About LeaseWeb

LeaseWeb manages more than 65,000 physical servers and has been providing IT infrastructure solutions for mission-critical websites, internet applications, email servers, security, and storage services since 1997. The company operates ten data centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia, all connected to an extensive global network with a total capacity of over 5.5 Tbps.

 

LeaseWeb Chooses SAP and Acorel

Displaying the correct prices and inventory information online can be a challenge for many companies, especially with a dynamic pricing model. For Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider LeaseWeb, this was no different. In collaboration with SAP and Acorel, LeaseWeb revamped its digital platform to offer customers around the world a better online experience.

 

"We provide dedicated servers and secure, reliable cloud solutions," says Svenja de Vos, CTO of LeaseWeb Global. The provider operates from data centers in Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. Customers also have access to one of the world's largest and most advanced networks.

 

The Dutch company offers its services based on a dynamic pricing model, similar to how airlines price their seats. "The more seats available, the lower the price," explains De Vos. However, in LeaseWeb's case, the actual price for a specific customer was not always visible on the website. "How convenient would it be if you could visit a website and immediately see how many servers you can order and their individual costs?"

 

However, the company doesn't only use dynamic pricing. Sometimes price agreements are made with large customers that had to be manually tracked. This was a time-consuming task for sales and administration. "We want to grow as a company, but not necessarily in terms of the number of colleagues. We want to know everyone personally," De Vos explains. "To achieve that, you need to make it easier for teams and utilize the right tools."

 

Enhancing Customer Experience

"Our dream was to improve the customer experience," De Vos continues. The website needed to be more user-friendly, allowing customers to easily order and upgrade products online themselves. "We wanted 80% of our customers to place new orders via the online platform and reduce the number of inquiries to customer service. When you order a server on the website, it should be available within an hour, whether it's in Australia or the Netherlands. The inventory needed to be integrated globally."

 

Additionally, LeaseWeb wanted to significantly simplify and expedite its sales process. "It should be possible to prepare a quote in less than ten minutes," De Vos insists. Pricing needed to be more consistent, as product information for sales didn't always match what was shown on the website. This led to manual corrections to address inconsistencies.

 

Flight Plan Implementation

To realize the dream, LeaseWeb implemented SAP Commerce Cloud, along with SAP Configure, Price, and Quote (SAP CPQ) and SAP Central Process Scheduler (SAP CPS). "We opted for a 'best of suite' approach," De Vos explains. "LeaseWeb was already using SAP ERP, so the new SAP solutions aligned with the logic we already had. The products seamlessly integrated with our existing systems."

 

The implementation was done like a flight, in line with LeaseWeb's history. De Vos states, "Just as a pilot prepares an international flight plan, we mapped out our trajectory. You set your destination and plot your course from A to B. Of course, for this journey, we also needed 'pilots.' SAP assisted us in implementing SAP CPQ, and Acorel assisted with SAP Commerce Cloud."

 

"We decided on a phased approach," adds LeaseWeb's CTO. "We started with a blueprint: this way, we at least knew what we wanted, given the many opinions within a company. We allocated eight months for that blueprint, involving 41 workshops and three proof of concepts."

 

Navigating Turbulence

However, there was significant turbulence during the flight. "The eight months for the blueprint turned into one and a half years," De Vos reveals. "And the number of workshops increased from 41 to 93. It's incredible how much comes your way once you start blueprinting."

 

"It was a major project, not only in terms of systems but also concerning the change process within LeaseWeb. That's quite a challenge for a company of seven hundred people," adds Joost Goudriaan, account manager at Acorel. "It's a challenge that comes on top of daily tasks because the business continues as usual."

 

However, according to De Vos, the setbacks had a silver lining: they fostered a 'true partnership.' Everyone was focused on successfully completing the project. "The real turning point was the go-live in the first country. We stayed in the office late into the night with enough food to keep our energy up. When everything turned out to be working, something shifts within a team. These are the moments that make a difference. The problem with success is that it's addictive. You need to quickly achieve new successes to keep people motivated."

 

Successfully Completing the Project

Despite the turbulence, the first phase of the project has been successfully completed: LeaseWeb is live with the new SAP solutions in all countries. Customers can now log in, view their own products, and see the prices directly, including any discounts based on inventory. "We have fully integrated that into the website," De Vos states. "And the displayed prices are the same worldwide."

 

Moreover, the sales process has become much more efficient. "Our sales team can now focus on larger customers, while smaller customers handle everything through the website. We're also seeing more traffic to the website and an upward trend in online orders," De Vos concludes.

 

"We have already added a lot of functionality, but we are still in the stabilization phase," De Vos concludes. "I believe that we will truly see the benefits in a year. And then we will say: this is the best thing we've ever done."