Developing a custom product comparison app for a market leader
Using custom development, UX and API management to support onsite engineers
B/S/H/ is the largest home appliance manufacturer in the world, with household names such as Bosch, Neff, Siemens and Gaggenau within the group. Their UK office is based in Milton Keynes, with additional locations in Corby, Kettering and Dublin.
CLIENT
B/S/H/
SERVICES
Creative Retainer, Web App Development, API and Data Management, Creative Design
INDUSTRY
Consumer Products, Manufacturing
Project Brief
B/S/H/ came to us in need of a digital approach to an ongoing customer service concern. When engineers attended customer callouts, there was a need for a full replacement in 20% of cases. The B/S/H/ team wanted to make sure that these customers weren’t left without options, so needed to equip their engineers with a way to show like-for-like appliances and suggest the best replacement via email.
The solution needed to show every option, compare different products with detailed information to help customers make the best choice for their needs.
- Create a portable, digital way to compare products
- Maintain the strong branding of the B/S/H/ group
- Ensure all the data about each product was available quickly
- Show reporting and analytics about the use of the solution
- Simple ‘send to customer’ functionality
The Challenge
B/S/H/ used multiple systems to manage their product catalogues. Information about pricing, descriptions, imagery and more were all kept separate, which meant that our development teams needed to find a way to collate this information into one place. We didn’t want to sacrifice speed, efficiency or user experience for this, so we needed to approach it with a combination of technical knowledge and UX best practices.
Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.
The Solution
The team began by mapping out the intended user experience, from search to sending, considering the various pieces of information that needed to be displayed and the best way in which to do this. We then applied this to a design that could adapt fluidly based on brand and appliance type. We then used individual APIs to pull in the data from the different product information sources. We then combined these concepts into a fully responsive web app, ensuring that B/S/H/ engineers could access the information they needed on any device. The app had a quick ‘email to customer’ button that delivered the details, alongside a voucher, to the customer.
- A UI/UX strategy
- A fully responsive web app
- Custom API management
- Advanced product comparison system
- Analytics and reporting facilities
API and Data Management
Due to the way the product information could be provided, Zinc made use of complex API and data management techniques to bring the information to one place. We ensured that they could be re-synced when details changed.
Custom Web App with Product Comparison
Zinc developed the B/S/H/ web app as a completely custom build using custom API, JSON and XML to ensure that it had everything the client needed. This began with a bespoke comparison system that allows comparison of unlimited numbers of products and highlights the differences instantaneously. In addition to this, we provided a direct search facility for engineers who knew exactly what they were looking for. We also included an admin system that enabled users to update data and add engineers when required, as well as a direct support provision from the Zinc service desk.
Advanced Reporting
Our work with B/S/H/ included many key stakeholders who wanted to have insight into the use of the web app. To deliver this, we included an Engineer Performance Screen that displayed the number of product searches and comparisons, emails sent, and the total value of the products emailed.
The Results
The B/S/H/ web app launched in June, and was immediately sent to more than 200 engineers to use whilst on callouts. Through our analytics, we are able to see that it’s already being used on a daily basis to search, compare and send product information to customers. Zinc is now excited to be in preparation for Phase 2 of the project, which will expand on the functionality that is already available to incorporate more information from outside retailers.
2753
visits in the first months following release
3838
web app interactions
335
lookups, searches and emails
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