Schüttflix: The digital platform that is reinventing the bulk materials industry

Schüttflix

Summary

If you're in London and want to get home as quickly as possible at the best price, you book a driver on Uber. And if you're a construction company and need material for your site as quickly as possible at the best price, you order bulk materials on Schüttflix. With Schüttflix, we created a central platform where construction companies, building material suppliers and hauliers handle the trading and transport of bulk materials – transparently and efficiently.

Services

API Development
App Development
Business Process Modelling
Design
Digital Strategy Consulting
Functional Specification
Online Marketing
Prototyping
Quality Assurance
UI Design
UX Design
Usability Testing
Web Development

Challenge

Meeting the needs of three target groups on one platform? And being the first to do it? That meant taking on two major challenges. First: building a technical infrastructure in record time that stays scalable enough to tackle a market with a revenue potential of around 50 billion euros. Second: designing a user interface that covers every task of every target group and is so intuitive that users embrace the platform from day one.

Solution

We built a mobile-first B2B digital platform where construction companies, hauliers and building material suppliers handle their orders – 100% digital, with short lines of communication and complete price transparency. What mattered most to us was a clear focus on the users. We prioritised, tested, optimised and delivered features. And after just five months, the Schüttflix app was available to download for Apple iOS and Android.

From idea to platform

Before writing the first line of code, we developed the product vision together with the Schüttflix team, modelled the business processes and validated them with prototypes and real users – construction companies, hauliers and building material suppliers. The insights we gained flowed straight back into the concept.

1_ Product Vision Workshop

Using interactive methods, we turned the idea into a vision – target groups, needs, product and business goals came together in the vision statement: We are creating the digital B2B sales platform for the German bulk materials industry.

2_ Scoping Workshop

Together, we defined the product scope and the services required.

3_ Platform concept

Using user-centred methods (UX design), we shaped the product in line with the vision. The result was an interactive prototype – before a single line of code had been written. We then had potential users test the prototype.

4_ Brand development

What brand personality lies behind Schüttflix? In the next step, we developed the logo, the visual identity and the tone of voice – and kept sharpening them as the project went on. In the interface design, clear user guidance and usability took centre stage – using the app should be fun.

5_ Iterative development

Using SCRUM, the agile framework for product and software development, we built the platform iteratively, sprint by sprint. Even after go-live, our dedicated team of developers keeps evolving the app.

6_ Go-live with an MVP

As soon as the first version of the product was ready for the market, it went live. The minimum viable product is the foundation for everything that follows.

7_ Continuous development

Since the launch, the product has been developed further in close collaboration with Schüttflix customers and partners. User feedback and opportunities for optimisation are incorporated in no time. New features and improvements are developed and rolled out every two weeks.

The goal: B2C user experience for B2B

The bulk materials industry is opaque, inefficient and fragmented (sorry). To tackle this problem, we put the customer at the centre: Who are the core target groups? What tasks and needs do they have? And what challenges do they face every day? We relied on prototyping and usability tests and listened to future users. The result: the perfect user experience for every target group – simple to use on any device, with features tailored to everyday life on the construction site and every relevant business process.

The Schüttflix brand

Schüttflix creates efficiency, transparency, trust and order. To achieve this, the brand meets its target groups at eye level – with a simple, direct, honest and humorous tone of voice, just like among colleagues. This brand personality is also reflected in the iconography and the clean, straightforward designs.

The app for the bulk materials industry

The Schüttflix solar system has only one centre: the app. Everyone involved handles ordering and delivery through Schüttflix – paper-free and stress-free. And they can count on everything running smoothly.

Perfectly organised from the start

Construction companies order their bulk materials in the app, pin the exact drop-off point on a digital map and also document it with a photo and a digital marker. This process makes wrong deliveries a thing of the past.

Always up to date

Customers are kept informed about their delivery via push notifications and can follow the driver's location live at any time.

Collecting signatures is a thing of the past

After unloading, the driver takes a photo of the delivery and uploads it to the app – and the order is complete. The invoice and the delivery note are generated automatically and attached to the order as PDFs. Paperwork is a thing of the past.

A market-ready product in five months

Usain Bolt would be proud of us. Ten sprints of two weeks each – that's how fast the first version of Schüttflix hit the market. The keys to success: a shared vision, a robust business idea and an agile approach that used tests and workshops to keep adapting to the needs of the target groups.

Partners and technologies

We are your strategic partner for developing and delivering digital business models. Let's tackle it together!

Eike KleinChief Executive Officer