The retail sector has been transforming for years due to the ever-increasing growth of e-commerce and the changing role of brick and mortar stores. Crises have a reinforcing effect in this regard, but we can say that the changes are permanent. And both large retailers and local boutiques realize that online and offline must be combined and that a good (online) shopping experience and speed are essential.

Solution Advisor

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Combine online and offline for the best shopping experience

Omni-channel approach drives digital transformation

The Dutch retail market is developing rapidly: customer expectations continue to rise, margins are under pressure, labour is scarce, and 'traditional' business models are struggling. How do you as a retailer deal with these challenges? And how do you ensure a sustainable and sustainable business model?

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Personalized experience

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Seemless integration of physical shop and e-commerce

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Predictions with artificial intelligence

Trends in retail

Why does Piet buy shoes at store A and not at store B? Naturally, this is an interesting question for both stores and something they'd like to know more about. It is also the reason why some companies, especially larger ones, are dedicating entire departments to continuously improve the online experience of customers. 
   
Part of the answer to this lies in marketing. For example, brand awareness is a huge factor when looking at purchasing behaviour. However, the quality of the service you receive also plays a big role. If the quality of the service is great, there is a good chance that Piet will return to order the rest of his clothes at store A. On the other hand, if it wasn't up to satisfaction, there are plenty of other online shops ready for business.  
    
To get to the crux of the matter, good service can only be delivered with good IT in place. For instance, by processing and delivering orders quickly and smoothly for customers. However, being flexible is also important, so that new insights about the needs of the customer can be understood easily and be implemented quickly. A Low-code platform such as OutSystems is ideally suited for this kind of task. Take into consideration the following four reasons. 
  
### 1. Speed 

Programming in OutSystems works much differently than traditional methods. Normally, you draft a design, then you write the code, and then you have the resulting application or interface, which can be adjusted further. 
  
Another approach is with OutSystems. Using OutSystems, it is possible to utilize ready-made templates to create the front-end of an application. After that, you simply link the back-end to the interface. The first big advantage of this is that you can save a lot of time by using low-code templates to perfect your design. Besides, by working with pre-programmed code you also have tangible results that can be adjusted on the fly.  
Building an application with OutSystems is up to 10 times faster than using a traditional programming language. This applies to both building new applications as well as adapting existing software, allowing you to put the latest insights into practice at lightning speed. 
    
### 2. Test, test, test 
  
UX design is becoming increasingly important in the creation and development of applications. A UX-Designer - short for User eXperience - safeguards the interests of the user in relation to the developers and the clients. It is their task to see whether users understand the app, use it correctly and provide feedback for changes before the app goes live. This immediately creates an app without annoying bugs and frustrations for the user, which is important if you want Piet to come back to your webshop. 
    
Because OutSystems works on a platform of pre-built modules that can be adjusted independently of each, it means adjustments can be made to modules without creating issues or causing the website to "break". With a traditional approach, an adjustment in one area of the code could potentially cause errors to appear all over the site. Would you like to change that green button on the shop to a blue one? Or perhaps a certain feature should behave differently? With OutSystems you can apply UX design indefinitely, without having to annoy the developers. 
    
### 3. Flawless integration with other customer applications, systems and databases. 
  
Another unique feature of OutSystems is the possibility to create links with third-party applications. To process a request into an order and get it ready to send out, several systems are likely at play, and these systems must communicate smoothly with each other to avoid any errors. Other systems may also be at use, such as a Power Bi, which analyses your business data. You might think, ''but my legacy systems cannot work with OutSystems''. However, you link your "old" database and legacy applications to an OutSystems app with ease. That applies whether they are in cloud or on-premise. This saves you a lot of time and money that you would otherwise spend on reprogramming huge layers of outdated code. Even if you must get rid of your legacy environment sooner or later, you can easily migrate to an OutSystems application while your legacy applications are still running. 
  
### 4. Future-proof 
  
OutSystems works on a platform on which all parts that you use for your application are regularly updated and renewed, so you can be sure that your OutSystems app will not become outdated or unsafe 12 months down the line. Another possibility is to outsource the management of the platform altogether. That is also possible with LINKIT's LOMAAS management service for OutSystems. 

*If you'd like to learn more about OutSystems and how it can improve your business agility, please get in touch or join one of our regular sessions.*


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Good customer experience is an important part of a website or application. Improve the customer experience by handling orders easy and fast using low code.

Improve customer experience

Want to improve your customer experience? 4 reasons why you should do that with OutSystems! 

