That was the reality at Hapert Trailers. The forward-thinking brand — recognizable by the bull in its logo and spotted on trailers across Europe — sells exclusively through professional dealers. Almost every trailer is unique: built from dozens of specifications that need to flow correctly through the chain. When that fails, you sometimes literally build the wrong trailer.
Fragmented IT and manual work
Before the transformation, Hapert worked with capable applications, including Elfsquad as the product configurator and Ridder IQ as the ERP system. The challenge lay in the connection between these systems. Because the applications were not optimally integrated, generating quotes, submitting orders, and providing service required a significant amount of manual effort.
The result: time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to scale.
“In the past, we sometimes built the wrong trailers because the order wasn’t right under the hood. The entire order processing simply wasn’t running smoothly.”
– Daan Verhagen, Head of Marketing & Communications at Hapert
Daan Verhagen
Hapert needed one integrated platform that would hide the complexity from the user and structurally eliminate errors in the chain.
Together with Welisa, Hapert built a central dealer portal where configurations, quotes, and orders come together — directly connected to the factory.
- One central dealer portal: for complex configurations, B2B e-commerce, and support.
- Automated order flow: error-free processing of quotes directly to the factory (Ridder IQ).
- Shorter sales cycles: dealers generate accurate PDF quotes at the click of a button.
- Full peace of mind: ownership of a complex landscape of Salesforce, Elfsquad, and ERP.
Building a central platform together
Welisa joined at a late stage in a broader, ongoing transformation at Hapert. This was not a greenfield project: the new platform had to be built on a partly existing IT infrastructure, under significant time pressure, with multiple vendors running in parallel. Together with Hapert, we took on the technical lead.
“We are an SME and a trailer manufacturer. We work with tools in our hands, not behind a keyboard. The specific IT expertise Welisa brought was absolutely necessary to streamline this complex IT landscape. Without a partner like Welisa, we would not have pulled this off.”
– Daan Verhagen
By breaking the project into manageable phases with fixed decision points (stagegates), Hapert maintained continuous control over planning and budget.
Transformations on existing infrastructure rarely go without setbacks — and they came. During the go-live, the factory nearly ground to a halt due to data limits.
“It was extremely stressful. We went through a genuinely difficult phase. But the intent was always to find a way through together. Both sides looked in the mirror, drew a line under the setbacks, and came out stronger. We had Welisa’s full support.”
– Daan Verhagen
The solution
- Dealer portal & B2B webshop (Experience Cloud): one secured environment with Single Sign-On. Dealers place parts orders, set delivery addresses, and access invoices and order history — without involving the back office.
- Visual configurator (Elfsquad): available directly within the portal. Dealers configure custom trailers without leaving their workspace.
- Automated quotes: one click generates an accurate PDF quote with the correct dealer pricing.
- Integration with Ridder IQ: automatic synchronization of accounts, products, web orders, and product specifications between Salesforce and the ERP. Once a quote is approved, it flows digitally to production (Quote-to-Order) — including all required specifications.
- Service & Support (Service Cloud): dealers log tickets that are directly linked to orders or chassis numbers. Common questions are handled via a central knowledge base.
Ready for what’s next
The error risk in the order flow has been removed from the process. Dealers configure faster, generate accurate quotes without manual effort, and track support requests in real time.
“The error risk from order creation through to production has been completely eliminated. Now the right items and quantities are always recorded correctly.”
– Daan Verhagen
With this foundation in place, Hapert has full control over the supply chain and the flexibility to add new markets or dealer services without rebuilding the system from scratch.
Is your dealer network’s order flow still running through too many manual handoffs?
Let’s map out where the error margin sits and what a focused architecture audit can deliver.
