Philipp Steidler-Senior Full-Stack Engineer | Certified Data Scientist (XDI) | Digital Strategist

• Digital system made up of special software and hardware components. The overall system replaces the traditional process with routing slips and handwritten notes and enables more efficient order intake. Orders and work steps for the violin maker’s projects can now be recorded, edited, and logged in real time directly on the workshop’s touchscreen PC, via mobile phone, or on the desktop. Customers are thus brought more transparently into the work on their instruments and can track the status and progress of their instrument via their customer account.

Tech stack: next.js, React, Flutter, Dart, Raspberry, Linux, Directus

• Dynamic, modern company website (headless CMS) with online appointment booking

Tech stack: next.js, node.js, React, SCSS, Rest API, Directus

• An AI assistant that independently handles the phone service for my company’s mobile and landline numbers. The assistant holds a smooth, confident conversation and responds to callers’ requests in a charming and flexible way.

• Challenge: For the end-customer portal of the network for solar installers, an easy-to-use digital advisor, online calculator, and comparison tool was needed. On the website, users should be able to quickly and easily estimate their energy needs, as well as the potential for cost and energy savings, and clearly compare the profitability of different individual, suitable scenarios. The tool should also serve as a funnel system to guide prospects from their initial research to a successful purchase and then to the fully installed system. The leads should be provided to the accredited solar installers in the network through the automated wimada24 system based on the prospect's region.
• Action: Defined the requirements, planned and architected the software, structured the processes, and prepared and modeled the data to create a stable and high-performance base for the calculator. Developed the user flow and layout. Programmed the tool and the required interfaces.
• Result: Through this tool, photovoltaic prospects could be successfully guided from their first visit on the online platform to their successfully installed photovoltaic system - in record time, with excellent customer service and satisfied customers.

Tech stack: TypeScript, PHP, SCSS, REST API, GitLab, Bitrix24

• Wimada 24 GmbH was a startup company that aimed to become the network for solar installers in the DACH region. In addition to a strong buying and sales community, its goal was to provide its members with software that would revolutionize the project workflows of solar installers through state-of-the-art process automation, enabling the highest efficiency with short project lead times.
• Planned, developed, and documented software projects for process digitalization
• UX/UI design and creation of the company's corporate identity system

• Challenge: The new innovative possibilities of digitized direct sales processes also created the need for a tool for administrative staff that would allow sales staff to be supported via direct chats across teams. Problem solving and support should be possible even for new administrative employees through detailed, easy-to-understand action flows with automated solution suggestions for problem cases, enabling effective, confident support for sellers and team leads. In addition, some administrative tasks in direct sales were to be moved into the new system in order to enable more intuitive and efficient work than was possible with the existing complex enterprise software for direct sales.
• Action: Development of a Laravel application as a back office for the administrative staff of direct sales.
• Result: Through this system, direct sales received a tool that significantly improved the overview and working methods of the administrative staff, optimized communication with sellers and team leads, and enabled more efficient processes.

Tech-Stack: PHP, Laravel, React, REST API, SCSS, Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Teams, myFactory

• Challenge: The time tracking system originally used in the company had standard capture devices. Employees with extended licenses could also record their working and break times via a complicated app from the manufacturer. The license costs for the individual devices and app accounts were extremely high. However, the time tracking system also had an API interface that could be used at low cost.
• Solution: Custom low-cost time tracking terminals in the Karls-style look were developed and produced in small series. Employees received lower-cost employee cards with which they could record working hours efficiently and intuitively. The system also had features to minimize incorrect entries (such as duplicate bookings or wrong statuses). In addition, it could also effectively track times for employees who were used cross-over between the different systems of the agricultural areas and the experience village areas. For protection against faults and tampering attempts, the terminals also had offline functionality, among other things, and could be managed, controlled, and updated via a central device management system.

