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1000hands AG Delivers Efficient E-Commerce Workflows in Real Estate

A well-known surveying firm in Germany with over 25 years of experience is 1000hands AG. The business specializes in accurate, large-scale floor designs and uses state-of-the-art technologies, such as 3D scanning, to provide unparalleled precision. In Germany, comprehensive floor plans and living space calculations are becoming more and more necessary for the rental, sale, or financing of residential buildings as the real estate industry is being changed by laws and mounting demand from banks and investors. In order to broaden its product line and offer reasonably priced online floor plan generation services catered to smaller real estate projects, 1000hands sought a strong software development platform.

In January 2022, they embraced the Mendix development platform to create a modern e-commerce platform for selling real estate services such as floor plans, area calculations, surveying services, and energy certificates.

Building a Successful Foundation

Huthmacher sought a software platform that was adaptable, nimble, scalable, and decomposable, drawing on his background with SAP mobilization solutions. Although 1000hands’ initial website, which was self-built and primarily used PHP, Java Script, and CSS, had been useful for a number of years, it was no longer suitable for:

• Overseeing their intricate internal procedures
• Leveraging reusable components and templates
• Ensuring long-term business sustainability

Since 1000hands is an engineering-focused company, it also had a hard time finding and keeping talented programmers. There was a vacuum in their skills because the remote development team that had developed their initial floor plan platform in 2008 had disbanded.

“We’re not software,” Huthmacher declared. “We wouldn’t be able to maintain a new proprietary solution if we hired another programming team to deliver it, and they also stopped being available.” Mendix was tested by 1000hands in 2021 for a project involving energy certificates. Even though Germany’s regulatory environment is complicated, the outcomes had showed a lot of promise. Huthmacher strategically decided to formally implement Mendix in 2022, utilizing his relationships and network at TimeSeries, a Mendix systems integrator. In the end, they decided on Mendix because of its reputation, security, and scalability. Development started in 2022 as the 1000hands team concentrated on redesigning their current website to improve customer experience and expedite internal procedures.

A New Service on the Block

The concept behind the original floor plan website 1000hands developed was simple yet effective. “Offering floor plans online became non-negotiable – but came at a high price for the company since we were starting a whole new service,” said Huthmacher. “We wanted to be able to offer everything real estate owners and real estate agents in the market could require.” 1000hands expanded its offerings, introducing affordable, online floor plan drafting services tailored for smaller real estate projects – no site visit required. Users create an account, choose from a selection of floor plan styles and provide as much information as they could. They could also upload old floor plan drafts or even sketches they made themselves onto the system before putting in the order. On the backend, the platform would assign the job to a draftsperson on staff, who would use those details to create a professional floor plan with measurements and furniture placements.

To provide an optimal customer experience, 1000hands’ new online floor plan service needed to offer:

• Diverse Floor Plan Templates: Customers could choose from a variety of layout styles.
• Customization Options: Users can add elements such as furniture, dimensioning or a north arrow to their plans.
• Real-Time Price Calculations: Pricing would adjust dynamically based on selected options.
• Total Area Calculations: Accurate area measurements would be provided.
• File Upload Capabilities: Customers could upload their own drafts, sketches, and measurements.

These features aimed to transform the website into a configurator, allowing custom floor plans to be generated based on customer selections. Additionally, 1000hands identified other needs for the website, including:

• Communication system back and forth with the client
• A registration platform
• A billing platform (to interface with credit cards and PayPal)
• An invoicing module
• Internal workflow and order management

Making Moves with Customer Experience

1000hands introduced the new service gradually over four weeks to ensure a smooth implementation, running new orders through the updated system but completing existing jobs on the old platform.

The new website simplifies the ordering process, enabling customers to place floor plan orders in just four easy steps:

1. Select a floor plan layout from several predesigned templates.
2. Select any options and needed services such as an area calculation.
3. Upload sketches or old floor plans into the project.
4. Make any last edits to the project, provide payment information, and place the order.

At every step of the process, a real-time price calculation is displayed on-screen for greater transparency. Once all required details were entered and the project finalized, the order is placed. As an AutoCAD (computer-aided design) based company, 1000hands also streamlined its backend to manage a split workflow effectively.

“Once a project is received, our drafts people start AutoCAD,” Huthmacher said. “Using the new larger library of templates and components, they either quickly mockup a draft or request more information, before moving on to the next order.”

If a draftsperson needs more details to complete a request, the Mendix application features an email-based chatbot feedback routine that allows for easy communication with customers. Once the necessary information is obtained, any additional service fees are automatically handled within the platform, ensuring a seamless invoicing and payment experience.

Thanks to Mendix’s automated workflow system, which efficiently manages tedious and repetitive tasks, draftspeople can focus on the more nuanced and complex aspects of their work. As a result, the team is now capable of processing up to an impressive 300 orders every day with the new website.

“Our team works very fast,” Huthmacher said. “Each employee can get through up to 20 orders a day – which helps us remain cost-effective.”

Unlocking Potential with Change Management

1000hands launched a comprehensive change management strategy, providing extensive training to ensure both customers and employees could adapt comfortably to using the new online platform.

“Some of the users were a bit hesitant at first,” Huthmacher explained. “The old solution had been around since 2008, so we anticipated some resistance when we introduced them to a seemingly complex new piece of software.”

To effectively manage and maintain the new system, 1000hands employs a blend of internal and external support. Internally, a dedicated manager was assigned to the Mendix project, an employee with both a technical background and customer service experience. Today, this team member oversees the entire development routine, leads daily stand-ups, and manages 1000hands’ agile sprints and user story creation. Externally, 1000hands collaborates with BlueBerk, one of Germany’s largest Mendix integrators. BlueBerk’s experienced developers assist 1000hands in addressing implementation and maintenance challenges, ensuring the system runs efficiently.

For Huthmacher, the six BlueBerk developers who have worked with 1000hands for the past two years have been invaluable assets to the team.

Breaking New Ground with Low-Code

1000hands’ journey showcases the transformative power of low-code development, with Mendix enabling team expansion and enhancing service quality in a fast-paced industry.

“With essentially a 24-hour service, we can process up to 300 floor plan requests in a single day,” Huthmacher said.

Huthmacher estimates 1000hands’ customer retention rate for professional clients exceeds 90%. Early feedback following the implementation of their Mendix application was overwhelmingly positive, with many customers praising the enhanced functionalities, a broader range of template options and a better communication system available. To further streamline its complex operations, 1000hands plans to leverage the full capabilities of the Mendix toolset in their applications.

Source: Mendix