The web browser is the lonely No. 1 when it comes to internet usage. There are an estimated 38 billion connected devices that you can access the web with. And of that enormous bulk of data traffic from all those billions of devices, the majority goes via a mobile phone. 59 percent of all searches and 58.7 percent of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. This makes it crucial for companies, especially B2C, to have an excellent mobile website. And if you really want to make a difference, then one thing stands out: speed!

### Focus on the user
The Netherlands has one of the best digital infrastructures in the world. Almost everyone has a smartphone and is available anytime, anywhere. However, that does not mean that everyone has an iPhone 11 in their pocket. Many phones are a bit older, so they are at most mediocre in quality. This is a point that developers do not always take into account. When you mainly look at offering nice features and micro-optimizations, things go wrong. The core of an excellent mobile website is that it is tailored to the user's most important need: speed.

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### The hard numbers
The image above shows how the user's mood changes as the page load time increases. Users are certainly not forgiving on mobile websites either. This is evident from the following figures, based on a survey by Forrester Consultants among 1048 internet shoppers.

- 47 percent of visitors and consumers expect a web page to load within 2 seconds.
- 40 percent of visitors will drop out if a website takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
- 52 percent of the respondents say that speed determines the degree of loyalty to a site.
- 79 percent of dissatisfied people will no longer return to a webshop, while 64 percent will now buy similar products from a competitor that offers a faster and better online experience.

### All you need is speed
If you take these figures as a starting point, the need of the users is clear: they mainly want speed online. Mobile sites that do not offer this will be punished mercilessly. The opposite is also true. Sites that do offer users a fast and therefore good user experience are rewarded with more (loyal) customers and a higher turnover. For example, the same Forrester survey found that 52 percent of online shoppers will visit a fast website more often than a slower website.

Users won't be concerned about what technology is used, as long as it meets their requirements. This can clash with ideas for great features from both business managers and developers who often ensure that the loading time decreases. It is noble to want to make a product that is as beautiful as possible, but if the loading time increases as a result, you shoot yourself in your digital foot.

### The solution:
Fortunately, this does not mean that you have to limit yourself to some sort of basic website that only offers the essentials. You have to start with that. Then you can progressively offer more features and possibilities, if the user's device can handle it. Do you have a visitor with a cheap smartphone? Offer him value for money and keep it simple. If you get someone with a super-luxurious smartphone to visit, then you offer them everything you have in terms of functionality. The logic behind this is clear. In this way, you offer everyone a fast website where you adjust the features and functionalities to the possibilities of the mobile device.

In addition, the target group that has an expensive smartphone often sets higher requirements and may also be willing to spend more. Is this your target audience? Then you legitimize the development of "expensive" features for a limited number of people in this way.

### Want to know more?
*Do you want to know more about the pros and cons of developing a webshop or customer-oriented (mobile) website? Then get in touch with one of our experts for more information. Or read one of our inspirational articles below.*


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Why a fast mobile website is crucial for retail

Download whitepaper 'Mobile web performance; from business dilemma to super seller'

Within IT, speed has been high on the agenda for many years. There are a number of reasons for this. For a start, IT professionals are not only expensive, but also rare. By [working more efficiently you not only reduce costs](https://www.leapwork.com/blog/3-ways-to-reduce-software-development-costs-for-the-c-suite), you can also take on more projects and as an IT company you don't have to pay for time where there are no projects. The advantages are evident for the clients. At LINKIT we have been using a golden combination for a number of years: developing low code in OutSystems according to the Scrum method. One plus one is three, according to our developers. What is the secret behind that?

### Scrum
To begin with an explanation of Scrum, this working method was developed around the 1990s and is best known for working in short so-called "sprints". These are periods of one or two weeks in which clearly defined tasks are performed within a team, in which multiple skillsets are always represented. For example, that of .NET developer or a data engineer. After that, there is an evaluation, in which the 'product owner', the representative of the client, has the opportunity to make adjustments before the next sprint starts. In contrast to the time-honoured waterfall method, as a client you are much closer to the implementation with Scrum. Not only are people working faster, but the chance of mistakes is also considerably lower.

### OutSystems
OutSystems in turn has been developed as a low code platform to develop new applications at lightning speed. This is mainly because programming in this environment is largely done visually. Frequently used features or pieces of code are pre-programmed and can simply be dragged one after the other. This makes it possible to deliver a working prototype within a few hours. Depending on the requested complexity, a project can be delivered within a few days or weeks.

Scrum is primarily intended as a method to perform a slow way of programming faster. But what does it yield if you combine it with a development method that is very fast in itself.

### Scrum at high speed
Our experience is that it produces results at twice the speed. By working according to the Scrum method, you get the maximum efficiency from the development possibilities of OutSystems. Because the development is so fast, it is advisable to shorten the time of each sprint. For example to a week instead of two weeks. By using OutSystems, the waiting time of the product owner is drastically reduced and the entire process can be completed at lightning speed. Scrum, but at high speed.

