Skantrae from Zevenaar has served the doors market in the Netherlands and Belgium for some 40 years. The company features an extremely wide range and operates through a network of dealers.

Innovative door manufacturer and supplier, Skantrae from Zevenaar, has become the market leader in their eld. They have now introduced Augmented Reality technologies to give customers the best possi- ble experience and to provide them with better advice. Skantrae worked closely with HSO partner, Recreate to implement the innovation.

Skantrae, the leading brand for pro- fessionals, carries an extensive range with a wide variety of doors and accessories. Its focus is on quality. The company is also a trendsetter, developing new door series in-house to ensure it always has a distinctive and up-to-date range. Customers and dealers have access to these products on the website, through desktop and mobile devices. All the information needed about doors is thus readily to hand. Now Skantrae has collaborated with technology partner Recreate to develop a tool bringing this static product informa- tion to life.

Virtual door in your living room

Since 2014 Recreate has worked on innovative and disruptive technology which is adapted closely to the customer’s own situation. Because perception plays an increasingly signi cant role, Recreate translates these techniques into Augmented and Virtual Reality. Skantrae, part of Deli Home, sought out the collaboration with Recreate with innovation in mind. “The result is a mobile Augmented Reality tool with which users can view more than 250 interior doors in their own living space,” explains Remco Koppenol, Manager Purchase & Marketing for Skantrae. “Users download the mobile app on their smartphones or tablets. Then they can make a door visible virtually in their own homes by using the device’s camera. That lets the dealer, or the potential customer see which door ts best in that interior.”

Customer experience

Augmented Reality is a technology which inter- connects reality and the virtual world. Augmented Reality means adding to reality. This lets a suppli-
er like Skantrae add an extra dimension to static product information. Koppenol: “The customer can see immediately how a door will t in his home, and that’s a unique experience. The customer experience is so good that he is more likely to view the pricelist on Skantrae’s website, or to get in touch with a local dealer.” That means Skantrae’s investment in its mobile app soon pays for itself. Three-quarters of the app users ultimately end up on the website. The issue is to then convert these ‘hot leads’.

Skantrae’s app is extremely easy to use. “And that’s how it needs to be,” con rms Remco Koppenol. “If the user has to spend lots of time looking for fea- tures or buttons, he backs out. In the app the user opens his camera and the relevant area is displayed. Then he chooses one of the interior doors from the handy menu and adds it to the space virtually and in 3D. A new reality appears on the screen: the existing space integrates the chosen door.” The user can swipe through the Skantrae range and decide which door, with which type of glass, ts best in his space. Then he chooses the details of the door like the colour, the door nish and a good impression of the nal result. This result can also be shared through e-mail and social media.

Paper brochures come to life

The app also offers a second option. Alongside the life-size Augmented Reality feature, the Skantrae app has the option of viewing various doors from the interior doors brochure in 3D. That’s done by sim- ply laying the brochure on the table and aiming the camera at a page with the app icon. This gives the user an even better impression of the door before he sees it in reality.

Skantrae is very clearly meeting a need with its mobile application. “We’re seeing customers being increasingly well informed and looking at the service from a range of suppliers. Rightly so, when it comes to lifestyle investments. With this mobile app and Augmented Reality we’re a step ahead of the compe- tition because the app user already has an impres- sion of Skantrae’s doors and knows which matches their interior best. That has made the next step, to the dealer, a whole lot smaller,” Koppenol believes.

E-Commerce

The app’s development is part of a trend. The ‘What’s Happening Online’ survey conducted by Ruigrok NetPanel last year revealed that 30% of all e-com- merce transactions now take place from a mobile device. And this share is growing. That’s largely because increasing numbers of webshops and websites are responsive and are thus suitable for all types of mobile screens. Trust in mobile applica- tions has also grown. Mobile payment has become the norm. So far, the Skantrae app isn’t yet linked
to a webshop. Customers, dealers and staff rst must become familiar with working this way. Most of all, an expert is always needed to determine the dimensions correctly. What is an option however, is to create a link to an ERP environment, to be able to present information immediately about stocks or delivery times. App developer Recreate has previ- ously developed smart applications which, in collab- oration with HSO, are linked to Microsoft Dynamics to ultimately give the customer a complete picture, providing him with all the information needed.