Sysmex // 25 shops on 3 continents
Worldwide distribution for Medical Healthcare
When it comes to diagnostics and analytics in hematology, point of care, pathology and life science, Sysmex is the brand to trust. sitegeist develops the global distribution of laboratory diagnostics via Shopware.
Full speed ahead - with Shopware
As a manufacturer of systems for laboratory diagnostics and services in hematology, diagnostics, research & industry, laboratory automation and oncology, the company contributes to research and development in medicine.
Sysmex Europe GmbH is the European headquarters of a globally active Japanese group and distributes complex medical analysis devices and IT solutions for the laboratory sector in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The company is represented at over 60 locations worldwide.
In November 2016, Sysmex Europe launched a B2B online store to create a new sales channel for Europe. In North America, the Shopware store has replaced an existing eCommerce system.
Shopware fits perfectly into the Sysmex digital landscape - worldwide.
Shopware for worldwide sales in the B2B sector
Sysmex ultimately opted for Shopware due to the software's good customizability. Another aspect that speaks in favor of Shopware is the company's origins. As a German manufacturer, shopware AG is regarded as a reliable company with very good support.
The project was implemented by our Shopware solution partner sitegeist media solutions GmbH. The agency recommended Shopware for the implementation: "Shopware is a robust framework with a moderate learning curve," says Stephanie Heinecke, Senior Project Manager at sitegeist.
Sysmex currently operates a total of 12 subshops via the online store, each with over 4,000 items in 38 categories. The subshops are individual country stores and therefore each have different requirements. These include, for example, taxation, country-specific surcharges and discounts as well as an individual freight cost calculation, which also calculates different freight rates within a subshop.
Due to Sysmex's complex digital landscape, the demands on the store system were high. Integration of the company's internal ERP system was a basic requirement for the Shopware Enterprise solution.
Enhanced with special functions
Even the registration process is individually tailored to the company. A double opt-in procedure was used for registration, which was enhanced with DocCheck validation.
Complexity of B2B functions requires adjustments
DocCheck is a commercial identification service that offers medical and pharmaceutical professionals access to websites with specialist information from pharmaceutical companies or specialist medical publishers, provided they cooperate with DocCheck Medical Services GmbH accordingly.
Individual list view and detail view templates were created for the product presentation. Due to the complexity of the products, an additional alternative list view display with its own filter function was also programmed in the store.
The product detail page was also technically enhanced. For example, the product page in the Sysmex store was expanded to include certain storage and shipping conditions, special charges or rental items.
The company's large number of business areas and different markets require complex handling with numerous customer groups and data records. For ease of use, some adjustments were made to Backend and an interface to the ERP system was created.
Shopping experience also required in B2B
Although the sale of laboratory diagnostic equipment does not require the creation of a shopping world, as is the case in retail, the B2B sector should still make the shopping experience as easy as possible.
In the Sysmex online stores, some of the Shopware premium plugins are used to simplify shopping in the store. With the Advanced Cart, customers can create individual wish lists and send this list by e-mail if required.
A bonus points system has also been set up for Hitado, a Sysmex Group company. Hitado awards bonus points with every purchase in order to retain customers in the long term. The Bonus System plugin automatically awards points to registered store customers with every purchase. However, Hitado can use the plugin to determine the intervals at which the bonus points are activated.
Not only the number of products in the Sysmex store, but also the complex product names make it difficult to find the desired items. The error-tolerant suggestion function of the "Intelligent search" plugin makes searching for complex product names much easier.
Thanks to the plugin, every product is easy to find, even with typing errors or incomplete terms.
Time to market varies depending on project requirements
The differentiation of the subshops also required different project durations. Depending on the project, the time to go live varied between 4 and 22 months. The investment volume per store was up to €100,000.
It is not yet possible to determine how the new sales channel will affect sales after such a short time. What is certain, however, is that Sysmex is taking a key step towards growth with online sales.
Sysmex was impressed by the competence of the project team:
