogue can be accessed by all the website visitors. More in-depth product information is made available to customers with their own login. In addition to adding product details, products can also be added to a shopping basket which can then be forwarded to the relevant Minitüb region as an inquiry.

A full-text search function covers all the content of the catalogue.

The project resulted in an attractive, modern and uniform Internet appearance for the international group of companies. The website content can be managed locally in the various company sectors, which keeps the pages more up to date and makes them more in line with the needs of the individual markets.

This solution is fit for the future because the tried-and-tested e-commerce solution silver.basic has already been used for the catalogue. Using this as the basis, a fully fledged online store can be set up at any time.

As one of five business units of Gruner + Jahr AG, G+J International Magazines comprises the global publishing activities outside the German and French markets of Gruner + Jahr. The international magazine portfolio comprises more than 200 titles in 28 countries, including the international activities of Motorpresse Stuttgart.

<b>Job:</b>
Varying and in many cases proprietary CMS solutions had been deployed in the various countries prior to the project start. This made the adaption and development complex and posed particular challenges; especially to small countries. The project objective was to implement a white label common platform (consisting of a CMS and a delivery platform), enabling all regional companies of G+J International Magazines to quickly and cost-efficiently develop a CMS-based online presence. The support of all common standards was a basic requirement, just like the integration of existing platforms and developments.

<b>Solution:</b>
silver.solutions realised the CMS part of the project based on the eZ Publish enterprise content management system. The overall editorial content of the respective websites is stored in eZ Publish.

The actual presentation is provided by a content delivery system based on Symfony framework which was realised in-house by Gruner+Jahr. In addition to the editorial content, the international G+J websites are complemented with extensive community functions, like feedback and surveys through the framework.

The content delivery system is constantly synchronised in real time with the eZ Publish CMS.

The combination of eZ Publish and Symfony offers G+J essential benefits. eZ Publish e.g. contributes all functions of an effective content management system, like e.g. version management, user administration and workflows to the project, while Symfony as the website framework allows for a more efficient and faster page delivery.
eltern international was the first project to be implemented based on the new platform. More websites followed. Meanwhile, a.o., GEO International was realised using the new platform.

As an international system supplier for door products with market leading positions both worldwide and in Germany DORMA required a solution for their product database that covered the demanding need for multilingualism as well as optimal integration into the existing systems and workflows.

silver.solutions GmbH developed a product information system, which provides information on the products offered by the individual DORMA divisions in more than 20 languages located at over 30 domains. Retailers and consumers around the world can now easily access detailed information on all DORMA products. Updates can be done locally in all individual countries. This allows DORMA to react quickly according to the requirements of the market.

Download the full DORMA Case Study here: http://ez.no/customers/case_studies

The project objective was to implement a B2C bookshop with extremely comprehensive search and filter functions. The studibooks.de B2C shop uses the silver.basic e-commerce solution which is based on the ECMS eZ Publish. Orders are directly passed on to Navision. The import of product data from numerous catalogues with extensive bibliographic contents is a special feature. This information is complemented by additional data from Navision und updated in the online shop every night.

The handling of pre-announced books and sequels was implemented especially for the publishing industry.

The shop offers a large variety of filter functions and sorting options through the eZ Find search engine, enabling users to filter result lists subsequently by publishing company, category, year of publication, author, number of pages and price margin.

An attractive and high-capacity B2C shop using the book trade’s industry standards and offering the complete currently available assortment of German books as well as additional foreign topical publications to customers was set up in no time.

ABUS Security-Center is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic security technology. As a full-range provider, ABUS Security-Center consistently markets an international array of products and services for the alarm and video surveillance fields. ABUS Security-Center has its headquarters in Affing near Augsburg, Germany, with branches in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, India and Taiwan as well.

The project objective was the implementation of a new website as well as the construction of a B2B shop with extensive functions employing the business logic of Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP. The new solution was intended to completely replace the company's existing website and dealer area.

silver.solutions implemented the project on the basis of the silver.basic online shop system. The web connector handles the connection to the ERP system. eZ Publish serves as a product information system for the ABUS Security-Center, i.e. all products and goods groups are managed directly in the shop's backend. After an initial import of the master data to start the shop, the system now handles all product descriptions and images supplemented with downloads, technical data, product highlights, certificates and similar elements for more than 2000 products.

