Die Crinitz-App

Business software is no longer something just for corporations. Today’s easy-to-use business apps are made by people for people. With the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, they can be applied almost everywhere. Moreover, apps are easy to distribute thanks to the rapid growth of app stores and over-the-air downloads.

A world in which apps are everywhere has major effects on business operations and opens up new levels of communication between customer and provider. Direct interaction is encouraged, customers with their individual wishes can be directly involved in production and business processes, and process chains can be organized more smoothly and individually. Apps are not just an additional add-on to our current economy, but they create entirely new business models and distribution channels for products and services.

The core of this project is the development of an all-round app for the Lausitz company Crinitz Baukeramik. This is a long-established medium-sized enterprise that sells its products throughout Germany and also has international clients. What is special is not only the wide range of ceramic construction goods, but also that they can be manufactured according to individual requirements — even as unique one-of-a-kind pieces. However, the communication process for generating and handling such orders is still quite complicated. Although the heavy sample catalogs are partly being replaced by tablets, and extensive assortment list PDFs can be found on the website, there is still no interface that makes the flexible product range directly accessible to customers.

The Crinitz app offers exactly these possibilities. It contains all information about the Crinitz Baukeramik product range. All products can be displayed in every available color and shape. In addition, the app allows users to design their own special shapes that can be produced exactly as designed. Other interactive features include a direct, realistic preview of construction results.

In peripheral regions like Lausitz, the implementation of the latest communication tools is perhaps even more important for companies operating beyond the local market than in major industrial centers. In this context, the development of the Crinitz app can be seen as a model of how tailor-made technology can preserve and improve the competitive position of a traditional regional manufacturing company. A company literally rooted in the brick-and-mortar world enters the virtual space and gains a future-proof hybrid platform.