### Excellent results
The Scrum method is very suitable for maintaining control within a very rapid development process and, as the client, ensuring that the optimum result are delivered very quickly. At LINKIT we achieve excellent results with this, leading to satisfied clients. More about this you can read [in our business case](/en/cases/How-Intratuin-"grows-and-flourishes"-again-with-OutSystems) 'How Intratuin "grows and florishes" again with OutSystems'.

*Are you interested in the possibilities of a project executed through this dream combination? Please contact one of our experts for more information?*


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Why Scrum and OutSystems are a business dream couple.Discover together with us why, according to our developers one plus one is three.

Why Scrum and OutSystems are a business dream couple

Whitepaper: replacing legacy applications by using OutSystems

Shopping online should be just as easy and fun as in a brick-and-mortar store, right? Apparently, the makers of [this sketch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrwQ-guwvfsv) experienced that differently. Although this is not the reality, the sketch does indicate nicely that in a webshop you have to focus on completely different things in order for the customer to be king or queen. How can you meet this challenge? Below we list two important tips.

### 1. Determine a clear omnichannel strategy

Online shopping can best be compared to a huge market square in which everyone is shouting at each other. Everyone wants the consumer's attention and everyone has the best deal. To stand out positively within this information overload, recognisability and clarity are essential. You can achieve this through a so-called omnichannel strategy. You offer the same (online) shopping experience to all your customers through all your points of sale. It should therefore not matter whether they buy something in the physical store or via Facebook from your webshop. The experience is always consistent and therefore the chance is much greater the customer feels like a king.

Should this concept still seem a bit vague: almost all large supermarkets, such as Jumbo and Albert Heijn, use an omnichannel strategy. By visiting and comparing their points of sale (social media, website, mobile app, store), you will undoubtedly get a good idea of what omnichannel content is. And whether and how it has added value for your company. If you really want to go in-depth, read [this study](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331348093_How_Albert_Heijn_Applied_the_Omni-Channel_Strategy_A_Case_Study) about how Albert Heijn set up its omnichannel strategy.

In any case, the numbers speak for themselves. Companies that use omnichannel keep their customers on average 91 percent longer, according to research by Aspect Software. A huge difference when it comes to loyalty.

### 2. Use a central IT approach

To be able to successfully execute an equal shopping experience at all your points of sale, online and offline, you really cannot do without an IT-system in which all these points are integrated. Such a central IT approach, where all (customer) data is in one place, has major advantages. For both you and your customers.

1. **Personalization**: The assortment can be tailored per store to the behaviour of people in your online store. If people from Utrecht, for example, buy more cookbooks online, then you ensure that the physical store in Utrecht also has more of them in stock.

2. **Data**: You can map exactly where, when and even why your customers buy something. These new insights help you to better tailor your offer to the needs of your customers. This data is also the basis of predictive AI models. You can use a discount card to monitor the behaviour of your customers in the store.

3. **Customer friendliness**. Because you know more about your customers, both in terms of behaviour and actions, you can help them better when they have questions. For example, if there is a question about a delivery, you can quickly see where and when it was sold and where this product is now.

### Switching to a new way of working

So yes, there are plenty of benefits using an omnichannel approach! On the other hand, switching to this new way of working is certainly not easy. Building a new centralized IT-system that supports an omnichannel strategy is usually a time-consuming and costly undertaking. Besides, it also requires a lot of technical knowledge, especially if your current IT-system is a bit older. In addition to the technical side, it can also be quite a challenge for your staff to master a new, more data-based way of working.

### Taking up the challenge
Concluding it is clear there are plenty of challenges. However, when you take into account the many advantages of omnichannel and centralized IT, it is undoubtedly worth the effort. At LINKIT we like to think along with you about how you can realize a new customer strategy, including the additional technical challenges. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you’re looking into this idea for your business.

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Also online the customer wants to be queen or king, but how do you achieve that?

Now, while the corona crisis is raging in all its intensity, it is hard to imagine recruiting new staff. Until recently, however, it was a major challenge for restaurants and cafes to find suitable staff and thus maintain their service level. A possible solution for this is digitization, whereby restaurant visitors, for example, order and pay for themselves. But how you do that, without compromising customer friendliness and customer experience, is still quite a challenge. At restaurant app MyDish they have every confidence that it is possible. With LINKIT UX design as a "secret weapon". 

