Gravotech equips itself with a new digital platform to unify its brands

SQLI transforms Gravotech's 74 websites into a single digital showcase of its offering

Gravotech is an international leader in permanent marking and engraving solutions, from laser engravers for the identification of aeronautical parts to mechanical engraving machines for the personalization of jewelry. The company is located in four continents with its 18 subsidiaries. Following several successive takeovers, its goal is to bring together its various brands under one banner.

Convergence of 74 websites into a single website, accessible in 22 languages

The construction of a single platform is a key part of Gravotech's rebranding strategy. A major challenge, the aim of the new corporate showcase is to replace no less than 74 websites, covering the 77 countries where Gravotech has a presence and the 22 languages spoken by its clients.

Currently, 85% of sales are achieved in export markets and the website is the main source of the brand's business growth. Gravotech needs to maintain a close local relationship with its clients, while streamlining the management of its digital assets.

"The aim of the new website is all about merging our brands in order to promote our business activities under a single name and reduce the complexity of the existing web architecture. This single website is the first building block in the overhaul of our entire digital architecture, which is part of a global transformation," explains François Rod, Head of Marketing.

Gravotech entrusted SQLI with the future platform's development and integration. The site is based on the Drupal 8 CMS and hosted on an Azure cloud server. The project team put forward a multilingual website built on a single foundation, which ensures quality and performance, while meeting platform administration requirements. The key new features include:

  • Synchronization of translations, which saves a significant amount of time for contributors
  • A menu preview function, allowing users to navigate through content with greater ease
  • A simplified user journey, offering access to products in a minimum number of clicks
  • Selection modules, offering a personalized view of the marking and engraving applications (identification, manufacturing, personalization, etc.), as well as the engraving machines, based on selection criteria
  • Improved highlighting of Gravotech's products with 3D views of the machines
     

Success of the Agile method in a challenging health situation

Launched during the summer of 2020, the project was scheduled to go online in early 2021. Given the pandemic, the entire project was conducted remotely. Using the Agile methodology, SQLI's teams not only met the deadline, they also met Gravotech's budget goal and ambitions by adopting a design-to-cost approach.

François Rod adds that: "Use of the Agile methodology was a key success factor. SQLI successfully got us working with this approach, even though it is not part of our usual working methods at Gravotech. We did take training prior to the launch to make sure that we would all speak the same language during the project."

Adeline Dejy, Digital Solutions Manager, explains: "Despite the lockdown, we clearly felt that SQLI's teams were fully engaged. A relationship of trust and closeness was immediately established. The collaborative approach was a very important part of this relationship. SQLI was very proactive and provided us with useful advice right from the call for tenders, with a well-identified and comprehensive backlog. "

The new website came online at the end of January 2021 and was received very well, both by internal contributors and visitors: "Operationally speaking, the website has made a huge difference to our day-to-day work. Having a modern showcase increases our brand's visibility and is also a source of pride for our teams. There is still work to be done in terms of SEO and content enrichment, but this first building block has been a success," concludes François Rod.

SQLI is now providing third-party application maintenance for  Gravotech's new website.