Storyblok as a headless CMS solution for BayWa r.e. AG
Your partner for the future of energy
BayWa r.e. is a leading global provider in the renewable energy sector, with branches in 34 countries and an annual turnover of around 5.8 billion euros (2023).
The company develops and operates wind and solar projects, offers comprehensive energy solutions for businesses and is one of the leading wholesalers in the photovoltaic sector. As part of BayWa AG, BayWa r.e. is actively driving forward the global energy transition.
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Challenge
BayWa r.e. faced a complex digital challenge: its TYPO3-based website, which had become outdated, was no longer able to meet the growing demands of the globally operating company. The client approached us with the ambitious aim of fundamentally rethinking its entire web strategy and placing it on a completely new, internationally scalable footing.
The key challenge lay in the complexity of the global corporate structure: BayWa r.e. required a multi-layered system capable of reflecting both the parent company’s corporate presence and the specific requirements of the various country branches. Each region had different market requirements, local characteristics and specific target audiences, which had to be addressed through bespoke content and localised communication in numerous different languages.
The existing TYPO3 system proved too rigid for this multi-layered set of requirements. BayWa r.e. sought a flexible, modular solution that would enable organic growth, facilitate the reuse of content across the various market presences and, at the same time, reduce maintenance efforts.
In addition to the structural complexity, there were also extensive functional requirements: ranging from specialised customer advisory functions and complex contact management systems to various third-party system integrations, such as DAM systems and translation tools. The company needed a solution that was both technically future-proof and optimally usable by an internationally distributed team of editors with varying levels of experience.
Initial situation
- TYPO3 installation as the core CMS for the previous website
- Multilingual, complex content structures with associated translation processes
- Established editorial workflows and user rights concepts (TYPO3 Workspaces) as a reference for new workflows
- Editorial teams with varying levels of experience in an international environment
- Cloudflare integration as a CDN, which should continue to be used
- Integrations with third-party systems (AdmiralCloud DAM, Evalanche Newsletter)
- Google Tag Manager implementation and tracking concepts
- Corporate design guidelines and visual concepts
Our implementation at a glance
- Development
- Content
- Project management
- Support
- Concept development
- Consultancy
- Hosting
- Multilingualism
- Agile working
- Training
- Headless
- System architecture
Solution for BayWa r.e.
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 represents both the parent company’s pages and those of the various country branches. Implementing the multilingual concept proved particularly challenging: we created a system that enables both multilingual content shared across countries and country-specific content in local languages. This ensures maximum content efficiency whilst maintaining local relevance.
For international editorial work, we implemented a sophisticated user permissions system and editorial workflows that mirror the tried-and-tested Workspace feature in 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, featuring 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, enabling editors to access images and videos directly, including the ability to define image croppings editorially within Storyblok.
The layout system offers a flexible grid layout with numerous specialised elements: ranging from various text, image and teaser components, through structural elements such as tabs and accordions, to innovative interactive features. Particular highlights include the multi-stage Solar Calculator, which enables complex calculations for solar installations, and decision tree elements for interactive advisory processes.
We developed bespoke solutions for the various content sections: a blog system, international and local case studies featuring, amongst other things, interactive gallery walls, a feature for showcasing events, and a media hub for journalists. The careers section was given seamless Workday integration with complex filter functions.
The intelligent contact system enables dynamic routing of enquiries based on rules that can be maintained by the editorial team – depending on the topic and customer group, enquiries are automatically forwarded to the appropriate contact persons. A powerful Solr-based search with autocomplete functions and faceted filters rounds off the system.
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Figures that pay off for you
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18
Languages available
163
Vue components
9000
Storyblok stories
Technical Details
The project involved implementing a modern, scalable system architecture based on Storyblok as a headless CMS. The API-first approach enables flexible, channel-independent content delivery. The front end was built using Nuxt (Vue.js) and NuxtUI, resulting in a high-performance and maintainable user interface. Cloudflare Workers are utilised in edge computing to ensure international distribution, low latency and automatic scaling. The complex search functionality, including faceting and job portal integration, was implemented using Apache Solr.
In addition, several third-party systems were integrated: AdmiralCloud for media management, Workday to link the careers section, Evalanche for newsletter management, and Crowdin for structured translation processes.
Key challenges included implementing complex multilingual logic with split and country-specific content; migrating existing TYPO3 workflows – including workspace logic and email notifications – to Storyblok; transferring complex content structures; and conducting comprehensive user acceptance testing and performance monitoring using sitespeed.io.
Customer testimonial
“We truly appreciate the strong collaboration with dkd across our many projects. Their dedication, technical know-how, and professionalism consistently shine through in the outcomes. What stands out to us is how carefully they listen to our needs and how solutions are implemented whenever feasible. Working with dkd gives us confidence and peace of mind, and we are glad to recommend their work. We’re excited about continuing this journey together on future projects.”
Good to know
dkd Internet Service GmbH has been working successfully with BayWa r.e. AG for several years, as can be seen from the testimonials on dkd.de. Together, dkd has undertaken extensive projects in the digital sphere for BayWa r.e. These include the technical management and further development of all TYPO3 websites, including performance optimisation of the hosting and ongoing support from a dedicated Agile team that works alongside the client in weekly sprints.
In other projects, dkd has supported BayWa r.e. in the transition to modern headless CMS technologies, implemented complex multilingual web platforms, and provided consultancy, development, hosting and ongoing support. The focus here was on agile working methods, system architecture, multilingual content strategies and technical optimisations. This long-standing collaboration demonstrates how dkd, as a technical partner, continuously contributes to the further development of BayWa r.e.’s digital presence and solves complex digital challenges in collaboration with the client.
Your contact person
Anika Heimann | Head of Sales & Customer Development
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