### Order via smartphone
Simon Bosschieter, the initiator of MyDish, formulated the idea in February 2020 when he went out to eat sushi in Amsterdam. “You could order your food there yourself via an iPad. A nice idea, but I did not have an overview of the menu, which was then on a printed version. Also, I had no idea what the rest were ordering. Of course it is inconvenient to work with a device that many others have also been using during the coronavirus pandemic. I missed the interaction and realized that this could be done much better.” 
 
### MyDish
“That is how I came up with the idea of MyDish. A restaurant app with which you can order and pay via your own phone by scanning a QR code. Especially when it is busy, customers often have to wait a long time for this. And with corona it is also very nice that waiters do not have to walk past the tables. Via the app you can also see what your table companions order, you can easily split the bill and even receive a receipt. Ideal for the Dutch! ”

### Looking for digital help
Arne Kleijn and Tim Jongen, both owners of restaurant  'IJver' in Amsterdam, had already researched the possibilities of an app for their restaurant three years earlier with several partners and other restaurant owners in Amsterdam. Was it possible to make the business easier for the owners in that way? They soon found out that creating such an app requires an enormous amount of investment in effort, time, money and expertise. Nobody offered it and a suitable product simply could not be found at the time.

### Lockdown
Fast forward a bit, the lockdown struck us and the need for such an app became not only feasible, but almost essential. How do you ensure that you limit the number of customer contacts as much as possible? Tim decided to visit companies again with the same group to see if there was a suitable app on the market.

### Match
Simon: “On a deserted King's Day I walked past Tim's closed restaurant, who I still knew from the past. When I saw his closed restaurant, I decided to pitch my idea to him.''

Tim was very enthusiastic about the concept of MyDish, and one thing led to another. More people joined in and we asked developer Vincent van Doesburg to come up with a Proof of Concept (PoC) to investigate whether the app was technically feasible. After the PoC we realized such an app was indeed doable, feasible and in fact made a lot of sense, given the overall environment created by the coronavirus. Following from that, LINKIT stepped in to develop the MVP (Minimal Viable Product). From there, MyDish took off.

### Charlotte steps in
That was also the moment that UX-designer Charlotte Postma from LINKIT started working with MyDish. “As a UX-designer, I actually represent the role of the customer during the development process,” she explains. “And in the case of MyDish, that's a dual role, representing both that of the customer (restaurant owners) and that of the guest. I try to make sure the user experience is the best it can be, especially before the app is launched.

 ### The easiest route
In itself it seems obvious, but it is not according to Charlotte. “The ideas often arise from the needs of the business and "should" really be implemented that way. Although the idea may be good, inconsistencies can arise at the level of detail, making user-friendliness sometimes hard to determine precisely. The same goes for the developers. Often they really think of the interests of the user, but when things get complicated on a technical level they are sometimes tempted to choose the easiest route. It is up to me to monitor the user experience, while also remaining sensitive to the underlying (technical) discussions.”

### There's work to be done
At MyDish everyone wanted to prevent a bad user experience. Charlotte: “The basic concept of the app, in the form of the PoC, was already complete when I arrived. The first thing I do is simply see what I think of it from a user perspective. Do things make sense? Is the app intuitive? There are almost always things that are not (yet) ideal. At MyDish, the buttons were not in the same place on all pages in the beginning and the consistency and experience were not yet fully realized. That is of course not a good idea, so I started with trying to improve that.”

### Double testing
The next step in the UX process is testing. Lots of testing. At MyDish this was an extra challenge because there are not one but two user groups. Charlotte: “You have an interface for the guest who uses the app to order, but also one for the restaurant owner who has to process the orders. Both are equally important for a successful outcome. This was a nice assignment for me because I had to test twice. ”

### The Business Importance of UX
Simon underlines the importance of UX from his point of view. “Catering and retail entrepreneurs are often of the mourner type. They are constantly working to please guests, which makes quality extremely important. If something works well then they embrace you and if it doesn't work right immediately then they don't need you. There is therefore not much room for errors. Both the restaurant visitor and the guest should really see MyDish as a hospitality app that has added value to them. An app that can be used in all types of catering industry environments. From a simple bar to a Michelin star diner, and even for large events. People often want to celebrate something and the experience is very important. With MyDish you compete with the waiter, so to speak. The user-friendliness must therefore be top and UX design is very important for this.”
 
### "Extension" of the cash register
The restaurant owner should not be stuck with an online order list after ordering, which he or she then has to type back into the POS (Point of Sale) system. MyDish is therefore integrated into the POS system, so that everything is automatic and the restaurant can focus more on hospitality than entering manual entries into the register. Simon: “This essentially makes MyDish an extension of the POS system, as it were. Almost all POS voice providers were enthusiastic about this as it relieves them from extra manual work. In fact, many of them think MyDish is groundbreaking.”

