The awkward and complicated order systems used by the sales staff at Laattapiste had just about become an obstacle for sales. Together with Laattapiste, we rebuilt their entire Latis service. Now sales can complete the full order process in one location quickly and easily. This leaves more time for customer engagement and personal service.
Laattapiste, a supplier of bathroom construction products and services, aims to shift its business focus from the sale of products to services, such as full bathroom renovations. Customers also have increased expectations regarding digital design. In collaboration with Solita, Laattapiste seeks to meet the changed needs and wishes of consumers individually and with an open mind.
Previously, the sales staff, retailers and partners of Laattapiste used the decade-old Latis portal designed for the management of offers and orders, but it was seen as complex and difficult to use. Sales could only use the old system to handle offers, as other functions required the use of an exceedingly awkward ERP system. The staff found the system confusing and a hindrance to sales work.
Removing obstacles from sales
From the start, Laattapiste and Solita sought to remove any obstacles from sales with a simple system that was easy to use. The goal was to build a new Latis service that was more user-friendly and allowed staff to easily complete offers, make orders directly in the ERP system, and track orders, customer accounts and the sales dashboard. The new system would be easy to use and comprehensive, including all data and functions related to products, offers, sales and communication in a single unified view.
In future, Latis will be used by all sales staff in Laattapiste shops, the project sales department, retailers in partner shops and construction industry partners. Consumer features are under development for the next stage.
A previously implemented Episerver CMS online service was used to build the service, and it was expanded and customised extensively for the customer’s needs using .NET technology and operated by Solita in Azure cloud environment. This allowed the functions and services selected by Laattapiste to be integrated into one system.
Long-term partnership built on continuous development and transparency
Solita developed the whole system for Laattapiste from service design to a full overhaul of the online architecture. In the project, Solita is in charge of planning, implementation, production support, maintenance and project management.
The close collaboration between Solita and Laattapiste is a communicative, long-term partnership that has lasted many years and is characterised by continuous development and transparency. From the start, the design and implementation have been an open and tight-knit effort between Solita, Laattapiste and the end users.
An agile operating model was needed to realise the extensive system: a one-week sprint model has been used in the design and implementation for several years. The continuous and open dialogue between the customer and the team has been essential. The sales staff have been included in the design from the beginning, and the excellent user experience is the result of close collaboration. The completion of such an extensive system requires commitment and perseverance from all parties.
Time for customer engagement
Resistance to change was absent during the project, and its commissioning has proceeded smoothly. After two months in operation, the feedback from the staff is almost exclusively positive. These results show that successful solutions for complicated systems can be found through agile development and open communication.
The system’s implementation allows new expansions to be added effortlessly. The online architecture enables Laattapiste to launch completely new business areas. Laattapiste may in fact commercialise its systems and offer them to small construction firms, for example. In addition, the new service portal introduced more versatile interfaces for product data, among other things, and these are already utilised by multiple customers and partners.
The staff now have more time to listen to customers, provide service and consider the solutions that suit the customer’s needs.
