EBF Contacts: all address data always synchronized for Richter+Frenzel
Customer: Richter + Frenzel
- Germany’s leading wholesaler in the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, civil engineering and tool sectors
- Modern, digital and efficient logistics: a total of 430 trucks set off from 28 R+F central warehouses several times a day on their journey to professional stores, craft businesses and construction sites throughout Germany.
- An EBF customer since 2019
Industry: Wholesale
The EBF, our IT service provider, is characterized by a high level of competence and has been a reliable partner for years.
Deployment
of EBF Contacts at R+F
Connection of the complete customer, dealer and freight forwarder address book (approx. 90,000 contacts) and automatic call number resolution on the mobile end devices – even while driving. For office staff and sales representatives in the field
Challenges
in R+F set-up of the devices (Status Quo June 2024)
- Integrate address data from different systems: global address book (Active Directory) + address data from a separate system (ESTOS)
- Access address data while on the go and synchronize with the car: for field representatives and freight forwarders
- Can be used on a range of devices: Android devices and iPhones with the complete Office app repertoire
- Integrating two MDM systems: Ivanti (formerly MobileIron) and Intune
Product Advantages
of EBF Contacts for Richter+Frenzel
- EBF Contacts works with any UEM: EBF Contacts is based on industry standards and is not dependent on MDM-specific interfaces – therefore, configuration is possible in all UEMs and is the same. This is ideal for a quick implementation at R+F in MobileIron and Intune at the same time.
- Any number of sources and contact data can be integrated: several and completely different source systems can be connected, e.g. Exchange O365, on-premise, HubSpot, Salesforce, other CRM systems and also data sources such as Active Directory and similar. No problem for R+F’s 90,000 contacts either.
- Automated CSV imports are possible: Automated CSV imports are possible: Data from other sources can be imported to EBF Contacts via CSV – automatically, encrypted, and stored at an address accessible to the app. This means that data from R+F’s ESTOS system is also always available.
- Data is available and synchronized on the go: the address book is always up to date on mobile devices – automatically, even in offline mode. Employees can access contacts even when they are in the car and identify callers.
- Compatible with Android and iOS: EBF Contacts works on Android devices and iPhones – regardless of whether it’s BYOD, COPE or COSU. When integrated with UEM and an Android work profile is used, other apps can be prevented from reading contact data – and unwanted saving can be avoided.
Success Factors
in cooperation of R+F and EBF
Transparent communication and cooperative product development
Thanks to our long-standing collaboration, we are in the fortunate position of being able to suggest product features to the EBF – two new functions are currently being tested in a Q&A process that will, among other things, enable contacts without an email address to be resolved. We are already eagerly anticipating the corresponding extended use of EBF Contacts.
The collaboration with R+F during the introduction of EBF Contacts was great. We immediately took up impulses from Dirk Züchner and his team and implemented them in a targeted manner – this enabled us to accelerate processes and for R+F to quickly benefit from the added value of the app.
Long-standing collaboration with consultants who know your business
I have been supporting R+F for 6 years and know their use cases inside out: so it was immediately clear to me that an address data solution would be indispensable for both iOS and Android and would have to work for Ivanti and Intune. Thanks to our experience with both MDM systems, we were able to successfully set up and test the configuration in one system and transfer it almost identically to the other. The great thing about EBF Contacts is that the app relies on industry standards – this makes the solution flexible and future-proof without having to rely on MDM-specific interfaces.
EBF Contacts
Professional contacts always at hand
Synchronise global address list (GAL) on iOS, iPadOS and Android devices