Tech-Stack: Raspberry Pi, Python, React, Laravel, SCSS, TypeScript, REST API, Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Teams, myFactory

• Challenge: Karls regularly runs various prize draws with different game types; there are also online games as well as games on site. There are also both "ongoing prize draws" and prize draws over a fixed period of time. Some prize draws are initiated very spontaneously by management. There are different numbers and types of prizes, and there can be one or even several winners with different prizes.
• Core functions: various prize draw types (types scalable at any time), planning, creation, and management of the prizes, participant management, prize management, automated solution verification, automated winner selection, winner notification with delivery of electronic prizes (e.g. vouchers), overview of prize redemption, GDPR compliance, integration as a microservice and the overall system (usable on the web, in the app), prize draws were also run directly via QR code at local attractions (e.g. waiting area of the KK roller coaster in Elstal)

Tech-Stack: UniteCMS, PHP, Vue.js, GraphQL, CSS, REST API

• In the experience villages, visitors should be able to use free Wi-Fi if they were already subscribers to the Karls newsletter or subscribed before logging in. To provide a stable, GDPR-compliant solution, various Cisco Meraki functions and the Karls microservice had to be linked and extended through a custom software solution to make the desired process possible. Depending on their status, customers were shown a dynamic splash page with the individual functions before actually logging into the Wi-Fi.

Tech stack: Cisco Meraki, PHP, SCSS, REST API, Bitbucket, CleverReach

• Initial situation: Karls is very complex and also has several "experience villages" as locations. For content editors, it became increasingly difficult to produce, track, and keep all content up to date. Classic CMS systems and Excel-based silo solutions at the locations and in the departments made reliable and smooth work increasingly impossible.
• Action: Migration of the editorial base, as well as some existing "silo solutions," to the headless system UniteCMS. Editors can now create and manage content instinctively, efficiently, and in a structured way. Duplicate data and content are no longer necessary. The content is automatically available and up to date across all channels (e.g. website, app, hotel TV)

Tech stack: UniteCMS, PHP, Vue.js, GraphQL, SCSS, Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Teams

• Initial situation: At Karls, several advertising material distributors were employed, each of whom had to independently and responsibly cover larger areas with many different advertising partners. Their way of working was very individual and took place without any documentation.
• Project goal: As the company grew, the marketing department increasingly needed an overview of the advertising materials in circulation, the way the distributors worked, and the quality of their work. Efficient route planning for distribution tours as well as the management and “ordering” of advertising materials were to be included. Offline functionality was also important. Data protection compliance was naturally the highest priority in this project as well.
• Action: Planning, architecture, and implementation of an Android app solution with a REST API connection to Aktivmarketing software.

Tech-Stack: React, Ionic, TypeScript, SCSS, GitLab

• Initial situation: Karls recognized the potential of fence advertising very early on. (Private) advertising partners were given the opportunity by Karls, in exchange for a fee, to attach advertising banners to fences on properties with good street exposure. Due to the high demand and number of banners, some of which were issued decentralised without proper documentation, a centralised, clear solution had to be created to automate the processes around issuing and renewing the banners. In addition, this software also needed to allow the marketing team to centrally plan and manage advertising materials and the routes of the advertising material distributors.
• Core functions: Online booking via Karls.de, process automation, status tracking (including authority applications), dynamic overview map of all banners and applications (Google Maps), validity and contract management (e.g. limited contract terms), planning of distribution tours, management of different advertising materials

Tech-Stack: PHP, Symfony, Twig, SCSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Bitbucket, Jira, Teams

• Migration and redesign of an existing Contao website to the new Karls microservice system & headless CMS as the basis, as well as a flexible, dynamic in-house solution in the frontend. The later development and redesign of the frontend was assigned to an external service provider after 2019.

Tech-Stack: php, twig, symphony, jQuery, javascript, vue.js, scss, GitLab, REST-API, GraphQL

• Development of various company websites and online shops

Tech stack: php, jQuery, javascript, Ajax, css, Wordpress, Magento, Subversion (SVN), Git

• Strategic IT and marketing consulting for small businesses
• Business and product photography

• Online shops, CMS websites, server-client software

Tech stack: php, asp, jQuery, javascript, Ajax, css, XT-Commerce, Magento, Wordpress

• Online configurators

Tech stack: php, jQuery, flash, flex, Actionscript, javascript, Ajax, css

• Tourism info terminals for municipalities

Tech stack: php, jQuery, javascript, Ajax, css, Linux, Shell

• 360° panorama software / virtual tours

Tech stack: Java, Java Applet, css, javascript, php

• 4th Dimension business applications

Tech stack: 4th-Dimension, 4D, REST API