A digital hub to connect teams and foster collaboration
Founded in 1899 as Achter & Ebels in Moenchengladbach, AUNDE has specialised since 1920 in the development and production of fabrics for the automotive industry. Today it provides its customers with a complete package, starting with the corporate design intent and proceeding to the delivery of constructed textiles and upholstery with full test certifications. AUNDE is able to offer all textiles as covers and curtains in its regional production facilities, supported by local design, development, and sales teams. AUNDE’s textiles and upholstery are also used for further production within the AUNDE Group.
AUNDE provides a full service from one source to the customer. The AUNDE Group has grown worldwide, facing its ecological and social responsibilities throughout the entire value product chain. With its brands, AUNDE, ISRINGHAUSEN, and FEHRER, the AUNDE Group offer excellence at more than 100 locations to all partners throughout the production chain – from yarn right the way through to complete automotive interiors.
Challenge
Connect teams and accelerate workflows
As a growing multinational company with numerous operations, Aunde faced a number of challenges related to internal communications and overall business processes. Keeping a growing workforce engaged and productive, limiting the time employees spent switching between apps to obtain or share information, and speeding up the time taken to reach markets amid increased competition represented the main challenges facing Aunde.
As a result, Aunde considered a digital workplace solution to:
get employees from different teams and departments to communicate and collaborate in real-time from any device;
make all employees, in offices and on assembly lines, feel engaged, valued, and part of the company through the creation and diffusion of news, events, etc;
accelerate workflows and keep track of project milestones with a project management function;
create a rich knowledge base where employees can easily store and locate information.
Why eXo?
Aunde chose eXo Platform over other vendors’ offerings based on the company’s experience and reputation in the digital collaboration market. Additionally, the platform’s ability to act as a centralised digital hub with numerous functions such as an enterprise social network, a document management system, a project management function, wikis, and calendars appealed to the project team. These features in combination had the potential to address the various challenges facing Aunde, as data and information can be easily accessed and transferred without the need to switch between various third-party apps and platforms.
The impact
Enhanced processes and shorter times to market
Deployed in late 2014, the platform was initially made available to over 800 users in various departments within Aunde. Its simplicity and user-friendliness led to its wider adoption. Employees working in the office, on site, or on the go had a unified digital hub where they could connect, collaborate, and access information in real-time, and in particular, keep track of projects and workflows.
Collaborative spaces have been widely used by employees across the company. Each includes customisable built-in features such as task management, a forum, wiki, a document library and a space calendar to facilitate a variety of operations. For example, submitting and brainstorming new product ideas or treating customer orders are processes that involve not only product management or sales but numerous other teams, such as product marketing and engineering. Teams can submit their proposals and customer orders within specific spaces, either as documents or wikis. These documents can be easily located and accessed or shared between departments, leading to accelerated processes.
Another way in which the platform has been used is for internal communications. Usually, a large and widely spread workforce can experience a sense of isolation and disengagement. Using eXo Platform, HR teams and the C-suite have a medium through which they can reach employees with targeted content wherever and whenever they are, thanks to its availability on mobile devices. This has led to increases in engagement and retention rates, as employees are often well informed about the company’s latest activities.
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