Within 10 months an extensive, individual eCommerce solution had been developed and optimally integrated into the company's workflow. Dealers can now work with a state-of-the-art online shop that offers numerous extra functions.

You can find a Case Study for this customer here: http://ez.no/customers/case_studies

During the summer of 2007, international, national and regional radio stations joined forces to form the European Radio Network, Euranet. Six months later, the pan-European media consortium was awarded a contract relating to a project from the European Commission. The objective of this project was to improve reporting from and about Europe and to stimulate discussion about co-existence in Europe in order to promote the creation of a general European public. Each of the participating radio stations provide contributions in different EU languages. These contributions are then used to produce monolingual radio programmes. The goal of Euranet is to broadcast programmes in all 23 official EU languages by 2012.

Another task that Euranet has been charged with is the creation and continuous further development of a multi-language Internet platform. The European orientation necessitates a platform that can be extended to include all 23 EU languages. In order to ensure the website remains attractive during the entire project period, the possibility to extend its range of functions was also a key requirement of the contract. In addition to the website, the creation , further development and integration of a community platform is also indispensable for promoting communication.

The website conception and development of the design was realised by the longstanding silver.solutions partners, silver.station and “Konradi Agentur für Gestaltung”.

The radio function represents the centrepiece of the platform. An upload function for MP3 files has been provided for editors in the backend. The website allows radio programmes to be listened to live via a live-streaming process. Furthermore, the contributions are also made available as podcasts. All radio programmes are archived and an integrated filter function enables them to be filtered according to time and language.

In addition to the radio programmes, the website also offers editorial content to citizens in the form of news, files and general contributions. All contributions can be made more attractive via a multimedia box, which can be used to add images, videos and audio content. Interactive elements have been provided for the editorial part of the site, such as a comment function and alternating opinion polls. An RSS feed is used for publishing the latest community contributions on the website.

The website was developed using the enterprise content management system eZ Publish.

The community platform went live shortly after the Euranet website and is also characterised by multilingualism. The platform is available in multiple languages and every user can add contributions in their own national language. The community solution from mixxt GmbH provides the technical foundation for the community. The mixxt community was extended to include a multi-language element especially for Euranet. The community offers members a variety of forums for exchanging ideas, individual blogs for each member and an area for publishing pictures.

The Euranet website is being expanded and additional functions added on an ongoing basis. For example, a microsite containing facts and background information on the European Elections in June 2009 has recently been integrated into the website. Animated, interactive elements, such as a European map and a timeline related to the history of the EU Parliament, encourage visitors to go on a tour of discovery. All this is rounded off with an event calendar and a newsletter.

The editors have recently started using the micro-blogging service, Twitter, to publish short, topical items of news. The Twitter messages are published on the Euranet website via RSS feeds.

You can find a full Case Study here: http://ez.no/customers/case_studies

Since 1983 Shera has been developing and producing material for dental surgery of highest quality.

Solution:
After three successful years on the market the website underwent a thourough redesign and now sports a fresh and contemporary look and feel.

Silver.solutions‘ eCommerce portal is based on ECMS eZ Publish. In the initial project several additional functions have been implemented into the basic shop to meet individual client requirements. The redesign process has been taken as an opportunity to update eZ Publish to product version 4.0.

The client expressed the need for a sales representative function to speed up the order process and to improve customer service. The new module allows sales represantatives to login under a specific debtor number and to place orders and access other shop functions in the name of the client. This way it is possible to directly place orders together with a client while on an outside appointment for example. Orders are directly submitted to the ERP system under the correct debtor number and multiple data entry is not necessary any longer which in turn speeds up the whole order process.

C&J Direct GmbH & Co. KG operates throughout Europe as a wholesaler and retailer of mobile phone/PDA accessories.

