Swiss E-Mobility Group (Schweiz) AG (SEMG) sells its products in Switzerland and throughout the DACH region. New brands are constantly being added to its portfolio. The acquisition of e-bike retailer m-way presented SEMG with a huge challenge. A complex branch operation with its own data center needed to be integrated as intelligently as possible. The objective was to establish a uniform, smart IT environment for the entire Group. With the support of Microsoft partner Swiss IT Professional AG, all systems and servers were migrated to the Azure cloud. The new environment is fully scalable, cost-effective to operate, and provides the ideal conditions for flexible growth. With Azure Kubernetes Services, it was also possible to create an omnichannel platform covering all channels. This offers customers a comprehensive overview and an optimized shopping experience.
Swiss E-Mobility Group (Schweiz) AG (SEMG) is one of Switzerland's leading providers of e-mobility solutions. SEMG also sells its e-bikes throughout the DACH region and is constantly adding new brands to its portfolio.
The acquisition of m-way, an e-bike retailer with 30 branches, presented the Group with a huge challenge. With the help of Swiss IT Professional AG, SEMG successfully integrated m-way's branch operation and created a uniform and flexible cloud environment based on Microsoft Azure. At the same time, Azure Kubernetes laid the foundation for an omnichannel platform covering all brands and services.
“With Azure we have a scalable environment that we can easily manage with a two-person IT team. The Microsoft products are also reliable and secure.”
Sergio Zappa, Head of IT, Swiss E-Mobility Group (Schweiz) AG
Uniform, state-of-the-art IT environment for the entire Group
In 2020, SEMG took a strategically important step on its journey to becoming the leading and comprehensive provider of e-mobility solutions in the DACH region. The Group acquired Switzerland's largest e-bike retailer m-way, previously a subsidiary of Swiss retail giant Migros, and merged it with bicycle wholesaler Colag. Around 100 new employees now had to be onboarded without delay. The acquisition also meant taking over m-way's 30 branches throughout Switzerland and their comprehensive brand portfolio. A huge branch operation with a complex IT environment needed to be integrated as intelligently and as quickly as possible to ensure efficient deployment.
The existing systems in the m-way branches needed to be modernized and centralized, especially SAP. In addition, m-way had its own data center, which offered little flexibility and incurred high costs due to its complex operation.
The sharp rise in the number of employees working at various locations made the issue of security an even higher priority. In addition to the m-way branches, the German subsidiary Colag E-Mobility GmbH needed to be integrated into the system. The environment had to be structured in such a way to allow all employees of the Group across different branches and several countries to access core systems, especially SAP and Office applications, reliably and securely from their devices.
Interaction of all channels for an optimized customer experience
With the merger of the three companies, the Group now had B2B and B2C as well as online and offline channels for sales and additional services under one roof. SEMG therefore wanted to create a uniform omnichannel platform covering all online stores, branches, and services to give customers a comprehensive overview. However, a solution design that would enable the secure and dynamic interaction of all channels first had to be found.
Everything in the cloud with Azure
To separate m-way from the system of its former parent company and integrate it into the Group, SEMG opted for a uniform cloud solution offering greater flexibility, increased security, and lower costs. The on-premises data center therefore had to be decommissioned and the entire infrastructure digitized. The complexity of the project was enormous, partly because some systems had to be redesigned before migration. To meet this challenge, the Group reached out to Swiss IT Professional AG (Swiss ITP), a competent, certified Microsoft Gold Partner that already had experience with Azure cloud migration in the retail sector.
The new platform needed to meet the demands of a dynamically growing business. Microsoft Azure was the ideal solution to meet these demands because it is individually configurable and flexibly scalable. In the first phase of the project, Swiss ITP worked with SEMG to define the Azure target architecture. All systems were then gradually migrated to the cloud, starting with the simpler applications followed by m-way's central system, SAP. The existing server systems were then migrated until the entire data center was finally decommissioned.
Microsoft Intune and Microsoft 365, Teams, and Exchange Online were also set up for the working environment and configured according to the required standards. The m-way branches (client systems) were connected via Azure Virtual Desktop.
Flexible omnichannel platform with Azure Kubernetes Services
In the second phase of the project, the solution design for the omnichannel platform in the cloud based on Azure Kubernetes Services was created. The foundation for this had already been laid in the first phase through the integration of all core systems through to SAP in Azure.
Scalable, secure, and cost-effective
The new cloud solution offers SEMG excellent added value in terms of flexibility, especially for the acquisition of new customers and business areas. In the cloud, integration can be performed much more easily and quickly, and the system is fully scalable. The new cloud environment is also a lot more secure because it offers state-of-the-art tools for increased protection against attacks. SEMG employees can now collaborate securely and access core applications from various locations, devices, and countries. Another advantage of the new solution is the lower staffing costs. A smart environment with a high level of complexity was set up, but with outsourcing it can be operated securely and efficiently with few staff.
Thanks to Azure Kubernetes Services and the integration of all core systems, the services of the new omnichannel platform can be scaled at the push of a button. With ideal conditions for flexible growth, new brands, stores, and services can now be integrated quickly and easily. In addition, Azure Kubernetes Services guarantee the necessary security, since communication between the omnichannel platform and SAP, from customer orders and updating inventory levels to setting up new products, takes place completely internally and not via external services. The result is coordinated, secure interaction of all online and offline channels for a new, holistic customer experience.
The entire project was a major challenge for both partners, since SEMG's operations could not be disrupted by implementation of the cloud strategy. Phases one and two of the project have now been completed, the systems have been successfully migrated to the cloud, and the new omnichannel platform was officially launched in the spring of this year. Swiss ITP continues to support SEMG. There are weekly meetings, and the IT partner is always on hand to resolve any issues and actively support SEMG employees.
IT that grows with SEMG's business
The new platform is being continuously developed to facilitate the needs of a booming e-bike market and plans for major growth over the coming years. Companies acquired by the Group also have to be integrated. This means that new services and requirements for the system are constantly being added. Swiss ITP is also actively involved here, supporting SEMG on its journey to becoming the market leader in e-mobility. This is an ongoing process for which the Azure cloud environment and the omnichannel platform form the ideal basis for further scaling the business dynamically and flexibly.
The Microsoft partner
Swiss IT Professional AG (Swiss ITP) based in Hettlingen, Switzerland, takes care of all the IT needs of businesses with its comprehensive portfolio of services. The focus is on cloud solutions with Azure or Microsoft 365. With extensive experience, expertise, and numerous Microsoft certifications, the IT service provider builds and operates complex IT infrastructures and offers solutions to meet every requirement. Open communication based on partnership, transparency, and excellent customer service are of the utmost priority in every project. Swiss ITP was founded in 2010, currently employs 20 people, and offers advice and support to businesses across a wide range of sectors.
“Swiss ITP has extensive expertise in Microsoft products and a professional and dedicated team. As a result, we've been able to quickly establish a strong foundation of trust”
Sergio Zappa, Head of IT, Swiss E-Mobility Group (Schweiz) AG
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