Storyblok as a headless CMS solution for BayWa r.e. AG

Our responsibilities

Development, support, hosting, training, content, consulting, conception, multilingualism, system architecture, project management, agile working, headless

Challenge

BayWa r.e. faced a complex digital challenge: its outdated TYPO3-based website was no longer able to meet the growing demands of this globally active company. The customer approached us with the ambitious goal of fundamentally rethinking its entire web strategy and placing it on a completely new, internationally scalable footing.

The central challenge lay in the complexity of the global corporate structure: BayWa r.e. needed a multi-layered system that could reflect both the corporate presence of the parent company and the specific requirements of the various country branches. Each region had different market requirements, local characteristics and specific target group approaches, which had to be implemented via tailor-made content and localised communication in numerous different languages.

The existing TYPO3 system proved to be too rigid for this multi-layered requirement structure. BayWa r.e. wanted a flexible, modular solution that would enable organic growth, facilitate content reuse between the various market presences and at the same time reduce maintenance costs.

In addition to the structural complexity, there were also extensive functional requirements: from special functions for customer consulting and complex contact systems to various third-party system connections such as DAM systems and translation tools. The company needed a solution that was both technically future-proof and optimally usable for an internationally distributed team of editors with varying degrees of experience.

Solution

To meet BayWa r.e.'s complex requirements, we developed an innovative, headless CMS solution based on Storyblok as the content management system and Nuxt as the front-end framework. This architecture enables maximum flexibility and scalability for BayWa r.e.'s international website.

At the heart of our solution was the development of a well-thought-out page concept that optimally maps both the parent company's pages and the various country branches. The implementation of the multilingual concept was particularly challenging: we created a system that enables both multilingual shared content between countries and country-specific content in local languages. This ensures maximum content efficiency while maintaining local relevance.

For international editorial work, we implemented a sophisticated user rights system and editorial workflows that correspond to the proven workspace function from TYPO3 – including automatic email notifications for approval processes. This solution enables teams worldwide to collaborate efficiently and in a structured manner.

The technical infrastructure is based on Cloudflare Worker with international distribution, automatic scaling and intelligent caching mechanisms. This guarantees optimal performance for users worldwide. For media management, we integrated the external DAM system AdmiralCloud, which allows editors to access images and videos directly, including the option to define image sections editorially in Storyblok.

The layout system offers a flexible grid layout with numerous specialised elements: from various text, image and teaser components to structural elements such as tabs and accordions to innovative interactive features. Particular highlights include the multi-level Solar Calculator, which enables complex calculations for solar systems, and Decision Tree elements for interactive consulting processes.

We developed tailor-made solutions for the various content areas: a blog system, international and local case studies with interactive gallery walls, a way to display events, and a media hub for journalists. The career section received seamless Workday integration with complex filter functions.

The intelligent contact system enables dynamic routing of enquiries based on editorially maintainable rules – depending on the topic and customer group, enquiries are automatically forwarded to the right contact person. A powerful Solr-based search with autocomplete functions and faceted filters rounds off the system.