SFS Group: Stable Websites with CMS from e-Spirit

Boston, MA, November 25, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The Swiss SFS Group, worldwide operating manufacturer of molded parts and fastening systems for industrial production, places its international websites on a stable base with the content management system (CMS) FirstSpirit. With the CMS of e-Spirit (www.e-Spirit.com) SFS will manage around 30 international sites. In addition, a new customer extranet will be set up with the CMS and this will be integrated in the SAP system environment. FirstSpirit will ensure improved web performance at SFS with lower IT and hardware expenditure and cost savings through more efficient editorial processes worldwide. By the end of the year, the new corporate website of the SFS Group will be set up with the content of the services company, SFS services AG and then the Swiss trading group companies, SFS unimarket AG and SFS Locher AG will go live with the new look & feel. In 2012, the website of the industrial company SFS intec AG will then follow with its 19 country sites and the setup of the extranet. The implementation will be carried out by Namics AG Schweiz (www.namics.com), which also has supported SFS as an independent service provider in the selection of the new CMS solution.

Content, stability and integration strength
Together with Namics, SFS evaluated a shortlist of three products on the basis of 80 criteria and set maximum requirements with regard to performance and stability in international use. Other central decision-making features were implementation and integration options for new web developments and user-friendliness for users and editors. The system used until now, an in-house development based on Lotus Notes, was no longer able to fulfill these requirements. FirstSpirit convinced with its extensive out-of-the-box functions, module add-on options, a clear product roadmap and its system architecture. For example, the separation of the editorial system from the web server and the delivery of pre-generated pages by the CMS ensure high performance with low resource requirements. As the international companies will also contribute content for the website and the extranet in future, the ability to define deployment processes (workflows) as well as versioning and historization functions were also relevant in the decision-making.

To develop the extranet the group also required a CMS, which could be easily and seamlessly integrated in the existing SAP infrastructure – an essential advantage of the FirstSpirit CMS. The new extranet will make all kinds of personalized applications and services available to customers and suppliers on a central platform. For example, they will be able to view goods management data, print out product labels or track orders and packages. The editors conveniently supply the necessary supplementary editorial content via the content management system into the SAP portal.

"Our new websites will offer existing and potential customers even more service and promote our business success. Good content, provided tailored to individual customers, and a fast time-to-market are the decisive factors for this," explained Roland Tuescher, head of e-business at SFS services AG. SFS now has a solution, which optimally helps not only the IT department but also the content editors, to offer customers and interested parties attractive web content. With FirstSpirit, resources can be consolidated and web projects can be implemented far more efficiently. The CMS can easily grow with the requirements, without increasing the complexity for the editors. Tuescher continues: "With FirstSpirit we are opting for a professional platform, which is able to cover all our requirements – long-term and internationally. The modular extendibility keeps open all options to us. This could be, for example, the issue of a newsletter via the CMS or the integration of an event calendar for our customers, as well as the linking of central databases and other third party systems or the output of content via mobile channels."

Further information about e-Spirit and FirstSpirit is available on the Internet at www.e-Spirit.com.

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