Hawa Sliding Solutions AG

Hawa Sliding Solutions AG saves its customers many hours of planning time thanks to customX.

Hawa Schiebetür Beschlag Konfigurator

As part of its "digital evolution", the Swiss company Hawa Sliding Solutions AG (Hawa) in Mettmenstetten and Sirnach has introduced the customX configurator for designing sliding doors for furniture as well as for interiors and exteriors of buildings. Customers can use it to configure their products themselves, reducing their planning time from six hours to fifteen minutes.

Targets

As part of an extensive digitization project, the existing, complicated configurator was to be replaced by a solution with simple operability and high data consistency.

Implementation

As a first step, the Concepta III series was implemented in the set of rules. This first set of rules was developed in close collaboration with the specialists at customX. The subsequent set of rules was then implemented largely independently. One person at Hawa is now solely responsible for the maintenance and further development of customX.

Conclusion

The planning time for the Concepta III fittings has been reduced from six hours to just a few minutes and all the necessary documents are generated in the process. The user guidance is clear and simple and always leads to feasible results. customX is impressive due to its maximum data consistency and high flexibility.

96% time saving in planning

Sliding doors literally have it all: whether the door is manually or automatically "folded away" to the side or has a turn-and-slide fitting, the carpentry work is complemented by precision metal fittings. Hawa Sliding Solutions AG develops and produces fittings for sliding doors for furniture as well as for interior and exterior doors of buildings. The company is one of the global leaders in this niche market and sells its products to joineries via distributors, who in turn receive the specifications from architects, builders, investors, etc.

A configurator as a service

Even before digitalization had taken off, Hawa customers were able to use a kind of configurator to define the fittings they wanted. However, the number of possible parameters and their combination was very limited, the data flow was not consistent, and the overall operation was complex. "It took around six hours to plan a new swing-sliding door," explains Product Manager Michael Waldvogel.

customX convinces

As part of a comprehensive digitalization project, this configurator was to be updated and those responsible examined various providers. customX stood out in particular for its data consistency and flexibility. According to Michael Waldvogel, this applies not only to each individual configuration process, but also to subsequent changes, such as when new accessories or improved materials need to be integrated.

Utilizing knowledge ... and rethinking

The implementation of customX requires two "tracks": on the one hand, in-depth knowledge of the products to be configured and, on the other hand, the technical knowledge to create the rules in customX. The good thing is that no programming knowledge is required for the configurator and that the rules can be formulated using relatively simple commands. "We had to change our way of thinking in order to convert the product knowledge into the rules," recalls Michael Waldvogel. "It was no longer about the individual order or the individual door - we needed an overview of the big picture. That was an exciting experience."

Building step by step

The first set of rules was created for the Concepta III product range: doors that can be rotated by 90° after opening and then slid sideways into furniture carcasses or wall recesses. The product range fulfils creative design wishes and allows design solutions. The doors can be opened with handles or by simply touching them. In the second step, the rules for the Folding Concepta products were configured: folding sliding doors that hide the pop-up home office just as elegantly as a utility room or kitchen unit. Employees from customX were heavily involved in the first product; the second set of rules was largely developed in-house.

Growing experience - growing speed

"It was like it often is with software: shortly before the go-live, someone found an unacceptable error that we had to correct quickly," says Michael Waldvogel. "That gave us an enormous increase in experience." In the meantime, one person is 100% occupied with the expansion and maintenance of customX, and things are progressing rapidly: the next product series will certainly take less than six months per product - regardless of whether they are furniture, interior or exterior doors.

Konfigurationsprozess Benutzerführung

Clear user guidance - flexible design

The configurator is now integrated on the www.hawa.com website. Operation is child's play; the set of rules excludes incorrect entries: Only the parameters that lead to a design that can be manufactured can be selected or entered. The result can be viewed three-dimensionally from all sides; if desired, the transparent visualization shows exactly what the design will look like later. A 2D-dimensioned plan can also be created.

Customer service at its best

customX gives Hawa a real competitive edge. Customers or intermediaries can configure the desired doors or furniture within a few minutes. In the next step, the workflow will be expanded so that customX not only outputs the 3D views and 2D technical plans in PDF, DXF and Step format, but also enables digital control of the entire process from ordering to production. "The configurator will make planning easier for our customers and also simplify in-house processes," says Michael Waldvogel.

Michael Waldvogel

The configurator will make planning easier for our customers and also simplify in-house processes.

Michael Waldvogel

Product Manager, Hawa Sliding Solutions AG

More than 2,400 calls

Hawa rates the quality of the collaboration with customX as "at least 8.5 out of 10 points". Expertise and helpfulness are just as impressive as the innovative thinking and great flexibility. The tool has passed its baptism of fire: In the first month after the go-live, the configurator was used more than 2,400 times.

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Auf den Sechsmorgen 25

65589 Hadamar-Oberweyer

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