The aim was to set up a B2B online shop. The shop is connected to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system via the Web-Connector and the integrated CMS offers the additional option of entering articles.
Besides standard shop functions like catalogue, cart and ordering process, the shop also offers:

- Document management
- Express orders
- Download section
- Newsletter system
- New offers (with filter option for 10, 20 or 30 days)
- Debtor article numbers

The online shop was initially set up in German and English. Other languages can be added later. A translation function is provided in eZ Publish for texts entered in the editorial system (e.g. start page, publishing information, contact). Article data imported from Navision must already exist in several languages in the ERP system.
Article data are imported to the shop from Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Navigation in the product catalogue copies its structure from Navision (two-stage according to article categories and product groups). Information on prices and availability (exact unit quantities) are called up at runtime from the ERP system. The Simpleviewer provides various views of the product in detail (if available).
The “New products” [Neuheiten] menu item can be searched by entering a time, e.g. products of the last 5, 10, 20 or 30 days. This Information is read out via a special date field in Navision. Registered users can also download a list in CSV format. Since customers of C&J Direct work with their own article numbers the shop’s order form and cart has a “debtor article number” field. This means that customers can use their own article numbers for orders and the shop passes on the matching C&J Direct item number.
Another specialty is the allocation of accessories via a comparison chart. This is helpful for customers as each provider sells its cell phone models under different names. The product details in the shop shows all models suitable for each article.
Registered users can update their profiles in the shop’s service section. A document log is also available showing information about invoices, arrears, credits etc. Known products can be easily and conveniently ordered using the express order form and the (debtor) article numbers. Registered users can also download additional product material from producers in PDF from a special section.
The phplist newsletter system has been implemented for e-mail marketing. C&J Direct regularly sends product announcements by e-mail. In order for product information to be called up directly from CMS, the newsletter system was expanded and connected to the shop. The newsletter can be sent in German and English.

JAKO AG headquartered in Hollenbach specializes in team sport products and services. Alongside its operations as a world-wide manufacturer of sports articles JAKO has achieved the position of market leader in the field of team sport in more than 20 countries. In addition JAKO engages in sports sponsoring (e.g. giving its name to sports centers).

The B2B online shop gives JAKO customers the opportunity not only to order with greater speed and ease but also to access innumerable services now available through JAKO. These include for example:

- an express order form (giving item number, size, color and quantity of the required article),
- option to conceal and display purchase prices,
- option to download various forms as PDF documents (return forms, washing instructions etc.),
- a customer service center (administration of customer accounts and user rights - only for main contact person),
- the domain “My Profile” (maintenance of personal data, invoice and delivery address),
- an order history where customers can find an summary of their invoices, open items and credits,
- a specialist retailer search (acc. to town/zip code incl. distance search),
- integration of newsletter system eZ Newsletter

Detailed product information as well as information on customized prices and availability of items are requested directly from the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV via the Web-Connector. This allows the customer to view the latest product information at any time. If items are not available at the time of ordering, the next possible delivery date is shown. Orders via the on-line shop are saved for the duration in the ERP system.

The product catalogue is also accessible to non-registered users. The prices shown here are non-binding. The catalogue enables entry via product lines or sport types. In addition, a search function enables specific product searches. A special feature is the displaying of multi-level variants for sports clothing (color, sizes). AJAX functions are employed to enable the display of these variants in the express order form. The user is shown numerous of photos for each item, including detailed views for each variant depending on the product . Larger product images can also be viewed using the magnifying lens function.

The shop is available in a variety of languages for different countries.
Translations of the product information can be imported from Microsoft Dynamics NAV and displayed accordingly in the shop. All other information (static pages, such as e.g. contacts, imprint etc.) can be translated into several languages in the shop’s editorial system. At the present time the www.jako.eu site is available in German and English. Further languages to follow.

Customer: Kompetenzzentrum Technik - Diversity - Chancengleichheit e.V.
(Competence Centre for Technology – Diversity – Equality)

The aim of the national pact between politics, business and the sciences is to change the image of scientific professions in society, to inspire young women to enrol for scientific und technical study courses and to win over female university graduates for careers in business. The pact is part of the German government’s “Advancement through Education” qualification initiative.