### User testing
The importance of Charlotte's work is therefore not to be under-estimated, which is precisely why  MyDish gave her every opportunity to propose improvements. “We are now in the final phase before the MVP (Minimal Viable Product) is ready and that includes the really serious user tests. During such a test, Charlotte follows the behaviour and the resulting choices of relevant test subjects, to determine what can be improved and how. 

### Test and improve
“At MyDish it's paramount that restaurant visitors easily roll through the ordering process. Is it immediately clear how to order? What about settling the bill - is that clear? By continuously testing, improving and testing again you can continue to improve the experience. In the last major user test, the process went virtually flawlessly.”
 
### The proceeds of UX
“From the perspective of the restaurant owners, I did encounter several points for improvement. As an example, it is better to use the word "table" instead of the word "session", which is common in IT. In the final checks, testers were found to be confusing the main and sub-categories of the menu without realizing it. Then you have, for example, main dishes as the main category with subcategories such as burgers or wraps below. It happened too often during the test that the side dish items were presented as the main category, so there was still some work to be done. These are small things, but we want to do it perfectly, and it is precisely with UX optimization that you get these kinds of points sorted out before the roll-out and deployment.”
 
### Especially for the startup
“Of course you can go live without UX,” Charlotte concludes. “There are still plenty of companies going that path, but I wonder if that will be a success story. You can only leave a first impression once. If it is bad, you have lost that opportunity. That is why UX is especially important for small companies. Large companies often still have a well-known name that attracts people. Startups, such as MyDish, rely on quality from the -get-go., and without proper UX in mind, that is difficult to achieve. ”
 
*Do you want to know what LINKIT can do for your company with UX? Please contact Charlotte for more information. Or read our [whitepaper](https://www.linkit.nl/en/cases/An-app-for-the-hospitality-industry-or-retail-It-must-be-good-right-away!?whitepaper=open) about the importance of good web performance for your website.*


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How UX design kickstarts restaurant app MyDish

An app for the hospitality industry or retail? It must be good right away!

It is a major challenge for restaurants and cafes to find suitable staff and thus maintain their service level. A possible solution for this is digitization, whereby restaurant visitors, for example, order and pay for themselves. But how you do that, without compromising customer friendliness and customer experience, is still quite a challenge. At restaurant app MyDish they have every confidence that it is possible. With LINKIT UX design as a "secret weapon".

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Lidl Nederland

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Jumbo Supermarkten

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Spar

Our clients

How do you manage the colossal logistics processes at a garden center giant such as Intratuin? As a visitor you don't get to see much of it, but behind the scenes there is a system busy with continuous scanning, measurement and re-ordering of products and orders. This is a repetitive process that can realise a lot of benefits from automation of those actions. At Intratuin a large part of the orders go through their internal ordering app Winkelportaal. In 2019 LINKIT contributed to a major upgrade, which significantly improved both the possibilities and the logistics processes.

### Intratuin
Intratuin is one of the largest garden centers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with 65 franchise stores. Their total offering consists of 80,000 different products that are sold to 12.5 million visitors per year.

### The importance of the application
The franchisees manage stock by ordering all inventory, except plants and animals, directly from Intratuin via the Store Portal application. Initially, this was first built up low code with Mendix, but many essential functionalities were missing. For example, there was no Android app, not all product groups could be ordered and there was insufficient integration with the Zebra barcode scanners that Intratuin employees use in the store and during fairs or trade shows.

### LINKIT
In order to help bring these processes more tightly together, Intratuin decided to completely rebuild its portal. This time OutSystems was chosen, bringing LINKIT into the picture. Two of our OutSystems developers participated in the project, led by OutSystems lead developer Diana van Eijk.

### All systems in one app
Diana: “As a team, we first have to understand all the processes and needs of the customers for the new app, in this case it was the commercial managers of the sites. Task number one was to connect all underlying systems to each other through the new Shopping Portal. We have solved this problem with the recently developed SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) from Microsoft BizTalk. ”

### Integration with Zebra scanners
“A second point of attention was the integration with the scanners. These are crucial in the entire logistics process, because they keep track of how many products are still in stock. After all, every time the cash register scans something, it has to be ordered again. Moreover, it does not stop at the cash registers. During events that Intratuin organizes, the progress of the stock is monitored with scanners. With the new integration, this is much faster and many repetitive steps have been automated that were previously taking a lot of time. ”

 
### Working agile saves time
Perhaps the most important contribution of Diana was not technical per se. “The entire development process was originally set up according to the waterfall method, so as one big whole. I have tried to convert this bit by bit into an Agile approach. This made development a lot faster. Together with the rapid development time associated with OutSystems, we have succeeded in delivering the application much faster than planned. ”

*Do you also have an app that needs to be replaced or can use an upgrade? We are happy to think along with you about a suitable solution. Please contact one of our experts for more information. Or read our [whitepaper](https://www.linkit.nl/en/cases/How-Intratuin-%22grows-and-flourishes%22-again-with-OutSystems?whitepaper=open) about replacing legacy applications using OutSystems.*

Image: Marion Golsteijn

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Manage an assortment of  10000+ products, supplying 50+ stores and handling millions of customers through one portal with native Android? You can in OutSystems!

