The maxim of the software specialist ODV from Stuttgart is “We supply software for the skilled trades”. With the modular tradesmen’s software, ODV supports the optimisation of business processes pertaining to Managing Director Ralph Biegelmaier. A future-oriented structure of the organisation should save time and costs, and above all offer process reliability. The daily work from the quotation to the preparation of measurements and invoicing is no longer a challenge, mobile functions facilitate communication at the construction site and offer good approaches to a paperless office.
“The special challenge here lies in the interface to the upstream supplier of our tradesman customers,” explains Biegelmaier, “and here every manufacturer has his own solution, which can also change quickly.” ODV relies on a simple interface solution here. “We don’t think that integrating the complex software solutions / configurators into our software is the right solution. Each manufacturer has his own specialists for his products and their configuration options. They check and maintain product data with great effort in order to make it available to the tradesman for use in their configurator. We do not think it makes sense to keep this expertise across manufacturers in order to maintain this data redundantly in our system. Furthermore, the effort of ongoing data maintenance would also be far too costly for the tradesman,” he adds.
The Stuttgart-based company therefore relies on a clear interface definition in which only relevant data is transferred to the tradesman’s ERP system. In this way, the familiar software of the respective manufacturer with all its advantages is to be used optimally. In addition, changes in the manufacturer’s programmes will then no longer result in updates in one’s own system. “Everyone does what they do best” is the simplest way to describe it according to Biegelmaier’s definition of working in a truly customer-oriented way.