An Interview with Schwarzwaldkuechen on Digital Sales, Transparency, and Sustainability
Executive Summary
In this interview-based case study, Schwarzwaldkuechen shares how digitalization supports modern kitchen retail without compromising personal service. As customer expectations shift toward instant access to product information and online consultations, the company adopted Tradeplace solutions to centralize product data and support consultants during the sales process. Tradeplace Portals Hub and the Digital Sales Assistant now provide reliable access to manufacturer information, enabling more transparent, efficient, and sustainable consultations.
The Challenge
Kitchen retail has become significantly more complex. Customers expect immediate answers on specifications, availability, and options, both in-store and during online consultations. At the same time, Schwarzwaldkuechen works with multiple manufacturers and a broad product assortment, making manual catalogues and fragmented data sources increasingly inefficient. The challenge was to maintain high-quality, personal advice while handling growing digital expectations and operational complexity.
"Digital access to product information is essential today, but it must fit naturally into how we advise customers"
Stefan Henselmann, Schwarzwaldkuechen
The Solution
Schwarzwaldkuechen introduced Tradeplace Portals Hub as a central access point to manufacturer information and connected it with the Tradeplace Digital Sales Assistant. This setup allows consultants to access up-to-date product data, specifications, and assets directly during customer conversations.
Instead of relying on printed materials or manual searches, consultants now work with validated digital information across brands. The solution supports both in-store and remote consultations, while integrating smoothly into existing sales workflows and kitchen planning processes.
The Results
By integrating Tradeplace into daily sales operations, Schwarzwaldkuechen strengthened transparency, efficiency, and consultation quality, while preparing the organization for future digital growth.
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Efficiency: Consultants spend less time searching for information and more time advising customers.
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Customer experience: Customers receive clear, reliable answers during consultations, both on-site and online.
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Market reach: Digital consultation capabilities support customer interactions beyond physical showrooms.
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Scalability: Centralized product information makes it easier to onboard new brands and consultants.
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Digital & Green impact: Digital product information reduces reliance on printed catalogues, supports better-informed purchase decisions, and helps avoid unnecessary changes, returns, or rework during the kitchen planning process.
"Our goal is to support retailers with digital tools that make complexity manageable and collaboration more transparent."
Karel van der Horst, CEO Tradeplace
Why Tradeplace
Haier chose Tradeplace because of its proven, Europe-wide retail reach and standardised integration approach. Portals Hub enabled Haier to scale quickly without custom development and offered a future-proof foundation for expanding digital collaboration. The modular nature of the Tradeplace stack Portals, Connect, Content, and Insights, ensures that Haier can extend its digital capabilities as needs evolve.
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