Rebuilding a central application for inventory management

How Intratuin grows and flourishes again with OutSystems

The best stories are those with multiple layers. This business case even has three. It started with performing a refactoring of a time entry application for Schwarz - the holding of among others Lidl and Kaufland – followed by mentoring their OutSystems team by a mentor from LINKIT, who in his turn has no problem to empathise with them. Thus, a story in three layers that is also a perfect showcase of the advantage(s) of having a mentor for an inexperienced OutSystems team.  

### How it all started

Jimmy Iliohan, Solution Advisor at LINKIT explains where it all started: “For any company, a Time Entry application is tremendously vital. At Schwarz this app was built by their own OutSystems developers. However, because they didn’t have all the necessary OutSystems skills by then, it wasn’t working at speed and consisted of several flaws. To put this in scale. The Time Entry application at Schwarz is used daily by up to 500.000 employees worldwide to report their working hours, which means there is a lot of data to be processed.

### Refactoring 

Jimmy continues: “To fix this Schwarz reached out to LINKIT to see if the app could be repaired. However, when OutSystems engineer Carlos Conde did his review he concluded that a full refactoring (rebuilding) would take less time and therefore would be cheaper. This gave a very nice result. Instead of a slow working app with malfunctioning features, Schwarz’ Time Entry application is now fast and much more user friendly.”

The next step after the refactoring was solving the issue that caused the problem in the first place: the lack of experience from Schwarz’ two junior OutSystems developers. Especially for this, LINKIT has been offering a mentoring service for years. 

### Mentoring explained

Barend Coetzer, who has been mentoring Schwarz since April, explains the concept. “Together we run biweekly sprints. This means we plan ahead for two weeks, we work on the set tasks and we evaluate what went well and what didn’t. Sometimes we meet more often when there are tricky problems that directly need a solution. In that case I’m like a trusted advisor about the technical possibilities.”

“The idea behind this concept is for them to do it themselves as much as possible. During your tasks you encounter a problem, you try to solve it yourselves and you only keep questions about the stuff you really can’t work out yourself. This makes the sessions very effective.”

### Solving problems with different tools 

Not all the problems the two OutSystems developers encounter are technical. Barend: “Outsystems certifications maybe cover 20 percent of what you can learn. What it doesn’t do is teaching a good way of working, which is the other 80 percent. It’s like you’re just being taught how to use a hammer. That’s nice, but it means you solve every problem with just that hammer, while there are often many other ways of dealing with it. Each leading to a different outcome. Mentoring service is a way of filling  your toolbox, where you learn how to solve problems with the best tool possible.” 

“And especially for OutSystems this is really important,” Barend explains. “Because you mainly use logic, you may think it's quick and easy, but you can screw up just as quickly. It’s possible to set up the whole architecture in a day. And to build an app on top of it in another one. But you are really screwed if it wasn’t built well at the start, because it’s difficult to change the whole application afterwards (and that’s if you already know where it went wrong).” 

### The mistakes you don’t see

Barend: “To explain this further: developing in OutSystems consists a lot of linear thinking, like chess. Errors often occur when you don’t know you are making one, and that’s the biggest issue. What you get is a bad result. And finding that specific error yourself requires a lot of going back and forward. Time you often don’t have. It goes way faster if you can consult someone with more experience who directly sees where you’ve been going wrong, explains the issue and teaches you how to avoid this in the future.” 

### A recognizable challenge

This is also where Barend’s work as a mentor collides with his own story and background. “I’m from South Africa which is also where I first started working with OutSystems. I enrolled in it from a business role when my company was looking for someone who had affinity with it. After a while, I became the highest certified OutSystems developer in my company, while I was still a junior. This was possible because in South Africa there are only a few OutSystems developers. For me this was quite a struggle. You are responsible for building an application and solving problems you have no clue of how to solve them, but you make it work. I would love to have had a mentor back then who I could ask for advice on more of the Outsystems intricacies.”

