Vorarlberg University
of Applied Sciences

Upgrading and digitizing processes

Stabilizing communication and work processes

A digitalization project with furniture manufacturer Kawentsmann from Münster

Siblings Max and Lisa Bayer-Eynck jointly founded Kawentsmann Möbelmanufaktur in Münster in 2016, which now employs 14 people. The name Kawentsmann is directly related to the colloquial word for "large objects" and at the same time reflects the company's claim to produce particularly stable and durable furniture for private and commercial customers. In addition to the actual production, the Kawentsmann training company also offers the creation and implementation of holistic room concepts. In addition to the offices and the factory hall, the company has a self-designed and renovated "showroom" where customers can examine the products on site and exchange ideas.

The current situation

Kawentsmann handles the distribution, production and shipping of its products entirely itself. The furniture manufacturer uses a merchandise management system and many sales channels. Employees in the office use these to receive requests for quotations from customers. Inquiries via social media, the online store and by phone and email are processed manually by the employees. The Kawentsmann team prepares individualized quotations for individual production requests, which sales and the workshop also use to manually coordinate costs and delivery times. Employees enter orders in digital calendars and assign these entries to individual production phases and people. This allows all employees to see which production phase an order is in and which steps need to be carried out next. Customers often ask questions about the status of their order, which employees answer on the phone or by email.

The project

"We have no shortage of ideas for new products or work processes. But we don't necessarily want to grow, we want to improve first," says Max Bayer-Eynck in the first interview about the joint project with the Mittelstand 4.0 Competence Center Lingen. For Kawentsmann, fast and efficient processes are part of a crisis-proof company. The aim of the project is to digitally centralize individual customer inquiries via the various sales channels and to link the resulting data with that of production in a meaningful way. This includes data on production times and the availability of materials and employees. Automated post-production orders for frequently purchased or popular products should also increase availability. "Interface communication should become digital, even though everyone in a craft business loves paper," summarizes Lisa Bayer-Eynck.