Customer //
Tyczka Totalgaz GmbH, a company of the TOTAL Group.
Website //
https://www.tytogaz.de
Industry //
Liquefied petroleum gas and photovoltaic products
Project scope //
Extranet portal creation with connection to ERP, SAP
Technology //
PHP, JavaScript, SOAP, XML
Description //
Realisation of the extranet portal for global sales support
One of Germany's largest liquid gas suppliers, Tyczka Totalgaz GmbH, has realised a new customer service portal on the Internet and has thus consistently expanded its range of services in the field of liquid gas and energy concepts.
The Internet system house, K3 Innovationen GmbH, was able to prevail over well-known competitors as the partner responsible for the project following a Germany-wide tender.
After a project period of only 6 months, the protected extranet area for 100,000 customers was released. The new customer portal is part of the innovative communication strategy, which was based on the revision of the previous website www.tytogaz.de by K3 Innovationen GmbH.
The customers of Tyczka Totalgaz GmbH benefit from the new possibilities of the extranet around the clock - new and fast communication channels via the Internet platform enable direct services for every customer.
As the number of customers increased, so did the desire for a more efficient customer dialogue. The previous extranet with customer portal was no longer technically capable of meeting the requirements of Tyczka Totalgaz and its customers. Increased efficiency in customer service and the integration of third-party systems could not be realised in the existing system.
After intensive analysis and examination by the IT managers, the decisive advantages of the Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) "eZ Publish" for the planned extranet platform were convincing. Thanks to its open system interfaces, especially for connection to the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) from SAP, investment security and low implementation costs were guaranteed for the responsible employees at Tyczka Totalgaz. In addition, eZ Publish was already able to prove itself against other systems during the relaunch of www.tytogaz.de with a comprehensive portfolio of added value.
The desired goals were clearly defined: customers should be able to make their enquiries quickly and easily in the product selection process, which would then lead to a simple and effective ordering process in Tyczka Totalgaz's merchandise management system (SAP).
The result is more service and convenience for private and business customers. In detail, this means maximum flexibility, as customers can access their protected area at www.tytogaz.de at any time. The extranet portal can even be accessed while on the move using an internet-enabled mobile phone or the new Apple iPAD.
The online ordering platform is unique in the LPG sector for tanks and cylinders. For the first time, customers can order LPG cylinders online, either palletised or individually, as well as tank gas. Great importance was attached to the visual product presentation with its numerous product variants, which makes the ordering process child's play. Special online customer centres for bulk buyers enable them to manage their own orders in the protected customer login area. Meter reading reports are now also just a few clicks away. Data transfer is encrypted in all cases and therefore secure.
The IT challenges were considerable: a real-time interface to the SAP ERP system with the following modules creates the conditions for convenient customer ordering:
In addition, there is the option of a tour delivery service.
In the new extranet interface, each customer only sees the areas that are relevant to them. This provides a quick overview and access to individual customer data, such as invoice forms or other target group-specific downloads. Tyczka Totalgaz attached great importance to the user-friendliness of the system: animated explanations accompany the user through the pages with, for example, mouse-over effects, whereby the user moves the computer mouse over a button, a small window opens and a text explains the meaning.
In addition, short, clear video sequences help to vividly explain the operation of the customer area.
In the next stage of expansion, the aim is to introduce a scheduling system for cylinder gas deliveries so that the customer can enter a desired delivery date and be supplied accordingly. The IT technology is therefore already future-proof today, so that it can continue to be used even when the SAP ERP is upgraded.
The conclusion reached so far by the CIO of Tyczka Totalgaz, Mr Dominik Spannheimer, confirms the decision to rely on eZ Publish and K3 Innovationen GmbH: "Our previous experience with K3 Innovationen GmbH as the responsible project partner has also been confirmed in the extranet project. The project management by K3 Innovationen GmbH ran smoothly throughout the entire project and enabled a timely implementation."
Several workshops with the respective project managers within Tyczka Totalgaz served as the basis. Subsequently, a functional specification with a phase concept, milestones and schedule, as well as weekly conferences, completed the project management. Project manager and CEO Christoph Kruppa coordinated the internal and external co-operation with the individual departments of Tyczka Totalgaz, as well as other partners and service providers, such as silver.solutions GmbH, Berlin, Consinto GmbH, Nuremberg, and msg systems AG, Munich/Ismaning. Before the extranet went live, so-called "friendly user tests" were carried out in order to obtain direct feedback from customers and service employees.
Let your project become our joint project and use our many years of digital expertise in your favour.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