* MINT stands for Mathematics, Informatics, Natural sciences and Technical engineering.

Design an Internet portal using ECMS eZ publish focusing particularly on young women.

The portal will be a source of information on scientific and technical study courses and professions, thereby making use of the potential of women in view of the emerging shortage of specialists in these professions.

Various additions to the CMS were implemented, including a link to a geographic information system (GIS), a specially developed newsletter tool and a form generator. The website is highly accessible.
Solution:

* Website design using ECMS eZ Publish 4.0
* Very high degree of accessibility by meeting all requirements and conditions in the BITV (Barrier-Free Information Technology Regulation; priorities I + II)
* Implementation of a GIS with dynamic creation of a project map
* RSS support and newsletter system

The MVG Medienproduktion und Vertriebgesellschaft mbH based in Aachen/Germany is an associated publishing house/media production company with more than 30 years of experience in email marketing, production management, editorial work and publishing for nonprofit customers. MVG distributes fair traded food and handicrafts under the brand "Weltfairsand" and therefore takes active part in the promotion of fair trade.

The existing online shop had to be migrated to a system that directly communicates with the ERP system but also receives product information from a catalog software. The aim was to reduce editorial effort and integrate the existing software systems.

The new e-commerce solution based on eZ Publish is connected to the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV via the Web-Connector. That makes it possible to request and display stock availability and price information from the ERP system in real-time.

Vincentz Network was founded by Curt Rudolf Vincentz in 1893 as a specialized publishing company. Nowadays Vincentz is the leading information provider and contact mediator for three expert groups:

- Ambulant and inpatient elderly care
- Coatings industry
- Technical trade

Moreover Vincentz produces customer magazines and publishes hobby books for woodworking, metalworking and textile processing.

silver.solutions realised the shop solution for Vincentz Network on basis of the ECMS eZ Publish. E-commerce modules developed by silver.solutions extend the functionality of the norwegian ECMS. By the use of the Web-Connector all data can be transfered between shop and the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics' NAV. Vincentz is using a tailored Navision solution for publishing companies that provides specialized functions.

A particular challenge was to map the special functions of the different product categories (product variety) managed in the ERP system such as books, subscriptions, standing orders, booking events, email newsletters or downloads onto the shop. Users can order in the shop anonymously and as registered users, too. The services of a payment provider had to be integrated for handling payment transactions.

The different shop areas have been set up in the administration section of the ECMS and form the main navigation structure of the shop. It is possible to add products to the shopping cart from all shop areas (elderly care, coatings, craft and hobby), from product lists and from product detail pages as well as from the search result list. In the shopping cart different taxe rates get displayed separately. Products can be added to the shopping cart directly from the single websites of the portal areas, too.

For events the shop considers the number of available seats. Moreover the list of participants is displayed in the shopping cart and during the ordering process. On booking events all categories of the respective journal are displayed. The price for an advertisement is calculated based on the chosen format (column x mm).

Registered users can edit their interest profile in the shop in order to receive personalized ads and recommendations. The shop provides an advanced search for different product categories (books, journals).

SANYO VIDEO distributes high quality video surveillance systems for the industrial and commercial market. The company was founded in 1974 and covers the complete german market with its regional sales offices, as well as the european market with the help of partner companies.

For SANYO VIDEO silver.solutions have implemented a B2B online shop based on eZ Publish 3.6.1 and the Web-Connector connecting the shop to MBS Navision.

An automated import function imports products from the FastPress catalogue database into the shop. Other functions the shop provides are displaying order history details, stock availability, and individual prices. The latter ones are requested from Navision at runtime. Registered dealers can create personalized price lists and product datasheets with their own business logo after login. Field representatives can create and edit offers (directly transferred to Navision), and request billing and order details or customer master data in an Extranet area.

Benefit:
The shop provides customers with the possibility of ordering products with SANYO VIDEO 24/7. Up-to-date information on stock availability and prices is guaranteed with requesting them from Navision at runtime. eZ Publish' rights management provides the implementation of extended functions for selected user groups (partners, prospects, service staff, field representatives). The additional functions for field representatives and customers reduce the workload for head office staff.

WOCKEN Industriepartner GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1957. The three core areas of the company are wholesale, service, and a shop offering machine & tool hire for manufacturing, assembly and construction.

silver.solutions together with tso data GmbH implemented the shop solution for WOCKEN Industriepartner based on the ECMS eZ Publish. Modules developed by silver.solutions extend the functionality of the Norwegian ECMS.

The integrated SAP OCI is a special feature of the solution, alongside extensive shop functions e.g. different views for product categories, sub categories or article groups, different user rights & roles (only registered and logged in users are allowed to order), shopping cart, article import functions and order history.

The integration of OCI (Open Catalog Interface) makes it possible for WOCKEN customers to access the WOCKEN catalogue easily using the eB2B platform and order the required products. Thus the customer can use the platform to order things from different suppliers.

The OCI also allows customers using "SAP Enterprise Buyer Professional" to integrate the shop catalogue into their ERP system.

The Girls' Day opens up extensive future prospects to a generation of qualified young women. With the objective of establishing contacts and drawing attention of industries and the public to girls' strengths. On Girls' Day primarily technical companies, companies with technical departments and training positions, colleges and research centres open their doors to interested girls. Through a great variety of events young women are able to gain an insight into working life and get in touch with Human Resources Managers and personnel responsible for traineeships.

For the Girls' Day project silver.solutions and Mondfabrik relaunched the new website on basis of eZ Publish 3.6.1. The relaunch features the integration of external databases and follows the guidelines of Web accessibility and usability. www.girls-day.de has been optimized to handle per-minute access figures of up to 200.000 and therefore guaranteeing fast response times. Other features the website offers are a forum, an interactive event map and a download centre. The solution provides detailed and extensive statistic functions.

Using eZ Publish as a basis for the Girls' Day website, the site now is user-friendly and easy to administrate. Due to the separation of content and design in eZ Publish the website can be redesigned any time without considerable expenses. The site design has been realised by Mondfabrik.

For the worldwide operating company DORMA, silver.solutions has implemented a knowledgebase on the basis of eZ publish. To meet the customer's requirements eZ had to be extended with several modules.

The knowledgebase provides the following functionalities:
- Project reporting:
*Project database
*Creating project forecasts
*Notify functions and reporting
- Expert database
- Keywording (allowing pointed search and linking different documents with one another)
- Advanced search
- DORMApedia
- Sophisticated rights & roles management
- Multilingualism
- Interfaces to other systems (e.g. financial or operational controlling)

DORMA is a globally active supplier of door technology products and systems. The company is the world market leader in door controls, movable walls, automatic door systems and glass fittings and accessories. DORMA is also a successful player in the security, time management and access control segment and the number one in Germany for emergency exit control and escape route security systems.

With the help of the knowledgebase DORMA provides a platform for all important information concerning change management and project management. Using the expert database and the project database every DORMA employee can search for information and publish information no matter what time zone he is in or language he speaks.

(Note: The knowledgebase is only accessible for DORMA employees. The DORMA website can be found at www.dorma.com)

silver.solutions has set up an integrated online shop based on eZ publish with the Web-Connector connecting the shop to Microsoft Navision and a catalogue system.

Highlite International in Kerkrade/Netherlands is one of Europe's leading suppliers of showequipment and worldwide exclusive distributor of DAP Audio products and Showtec lightequipment and accessoires. The company supplies more than 3500 professional customers in more than 60 countries.

The online access to the Highlite ERP system provides functionalities such as individual price calculation, displaying order history, listing backorders and displaying stock availability also outside normal business hours.

One of the main features in the shop is the display of customer specific special offers (Hot-Deals), product sheets containing detailed product information (printable as PDF) and individual pricelists. The shop is multilingual and handles multiple currencies.

Thanks to the extensive product information displayed in the shop customer service has been considerably improved.

For "Kompetenzzentrum Technik - Diversity - Chancengleichheit e.V." silver.solutions launched an updated website based on eZ publish 3.6.4. The information and navigation structure of the site have been completely redesigned.

