Van Leeuwen has been rolling out an advanced IT platform to its European branches on a step-by-step basis over the last few years. The IT platform is designed to achieve full transaction ease, supply chain transparency and gains in efficiency. We once again took a number of important steps in our IT innovation process last year. We are able to serve our customers on a growing number of platforms with e-commerce via webshops and a Certificates Portal. We also create transactional efficiency through means of EDI interfaces with suppliers and customers.
‘We want to make doing business with Van Leeuwen as easy and pleasant as possible,’ says Matthijs Erwich, Group IT Manager at Van Leeuwen Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. ‘This is why, in 2016, Van Leeuwen opted for the phased implementation of a new and future-proof SAP ERP system, as a replacement of the previously implemented SAP R/3 system, and a new CRM system. The ERP system makes our stocks, spread across our storage sites, digitally accessible to all Van Leeuwen sales staff. In addition, all relevant customer relationship information is continually available in the CRM system. The IT innovations make it possible to optimally respond to market developments and to serve customers faster and more efficiently. In 2018, additional investments were made in IT staff, materials and consulting services. Van Leeuwen United Kingdom and Van Leeuwen France have since migrated to the new ERP platform. Van Leeuwen Precision and Van Leeuwen Stainless in the Netherlands will follow in 2019, a year in which we will accelerate the roll-out of the ERP system.’
SAP C4C, a Customer Relation Management (CRM) tool that provides a 360-degree customer profile, has been implemented in our branches in Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. As a result, the sales staff in these branches have continuous access to a current overview of financial transactions, payment conditions and credit information. This insight into the customer’s status makes it possible to quickly identify customer needs and to adjust our service provision accordingly. The C4C connection can be rolled out to any branch, as soon as it is connected to SAP S/4 HANA.
Our Certificates Portal is a useful online tool for archiving material certificates and Declarations of Performance (DoPs). The development of the circular economy in the steel construction sector makes it even more important for our customers to be able to demonstrate, in black and white, that they comply with the increasingly more strict material and safety requirements and the traceability of materials. The customer can download all relevant certificates from this portal and immediately incorporate them into their administrative systems. This results in significant time savings. Van Leeuwen Zwijndrecht, Van Leeuwen Stainless in the Netherlands, and Van Leeuwen Belgium in Vilvoorde have been working with the portal for some time; Wauters in Belgium will follow in 2019.
Every year there is a significant growth in the number of webshop visitors, which shows that the customer journey at Van Leeuwen increasingly more frequently starts online. The webshop of Van Leeuwen Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands, provides information about current prices, product details and customer-specific pricing and discount agreements. In addition, the webshop provides insight into the availability of the desired materials. Orders can of course be placed through the webshop, but the ultimate purchasing process for the most part still takes place offline. Wauters has a successful webshop that went live in 2017. Also Van Leeuwen Stainless in Beesd, the Netherlands, has a webshop since several years for its stainless steel product portfolio. In 2018, preliminary preparations were made for the creation of a webshop specifically focused on seamless heavy wall pipes. This webshop will be launched over the course of 2019.
