The new “WMF CoffeeConnection” digitisation team accompanies every WMF customer on their personal journey into the future of digital hospitality. WMF Professional Coffee Machines offers comprehensive advice and support in three areas: the first area establishes transparency (by displaying data) on the activities of the connected coffee machines, while the second focuses on optimising business processes and accelerating data flows through IT integration. The third area concentrates on ways to expand the customer’s business and innovative business concepts and models requiring in-depth IT interaction – such as options for payment directly at the coffee machine, integrated customer loyalty programs , unmanned stores and minimarkets or robot cafés. Together, the components, functions and interfaces of the WMF coffee machines and the digital platform “WMF CoffeeConnect” form the technological basis for all customer concepts.

IT support and connectivity play a decisive role in the age of digital hospitality. The possibilities for companies to create commercial added value are virtually unlimited. WMF Professional Coffee Machines has created the digitisation team “WMF CoffeeConnection” to help decision-makers navigate the jungle of opportunities and implement effective solutions. At the core of the new consultation offering are WMF experts who put customer requirements in the focus. Their 360 degree perspective encompasses both the internal business viewpoint of the companies themselves and trends and influences from the standpoint of the consumer. “We try to meet each WMF customer’s individual requirements. The technical expertise of the steadily growing WMF digital team is very thorough,” says Benjamin Thurner, Vice President Digital at WMF Professional Coffee Machines.

The areas of the WMF CoffeeConnection
The WMF CoffeeConnection journey begins with “Gaining transparency”, providing excellent insights into sales performance machine operations and service messages. Once the user recognises the cost advantages which lie in networked and transparent business processes, the area “Optimising business” points the way forward to the next level. Here, for example, the WMF CoffeeConnection team offers advice on integrated accounting or pay-per-cup models, the integration into ERP systems or the possibilities of limited time offers and remote adjustment of prices and recipes. “Especially when we look at the shortage of skilled workers and labour, the digitisation of processes is crucial. On the one hand, this has to do with recurring work processes that have so far been done manually. On the other hand, it is about the automation of data flows. Company-relevant information is still managed in many places in separate data silos, and consolidating it takes a lot of time and money,“ says Benjamin Thurner, explaining the benefits in terms of efficiency and cost from the business viewpoint.

The third area, “Realising innovations” combines the commercial benefits of digitisation with an external perspective, that of modern customer experiences.
“An important driving force behind increasingly digitalised hospitality is customers’ increasing expectations with regard to product quality and the experience factor. The demand for digital touch points, mobile payment options and the convenient integration of customer loyalty programs as part of the customer journey are clear indications of this,“ Thurner continues. The third module therefore focuses on new business models with comprehensive IT integration, such as completely new self-service concepts in the area of unmanned stores and robot cafés, but also loyalty apps.

About WMF
WMF, which is short for Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, is a leading premium supplier of household products, professional coffee machines and hotel equipment. WMF stands for innovation based on tradition and impresses with development and design “Made in Germany“. Under the brand names WMF, Silit and Kaiser, the company offers products for preparation, cooking, food, beverages and baking for home use, while business customers, in particular from the restaurant and hotel industry, can choose from product lines for the preparation of coffee, the perfectly laid table and buffets under the brand names WMF, Schaerer, Curtis and Hepp. WMF products are available in more than 120 countries, and the company has over 6000 employees. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but also in the rest of Europe and worldwide, for example in China, WMF operates a total of around 350 own stores. The company was founded in Geislingen an der Steige in 1853 and became part of the French SEB Group at the end of 2016.
For more information, see www.wmf.com