The non-profit organization "Competence Center Technology - Diversity - Equal Chances" develops and carries out a wide range of initiatives and projects that exploit the potential of women as well as men to make equal opportunity a reality in all spheres of society and work.

The redesigned website follows the guidelines of Web accessibility and usability (e.g. text equivalents for images = alt-tags, changeable text size). Furthermore several new features such as multilingualism (single pages should be displayed in English), feature boxes and an event calendar have been integrated in the site. Design and technical concept focus on the integration of microsites for example for gender activities.

Since 1983 Shera has been developing and producing material for dental surgery of highest quality.

Functionality:
Implementation of a B-2-B online shop with eZ publish 3.6.2 and the Web-Connector with connection to Microsoft Navision (including extensive shopping basket functions).
The shop provides an automated import functionality for product data from Navision.

For the Shera online shop silver.solutions has extended the silver.basic e-commerce solution with several additional modules. "Advanced Order" simplifies and speeds up the order process for Shera customers. Service functions like "Top10 / My Top10", novelties and article related product recommendations support the target-oriented marketing of the Shera products.

For the Shera shop silver.solutions has implemented an extended user registration. The shop differentiates between new customers, already registered dealers (not yet registered in the shop) and registered shop users. Therefore it has to be checked in Navision whether a debtor/contact has already been stored in the ERP system.

With the module "Orderhistory" the customer can get an overview of previous transactions such as invoices or backorders. The information comes directly from Microsoft Navision.
For secure payment handling the payment provider iPayment has been integrated in the shop. Payment is possible on account, by credit card, or by using debit entries.

The shop has been integrated into the existing Shera website built with Typo3.

The Association of German Mercedes-Benz Dealers represents the interests of the German dealers.

In December 2002 silver.solutions accepted a bid to setup a website and an intranet for the association. The intention was to improve the communication between the more than 420 members and enable virtual meetings of the board of directors. Furthermore the association asked for discussion boards, polls and a knowledge base.
silver.solutions recommended the content management system ez publish (release 2.2.7.) for the intranet and combined it with the discussion board software vbulletin. The benefits of ez publish next to the low licence fees are the convenient user interface for editors, powerful access rights for user groups and single users and an open and dynamic architecture. In the meantime the client asked for several additional functions.

DORMA is a globally active supplier of door technology products and systems. The company is the world market leader in door controls, movable walls and automatic door systems. The Glass division focuses on the development and manufacture of furniture and fittings for glass doors & assemblies, shower enclosure & washroom systems and structural glass systems.

DORMA-Glas uses eZ publish as a platform for their ebusiness-strategy. It was used to implement an online shop for dealers and as an authentification system for the SOA-Platform implemented by silver.solutions. The Shop is connected to the SAP system of DORMA. This ensures that prices and conditions are directly handled by the main ERP-System. Dealers can request the actual status of orders and the system informs the Dealer when a product is shipped. The products are stored locally in eZ publish to reduce the traffic towards the SAP-System. An integrated module handles the import of about 6000 products from SAP using the BMECat format.

Ralf Döring, the project manager of the project: "The flexibility of eZ publish in combination with the Web-Connector helps us to build up our ebusiness strategies in a short time".

The central SOA-Platform uses an extended User-Management-System of eZ publish and is based on the Web-Connector for SAP.

Selecta Spielzeug AG looks back on a long tradition. In 1968 Tilmann Förtsch and Günther Menzel established the company with the aim to provide high value, specially chosen toys which promote the development of children. Wood as a natural raw material is especially suitable for this. The name of the company mirrors the company philosophy: "Selecta" is from the Latin and means something similar to "the chosen".


Selecta chose the eZ publish based online-shop and the Web-Connector from silver.solutions in order to build an online-shop for end consumers. The shop is set up in 3 languages. A flash film connected to eZ publish via XML presents special products on the homepage.


The Shop is integrated in the ERP-System (MBS Navision) of Selecta Spielzeug AG. Orders are directly transferred to the ERP-System. eZ publish uses the Business Logic of MBS Navision in order to calculate prices and shipment costs. An electronic payment offers different payment methods for the customers.