“At some point I concluded that if I wanted to grow further in my career as an OutSystems developer, I had to leave my home country. I joined LINKIT, moved to The Netherlands and now I’m exactly doing this very role as a mentor. It’s ironic, but it also helps me to empathise with the developers at Schwarz I’m mentoring. It’s like looking in the mirror and I know exactly what difference it makes for both them and the company.” 

### Further improvements 

Barend will continue mentoring Schwarz to at least the end of the year. The main challenge Barend and Schwarz’ developers are working on is to improve the Time Entry application even more. Barend: “Carlos did a good job of getting the app trimmed down and refactored, but when we continued building on it we saw plenty of room for improvement. To name a few; it was possible to book hours outside of employees own cost centre and people could book hours ahead in the future. This gave room for all kinds of errors and made accurate reporting a challenge.”

Barend continues: “In July we were able to deliver our improvements into production. With these changes in, project managers started to test the upgraded Time Entry app. And because we made quite some changes, they had a couple of questions. In those times I can reassure them that this is working correctly, but with a different approach. And I’m able to explain how. It proves once again that mentoring is not only very beneficial for the developers, but also for the company as a whole.”

### “LINKIT helps our employees grow”

At Schwarz they agree with Barend. "We are very satisfied with LINKITSYSTEMS as a partner for the implementation," says Zdenek Prochazka, Head of Rapid Application Development at Schwarz in a comment. "Our cooperation is characterized by openness and transparency. The feeling that we are getting support is of great value. And this is regardless of whether the question belongs to the original project. LINKIT helps our employees to improve themselves, instead of simply taking all our worries off."

*Do you want to know more about mentoring? Or do you need a mentor for your OutSystems team? Get in touch with one of our experts for more information.*



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Refactoring of a time entry application and mentoring of Schwarz’ OutSystems engineers

Looking in the mirror at a mentoring job for Schwarz

Despite the fact that people are reading less, the book market continues to perform rather well. This is partly due to the fact that the online choice is enormous and you have unique possibilities via a webshop to "link" people to a book. For online book and media seller BookSpot, both aspects, choice and personalization are therefore extremely important. To bring these aspects back even better, the company decided to redevelop the front end of its e-platform to a large extent with the help of LINKIT.

### The challenge
The idea of the platform economy is that scale leads the pack. The larger the offer, the better. It was therefore extremely important for BookSpot to also offer their large, decades-old catalogue of media online. This would significantly increase the offer on the webshop. From having books only they now offer music, games and movies.

To support the strong growth of BookSpot, the new platform, which runs on Intershop, also had to become more user-friendly, scalable and easier to manage.
What made the assignment challenging was that the legacy platform had to keep managed and continue operating  while the new one was being built.

### The solution:
JavaScript developer André Teixara was one of the LINKIT experts who contributed to this assignment. In total, more than 25 specialists worked on the new BookSpot.

The first phase of the process that he started with was disconnecting the front-end application from e-commerce platform Intershop. This created more flexibility and it was easier to manage the old application.

### Expansion of capacity
At the same time, another team went to work on the new front end as well as upgrading Intershop. By working in parallel, visitors were still able to place orders on the old site, while the APIs were expanded and adapted to new needs. The capacity of the new platform, plus the associated pipelines, has also been adjusted so that the new app can handle millions of requests per day. In this way it was ensured that the platform can grow with the success of BookSpot.

### Stack modules
The main stack used was ReactJS. With this stacking of modules, which work according to the principle "first in first out", it is possible to deliver them quickly and clearly, while they are also easy to manage. In addition, Webpack was used to optimize the code and content and to deliver it quickly.

Finally, André and his team have minimized the number of external links. Those who remained are only called if anything is required.

### Satisfied with the result
Converting a sailing ship was an interesting challenge for André. He is very satisfied with the parallel working method and the commitment of the different teams. By working Agile it was possible to keep the communication lines short and clear. Feedback could also be processed so quickly. The new tech stack is now optimally deployed, making the project more than successful.

### Ready for the future
It was a special moment for both BookSpot and the developers when the new front-end was switched for the new one, all at the touch of a button. Not only is their range of entertainment offerings now much greater, the user-friendliness has also improved considerably, especially in the field of search, ordering, payment and delivery. Now, BookSpot is ready for the future. And it may come sooner than expected. There is now a whole waiting list of new features ready for development that will make ordering a book or a movie even easier and more fun.

*Do you want to know what LINKIT can mean for your webshop or e-commerce? Please contact one of our experts for more information. Or read our [whitepaper](https://www.linkit.nl/en/cases/More-entertainment-with-the-new-BookSpot-webshop?whitepaper=open) about the importance of excellent (mobile) web performance.*


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Personalization & choice is what makes Bookspot great. To continue supporting this, Andre Teixera's team build a new platform with ReactJS as the main stack.

