uTypia B2B & B2C online shops
Trodat
From stamp manufacturer to web shop specialist
Often, the system is developed further directly in-house. When it comes to DCCS, we particularly value their quick response times, effortless exchange of information, advice on new technologies and their large number of specialists for things like responsive design and HTML technology.
Wolfgang Denk, Trodat GmbH
From stamp manufacturer to web shop specialist
Web shop pioneer
To develop a suitable solution, Trodat went looking for an IT provider that was supposed to be located close by, besides having the required technical expertise and high flexibility. In the end, the company opted for the IT specialists that were later acquired by DCCS. “The first version of our uTypia web shop went online in the US in 2000. The first version for Europe followed in 2003. Thanks to their comprehensive expertise, the IT experts immediately understood our requirements and developed the portal in record time,” Wolfgang Denk, Head of Internet Services at Trodat GmbH recalls. A decision that proved exactly right later on. For the system which has been updated and innovated many times since then, ran stable from the very start and is suitably flexible and thus, future-proof.
Tailored stamps made easier with SaaS
Today, some 600 office supply retailers and stamp manufacturers use uTypia in the form of “software as a service”. The graphic stamp design tool allows users to quickly and easily design their stamps. After design, uTypia sends the order to the stamp manufacturer for production. Engravings, name plates, business cards, stickers and certificates can also be ordered in the web shop today. “Trodat hosts the software for its customers. We take care of maintenance, updates, IT security and current GDPR tasks. We are, so to speak, a Cloud provider with our own servers at our Austrian data centre. The fact that uTypia was built as a web application from the beginning proved a successful concept that has stood the test of time,” Denk opines.
Web shop with electronic procurement solution
In the next step, DCCS worked with Trodat to implement an electronic procurement link that is now used by large companies, banks, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and even the postal service. This makes it possible, for example, to save certain templates that can be easily reordered later without having to redesign a stamp impression. Starting in 2008, DCCS developed two variants of uTypia to meet the specific needs of B2B and B2C users. The consumer version is a simplified web shop variant with reduced design tools and functions (such as Express Order) for particularly fast ordering. The business variant allows corporate identity to be incorporated, suggesting matching stamps. “In addition, the B2B version offers many cross-selling and up-selling functions,” explains Denk, adding: “This diversification has proven its worth. Of the approximately 600 uTypia web shops, about 200 are in use as consumer variants and 400 as business variants.”
A unique, user-friendly web shop
The web shop solution offers uTypia customers a wide range of benefits. For example, the system can be hosted as a separate website or integrated into the customer's own website. The layout tool is powerful, easy to use and guides users quickly through the stamp design and ordering processes. “Our web shop solution is unique and the most widely used in the market. It includes not only the basic tools for creating a tailored stamp, but also ready-made templates, product data for layout, and licensed fonts,” Denk says.
For customers, the solution enormously simplifies the entire ordering process and helps them to get a new stamp in their individual design as quickly and conveniently as possible.
Ongoing development
Dynamic developments in the web technology field pose many challenges for Trodat. Topics such as multiple languages, mobile and responsive design have already been implemented. The solution is available in 25 languages and runs on smart phones and tablets. Moreover, uTypia has been integrated into Microsoft SharePoint. “Now we need to continuously adapt its speed, but also upgrade its technological basis and migrate the legacy system without the customers or retailers noticing any change,” Denk explains. Furthermore, uTypia is supposed to be linked to other web shop portals. “Thus, craft and hobby supply shops can then link the uTypia system up and offer their customers stamps as well,” Denk states. For all these tasks, Trodat relies on the specialist knowledge and expertise of DCCS. “Often, the system was developed further directly in-house. When it comes to DCCS, we particularly value their quick response times, effortless exchange of information, advice on new technologies and their large number of specialists for things like responsive design and HTML technology,” Denk is convinced.
Increased use of synergies
Another strategically important topic is that of integrating the system with the subsidiary Trotec Laser. Part of the Trodat Trotec Group, Trotec produces and sells laser labelling, cutting and engraving systems as well as engraving material. “There are profitable synergies to be exploited, for instance in terms of stamp production. uTypia, for instance, transfers data directly to the laser that is then used to make stamp impressions. This saves time and money, as this close link to laser manufacturing replaces manual typesetting and helps minimising errors in data receipt,” Denk describes the system’s use. In the future, the company seeks to broaden the concept, for instance to also be able to offer the new Trotec engraving products via the uTypia web shop. Another plan is to upgrade the system to the latest SQL server technology. “We face the challenges of a fast-changing market, to offer our customers the best possible solutions. And DCCS is by our side as a prove partner,” Denk summarises.
Trodat
Trodat GmbH is part of the Trodat Trotec Group. The latter comprises 35 international subsidiaries, employs 1,500 people worldwide and reported a turnover of around 249 million Euros in 2017. Its core business is made up of stamps (Trodat) and laser systems (Trotec). In order to also be able to sell its stamp products via the Internet, a portal called uTypia was developed as early as 2000, which enables tailored stamps to be ordered. Today, around 600 uTypia online shops are in use by retail partners. “Initially, it was very difficult to sell tailored stamps on the Internet. As a first step, we required a layout and design tool that we could make available to our retailers, more or less as software as a service,” says Wolfgang Denk, Head of Internet Services at Trodat GmbH, describing the challenges.
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