[VIDEO] Joris Ide: a steel future with a digital touch

Sep 21, 2023

sales, marketing and service
SAP

Belgium-based Joris Ide has been shaping the future of steel construction for over 30 years. Known for its high-quality panels, tiles, and profiles used across agriculture, industry, and residential sectors, the company is equally committed to delivering excellent customer service. To meet rising service demands and enhance digital experiences, Joris Ide partnered with delaware and SAP to launch a transformative digital journey. (7 minute read)

-50%

customer service calls

-1,000 hours

of marketing efforts per year

€ 80,000 revenue

in first B2C year – a sales channel that was non-existent until very recently

Challenge

As Joris Ide grew into a European market leader, its customer service team faced a surge in requests - many of them repetitive, such as order status or invoice queries. This overwhelmed the team and hindered their ability to build long-term customer relationships.

"As our customer base kept growing, our service team was drowning in requests,” says Bernard Bossuyt, CIO at Joris Ide. “We figured that, if we could help our customers find this information themselves, it would free up the service team to focus on the less obvious cases and build stronger customer relationships.”

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The company needed to:

Improve digital customer experiences
Boost internal efficiency
Centralize scattered product data
Empower marketing and sales with better tools

Solution

To tackle these challenges, Joris Ide turned to delaware, a long-time partner since 2008. The project followed delaware’s Think-Plan-Act methodology:

Think

Gather insights from stakeholders to understand customer and employee needs. The service overload was part of a broader need to enhance digital presence and internal efficiency.

Plan

Prioritize needs and define a roadmap with clear milestones. Key initiatives included:

Launching a B2B portal
Exploring B2C e-commerce
Updating the corporate website
Equipping sales and marketing with CRM and automation tools

Act

The first major step was setting up a B2B portal. This included:

Centralizing product data in a Product Information Management (PIM) system embedded in SAP Commerce and connected to SAP S/4HANA
Implementing Kontent.ai headless CMS for the website
Rolling out SAP Sales & Service Cloud for internal efficiency
Starting B2C e-commerce as a new revenue stream

We wanted to make sure we create what customers and employees need, and not what we assume is right for them.

Bernard Bossuyt, CIO at Joris Ide

Results

The impact of Joris Ide’s digital transformation is already tangible across multiple fronts. Customer service calls have dropped by 50%, freeing up the team to focus on more complex, relationship-driven interactions. Marketing efforts have become significantly more efficient, saving over 1,000 hours per year, while the newly launched B2C webshop generated €80,000 in its first year.

Beyond the numbers, the transformation laid the foundation for long-term innovation. With the B2B portal and centralized product data in place, Joris Ide is now equipped to explore advanced tools like a 3D product configurator and a pricing and quotation engine. The collaboration with delaware continues to evolve, with both teams committed to reassessing and optimizing the platform to support future growth. As Bernard Bossuyt puts it, “There’s a lot going on and a lot to look forward to” - and with a trusted partner by their side, Joris Ide is well-positioned to lead the steel industry into a smarter, more connected future.

Joris Ide & delaware

Joris Ide and delaware have built a collaborative partnership over nearly two decades, marked by continuous innovation and mutual trust. Since their first ERP implementation in 2008, the two teams have consistently challenged each other with new ideas, driving digital progress together. This shared mindset has made delaware more than just a technology provider—it’s a strategic ally helping Joris Ide align its digital ambitions with real-world execution. As both companies look ahead, their collaboration remains focused on building a resilient, future-proof platform that supports sustainable growth and ongoing transformation.