Expanding e-commerce capacity

More entertainment with the new BookSpot webshop

Just as consumers buy their products online, supermarkets also have to buy their products or request new articles for their assortment from a distance. For many this is done centrally. The chain is organized in such a way that every country orders their products at the supermarket headquarters. Mainly done by sending emails or filing request forms. This takes a lot of time and money and is also prone to mistakes. 

A German supermarket holding recently asked LINKIT to look into this and to build a PoC (Proof of Concept) to validate a better way of requesting new products to be added to the product range. With a simple web app it is possible to directly order products from a catalogue, with most of the requested data automatically filled in. Doing so, every supermarket purchaser can choose from all possible products the chain has to offer. A supermarket for the supermarket.

### Saving time and effort

Previously, processing numerous requests from all over the world was a full-time job for ten to 15 people at the supermarket’s office. In total, ten to twelve fields have to be filled in before a single request can be carried out. Next to this, when everything is requested by mail or standalone forms, there is a significant chance of missing vital information. 

At some point, two managers came with a proposal to innovate this process and make life easier for everyone. LINKIT got the assignment to build a PoC of this app in low code. The purpose? To verify if an app would really be the simple solution the managers had in mind and if low code is the go-to solution.

### The beginning of a PoC

Building a PoC is not just a technical challenge, explains LINKIT’s Solution Advisor Jimmy Iliohan. He was closely involved in this project. “It is also a challenge to make the right selection of functionalities to be implemented. Building a PoC only requires a short amount of time, ten days, in which we need to prove the concept. This means we need to focus on one or two of the core functionalities and leave out everything else. To figure this out we kicked off the PoC with a design workshop, together with the product owners from the supermarket chain.”

“To distinguish the nice from the necessary we divided all functionalities (or user stories) into categories”, Jimmy adds. “Those which were easy to implement and would have the greatest impact on the application were our main focus. Next to this, there were some criteria we had to decide upon: the minimum requirements we had to build to be able to confirm success. They also have to be included of course.”

### Adapting to reality

The workshop led to a different outcome compared to our starting point. Jimmy explains: “Originally the idea was to build an Instagram like catalogue where you could not just order products, but also swipe through them and like them. For the PoC this was way too fancy. Therefore, we would focus on just the ordering mechanism eventually.”

### Developing a solution in low-code

LINKIT’s OutSystems developer, Abeer El Assal, was also involved during the whole process. “Using low code for a PoC is a smart choice,” she says. “Unlike any other technology available, low code makes it possible to create an app amazingly fast. This is because it works with ready-made pieces of code you can drag and drop, instead of having to write everything from scratch. By pulling everything in the right logical order you can come up with a fast model to test the main functionalities. Stakeholders from the supermarket helped by providing some mock-ups for the design we could use as a start.” 

### Progressive Web Apps as an alternative

For Abeer, this made it easy to work. “We build the app as a Progressive Web App. Unlike a normal (native) app, you don’t download a PWA on your phone. It functions as a website on your browser, but with the extra functionality that you can add it as a direct link on your phone. It appears on your screen just like any normal app.” 

“That doesn’t mean it's simple to build,” she continues. “PWA’s have their own perks. One of them we noticed when we wanted to include push notifications. For example, when you have filed a request and got an approval or denial. For Android, we could work this out, but not for IOS. They have made it impossible for a PWA to send any messages directly into their system, so we had to find a workaround. Eventually we chose to send SMS-messages instead, which also does the trick.”

### The result 

After fifteen days the PoC was finished. A little late one might think, but LINKIT decided to extend the ten days themselves to deliver more value. The next step was the final review in which the product owners give feedback on the result. For Jimmy this was one of the more exciting moments of building a PoC. “Luckily, we got particularly good feedback.”

### What happens after a successful Proof of Concept?

The main reason to carry out a PoC is obviously to see if there is Proof for the Concept. This will decide what will happen next. According to Jimmy there are three possible scenarios: “It works and we will expand the PoC into a MVP, a Minimum Viable Product. Or, nr. 2, it doesn’t work, but we think we can make it work. Or, nr. 3, it completely fails and we stop working on the PoC.”

Jimmy continues: “Often a PoC is a success, but sometimes it doesn’t. That doesn’t mean you have thrown away your investment. Especially for bigger projects and IT investments it is already worthwhile if only one out of ten PoC’s is successful. It is a great way to explore new innovational concepts against limited investments. And to assure more business for your company.”  

*Are you also interested in building a PoC for one of your innovational concepts? We can help! Get in touch with one of our experts for more information.*


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Executing a Proof of Concept for an app to easily request new products

Building a supermarket for supermarkets in low code

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