Our overarching goal is to use the digital transformation to our advantage. Our processes are digitalised and therefore highly structured. Automation makes work easier in many areas and allows our employees and customers to focus more on their core tasks.

Digital services for our customers

Through progressive digitalisation and efficient data management, we not only achieve added value for our company, but also for our customers. Our focus is on supporting our customers and partners with questions about our products and providing practical help on construction sites. We develop customer-oriented, digital solutions and services that help dealers and tradespeople in their day-to-day work. At UZIN UTZ, we strive to tailor our products, services and business models even better to the local needs of our customers and to create additional added value through digital solutions.

In the reporting year, we launched our new U-Club app alongside our already established UZIN UTZ go app. Both applications are designed to provide tradespeople with practical assistance through digital services.

Tender texts of all brands for floor planning

In the construction industry, invitations to tender are of crucial importance for construction planners, architects and engineers. UZIN UTZ supports professionals with a comprehensive range of tender specifications covering all segments of the Group. These include rapid and lightweight screeds, systems for damp-proofing, installation systems for carpet, resilient and wood flooring, waterproofing, solutions for tile and natural stone installation and products for surface restoration. The specifications are available in all standard formats, can be accessed via our website and can be tailored to individual requirements to provide optimum support for planning work.

Digital working world

In recent years, it has become clear how essential digitalisation has become for our work processes. We therefore use our intranet "Quako" for internal communication, which is based on the "Confluence" tool and serves as a central platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration within the Group. Quako allows us to create and manage information pages across companies and locations, which considerably simplifies coordination between internal departments and communication across different locations.

We use the "Jira" system to support task and project management. This tool proves extremely beneficial, especially for cross-departmental and international projects in a dynamic work environment. With the integration of Jira into our intranet, this project management tool is now available throughout the Group, allowing all project members to keep track of who is working on which task at all times. Tasks can be clearly assigned and process steps can be made transparent so that the planning and implementation of projects is comprehensible for everyone involved.

Use of artificial intelligence

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) is a central building block in the future direction of UZIN UTZ. It enables us to reduce costs, tap into new customer groups and proactively counteract the shortage of skilled workers.

One core project is the company-wide "UZIN UTZ AI Cockpit". A platform that already bundles over 130 AI assistants for use cases such as image design, material analysis, sophisticated translations and text generation and analysis. Six different AI models from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI are available as the "engine" for these assistants. The aim is to provide all employees with easy and secure access to generative AI, thereby increasing efficiency at all levels and ultimately opening up the organisation for even larger future AI projects.

We also use AI to optimise our logistics processes. An intelligent "thermal transport agent" analyses delivery and weather data to minimise the need for cost-intensive thermal transport for temperature-sensitive products. The system makes recommendations about the shipping method and thus contributes significantly to cost savings. Another exciting use case is the lip-synchronous translation of application videos to provide our customers around the world with easier access to our expertise with installing our products.

We are also driving forward the development of AI-controlled robotic solutions to counter the growing shortage of skilled workers in the skilled trades. In collaboration with industrial partners, we are developing compact, battery-powered devices that relieve tradespeople of ergonomically demanding tasks (e.g. sanding down floor coverings). This allows skilled workers to concentrate on the more exciting special cases and thus increases the attractiveness of the profession.