ZKL: Redesign of the website for a global bearing manufacturer

The official slap followed a joint workshop

The initial exploration and gathering of all ideas, wishes, and visions for the new presentation website took place in the form of an entry analysis. It consisted of 80% joint solutions for functionalities: integration, partner zones, and a calculation module. 

From now on, we knew that we would process the complete design of the website, including a new structure and copywriting, deploy the website on the Kentico Xperience content management system, integrate all orders, inventory, and prices into the ERP SAP, build a partner zone, and design the connection and visualization of the calculation module. All of this, of course, in several language versions. It was quite a bit of work, so we dove right in.

Calculation module

The key part that facilitates work for people at ZKL and saves time for customers when placing orders is the calculation module. It is available on the website to anyone and functions as a calculator for selecting the correct type of bearing. The calculation module we implemented on the ZKL.cz website communicates with the Kentico content management system via API. 

Just:

• select a bearing (type, dimensions, or designation)
• choose possible calculations available for the selected bearing
• enter input parameters for the selected calculations

The result is accurate calculations that recommend a suitable bearing. You can also download everything in a PDF file.

Partner Zone

The second and equally important section of the website is the partner zone for communication with business partners – both domestic and international distribution network of ZKL. The client needed a space that would be accessible only to people from the B2B segment. This way, they can easily purchase, record orders, utilize the overview of stock inventory to place new orders, and have access to downloadable documents.

However, ZKL's biggest concern was that they would not have to maintain two or more databases of contacts and content, which would not only be confusing but also very time-consuming to manage. Their worries were unnecessary, as we have extensive experience in creating partner zones for B2B clients. Therefore, we elegantly solved this by connecting the website with ERP SAP. All information is thus updated in real-time, and the marketing or sales department at ZKL sees everything together in one place.

It is definitely worth mentioning the option to choose access (e.g., salesperson, administrator). Based on this key, specific users can have certain content made available to them, or conversely, they may not have access to it.

Graphics and Copywriting 

A functional website must contain a logical structure, clearly planned conversion paths, a unified page layout, and precisely placed elements (such as buttons). Our UX designer took care of all this, first creating a wired model of the website and later a clickable prototype. We carefully reviewed everything with the client and discussed it regularly. Once we received the green light, the web designer could start creating the visual design of the entire website based on this model, both for desktop and mobile display.

Simultaneously with the designer's work, work on the texts was also underway. The original texts were outdated and spoke in a very technical language to the readers. Additionally, the materials were provided by the entire team at ZKL, so it was necessary to convert everything into a unified style. We therefore composed headings, leads, and entire paragraphs to capture the visitors' attention, guide them in the right direction, and make reading enjoyable.