Digital growth and scalable, future-proof services and systems are some of the challenges Hultafors Group is facing. And as a partner for feasibility study and parts of the project, they have chosen CoreChange.

Hultafors Group is a profitable global company offering a unique portfolio of 17 premium brands and sales worldwide. Brands like Hellberg Safety for head protection, Hultafors for hand tools, Fristads and Snickers Workwear for workwear, Solid Gear for work shoes, and W.steps for ladders, have offices in multiple markets in Europe and North America. Hultafors Group is owned by Investment AB Latour.

Hultafors Group

In 2022, when Hultafors Group approached CoreChange, they were embarking on a digital growth journey. One of the questions was whether existing platforms, technical capabilities, and structures would support such growth, or if significant investments and changes were needed.

To conduct a current state analysis, Hultafors Group chose CoreChange as a partner for the Digital Assessment, marking the beginning of the company's digital growth journey. The comprehensive assessment focused on areas such as the B2B portal and the needs for DAM, PIM, and PLM.

Hultafors Group's challenges are typical for large and complex B2B companies

1. Centralized vs decentralized

Hultafors Group consists of 17 brands divided into their own wholly-owned subsidiaries, where their needs are dispersed across local markets and linked to the individual brand's product development and sales requirements. In 2022, a strategic decision was made where Hultafors Group chose to move towards a more centralized IT structure, largely because they saw potential for development with a digital transformation journey at the forefront. They saw an opportunity in consolidating the brands into common platforms and systems to harness synergies and find added value. This was an opportunity to leverage the full potential of the group and thus create an even stronger Hultafors Group.

2. Inflexible technical solutions with costly maintenance

With a traditional B2B platform built as a monolith and developed for more than 10 years, Hultafors Group is hardly unique. This platform, like others, has evolved over time, and stakeholders throughout the business have developed increasingly complex requirements and company-specific desires. As the demands have grown and the environment has become more complex, the platforms have started to feel like development takes longer and costs more.

When have we outgrown our current solutions and platforms? How can we adapt to better meet the future and the digital growth journey ahead? What possible systems and paths forward exist? And which ones give us the best conditions for our digital growth, where we achieve the fastest time to market? And what will then be required of the organization throughout Hultafors Group, both from IT and all operations? These are just some of the questions that became increasingly clear to Hultafors Group's management.

3. Enabling digital growth

As a strong product development company with extensive experience, Hultafors Group is a traditional and strong brand-building and product development company with a long history. The organization exhibits a strong sense of professional pride, but its digital maturity is low, largely due to a rapid pace of expansion with numerous acquisitions of companies that have not yet been fully integrated into established group standards and systems. A digital growth journey involving the implementation of future-proof systems is a key success factor in Hultafors Group's growth journey.