Atlas Copco’s mobile calculator app for seamless equipment planning

Case cover Atlas Copco

Customer

Atlas Copco

Location

Antwerp, Belgium

Technology used

SAP Business Technology Platform

About our client

Atlas Copco is a supplier of compressors, vacuum solutions, generators, pumps, electrical tools and mounting systems. Atlas Copco develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. Atlas Copco Belgium is part of the Atlas Copco Group, a globally established industrial company with customers in more than 180 countries. In Belgium, Atlas Copco employs approximately 3,700 employees.

Why did Atlas Copco choose SAP Business Technology Platform?

To support their customers with their power supplies, Atlas Copco acts as a leading supplier of compressed air, water and power solutions.

Providing power to large construction sites or big events requires a proper preparation, such as defining the amount and strength of generators, lighting solutions and so much more. Atlas Copco wanted to empower its customers and sales representatives by providing a mobile self-service calculator app called “Light The Power”. Via this app, one can easily fill in the needs of the project and will receive an overview of all equipment that is required to power their event.  The Light the Power calculator suggests the most suitable generator for your needs. Not only can you determine the size of generators, but also simulate modular power plants, their performance and the loading and unloading of your generators.

By choosing SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), Atlas Copco has a wide range of services available, such as user authentication, maintaining product information, generating leads, etc. Therefore, Atlas Copco decided that SAP BTP will be used as foundation for their web and mobile strategy.

On the other hand, SAP BTP also provides the flexibility to plug in your own frameworks and solutions. Since Atlas Copco already had a couple of applications developed in Angular, one of the prerequisites of this project was to build the end user app in Angular as well.

Challenges

  • Building an app for sales representatives and customers to make complex calculations by providing simple requirements
  • Ability to maintain all information used in the end-user app, such as product information, app texts, etc.
  • Possibility to save and later edit calculations requiring user authentication and authorization
  • Providing cross-platform possibility (both Apple and Windows) on multiple device widths (mobile, tablet and desktop)

Objectives

  • Developing a set of Content Management System apps to maintain product information, app texts and images and to view previously made calculations
  • Automated transmission of data from the application to the CRM system
  • Integration with an existing SAP Cloud for Customer system to track lead generation
  • Setting up a custom user authentication system based on the SAP Identity Authentication Service

Solution

Two different components needed to be built:

  1. A mobile and web application that is accessible by Atlas Copco’s sales representatives, but also end users to make, save and update calculations regarding the optimal power and lighting solutions (later referred to as end-user app).
  2. A web application that is only accessible by a specific set of people, to maintain all information regarding products, texts and images (later referred to as admin app).

1. End-user app

The end-user app is accessible as a native mobile app via the App Store and Google Play Store, and as a desktop web app. Logging in or creating an account is required to use the app. To authenticate users and maintain user information, a layer on top of SAP Identity Authentication Service was built.

Once a user is logged in, previously made calculations as well as tutorials can easily be accessed.

Generator

The calculation of which generator is most suitable can be done in only 3 steps.

  1. Information needs to be provided regarding the number of phases, the frequency and available voltage.
  2. All devices that will need to be powered are defined in the load definition.
  3. Environmental conditions are taken into account by providing information regarding temperature and altitude.

With only these 3 steps, calculations are made in order to propose the optimal generator to be used.

It might be possible that more than one generator is relevant as a solution. The user can view all specifications of the proposed generator and can save the calculation for later use. Whenever a calculation is saved, an unassociated lead is generated in SAP Cloud for Customer. This way, Atlas Copco can follow up on this lead and help the customer define their lighting and power needs.

Generator sizing

2. Admin app

Admins are able to maintain product information, app texts and images that are used in the app. In order to perform this maintenance, first of all a Fiori Launchpad has been setup using SAP Build Workzone.

LTP2 Home

The app texts and images are maintained using SAPUI5 native Rich Text Editors and enable admin users to also adapt app texts based on feedback of users over time. Nothing is hardcoded and the Content CMS app gives admin users the required flexibility.

The same goes for the calculations data app. Not only is product related information maintained here, but also all different kinds of lists that are used in the app can be defined here. Once again, this allows the end-user app to adapt and to be future proof.

LTP calculations data CMS

The last two apps (Tutorials and Instructions) serve the same purpose as the previous two. Administrators can define which tutorials from YouTube are visible within the end-user app and can add relevant instructions where they think they could be helpful.

Benefits

Easy-to-use app to make complex calculations

Fully accessible across platforms and screen widths

Integrated into Atlas Copco’s landscape, including SAP Cloud for Customer

Secure authentication and authorization of users relying on SAP Identity Authentication Service

Future-proof solution by providing maintainability to admin users

Find out more benefits

Results (ROI)

  • Bringing service and products closer to the customers
  • Less data maintenance costs
  • Allowing sales representatives to always carry their mobile power and lighting calculator app in order to assist customers
  • Higher lead generation rate
  • Getting a better insight in the needs of customers

Inspired by this case?

Contact us and discover how your organization can benefit with SAP BTP!

Michiel Neefs consultant bij Amista

Michiel Neefs

BU Manager Integrated Technology