Leifheit

Strategic sparring instead of standard consulting: how Leifheit is laying the foundations for scalable D2C commerce with SHOPMACHER

About Leifheit

The challenge

Another driver for a system change was the planned internationalization: local national companies were to work more independently in future and new stores were to be rolled out more easily. Leifheit therefore also had to create new organizational conditions. With a cloud-based platform – the conceptual approach – that enables decentralized work.

As Leifheit had little experience with cloud-based store systems, both internally and on the part of the Polish digital agency with which it has been working for years, Leifheit decided to seek independent consulting expertise when replatforming. The aim was to question existing assumptions, objectively compare technological options and strategically expand internal commerce expertise. “The platform change is a critical step,” explains Samira Sehr, IT Process Manager E-Commerce at Leifheit. “We wanted to avoid blind spots and gain strategic certainty.”

Clear Prioritization and Focus on Key Business Processes

The collaboration kicked off with a joint workshop. The aim was to create a uniform understanding of technologies, system architectures and common best practices, while also critically classifying common buzzwords. This was well received: “That really resonated with us,” says Mosbach. “As a neutral consultant, SHOPMACHER gave us an overview without a sales agenda. That was extremely helpful in sorting out our thoughts.”

SHOPMACHER then accompanied the structured requirements analysis. Which tools are used? Which processes can be streamlined? What can and should remain standard? These questions were analyzed together with the team – always with a view to scalability, maintainability and independence. SHOPMACHER also took the lead in evaluating possible technologies: from the previous SAP environment to Magento variants and modern, cloud-based store systems such as Shopware. In the end, Leifheit opted for Shopware, not least because the system precisely fulfilled the desire for more autonomy, flexibility and standardization.

The collaboration between Leifheit and SHOPMACHER was characterized by openness, pragmatism and mutual trust right from the start. “We immediately had the feeling that we were all pulling in the same direction. SHOPMACHER quickly understood our language and way of thinking – that made things a lot easier,” explains Mosbach. Instead of relying on individual special solutions, both sides deliberately opted for a different approach: critically questioning, reducing complexity, strengthening independence. “We didn’t want to rebuild everything just because that’s how it used to be,” says the online shop manager. “We’d rather have as much standard as possible and only customize where it really makes sense.”

This attitude ran through the entire project – from the selection of the tool to the actual implementation in the front end. One example: instead of rebuilding the old navigation menu using an individual solution, Leifheit, with the support of SHOPMACHER, opted for a near-standard version that was easier to maintain, quicker to implement and more scalable.

Sparring also proved to be valuable when selecting new tools. For newsletter distribution, for example, the store makers recommended a solution that was better suited to the requirements of the European target markets than the system previously used, thus saving time, budget and nerves. In addition, the store makers not only provided technical expertise, but also the necessary network: personal contacts to tool providers, manufacturer support at Shopware, escalation channels – and the ability to help “through the shortest possible channels” when it mattered.

Instead of withdrawing once the partner selection process was complete, SHOPMACHER remained on board as a neutral sparring partner. The team accompanied coordination meetings between Leifheit and the agency, continuously conducted inception workshops and individual sparring sessions with the most important stakeholders and systematically scrutinized requirements, processes and proposed solutions. The aim was to strengthen Leifheit’s internal expertise in a targeted manner and create the basis for decisions to be made based on the company’s own expertise in future. This plan worked: “Today, we question standards much more consciously and make technology-driven decisions with more certainty,” says Sehr.

Leifheit’s pragmatic approach was a key success factor in the project. The company showed a great willingness to adapt its own processes in order to remain as close to the standard as possible. This approach made a significant contribution to ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of the new platform in the long term.

Result

Thanks to this continuous consultation, Leifheit can prioritize requirements in a more targeted manner, identify potential cost drivers at an early stage and strategically expand the use of standards. This results in a platform that is not only technically maintainable and scalable, but also organizationally future-proof.

The team has not only developed a new platform, but also evolved its own role: from requester to confident decision-maker – supported by a consulting partner who prefers to ask questions rather than draw slides. “SHOPMACHER is not a typical consultant. They are facilitators with a down-to-earth approach. We keep them at our side – as a critical view from the outside that helps us stay focused,” says Karina Mosbach, Senior Online Shop Manager.

Leifheit is also an exceptional project from the SHOPMACHER’s point of view: “Leifheit is a prime example of successful consulting cooperation at eye level,” praises Sabine Götz, Lead Consultant at SHOPMACHER. “An understanding of processes, openness to optimization and a willingness to develop further make the difference.”

What remains? A clear course. An empowered team. And a platform that is built on the right foundations: strategically, technically and culturally.

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