Through their innovative approach, stud farm Zangersheide has grown exponentially in the past decade. Worldwide more and more breeders find their way to Zangersheide. As a result, their old web platform started to fall short. So, there was a clear need for a new online platform together with a redesign. An added bonus is that the innovative character of Zangersheide is now better highlighted.

Zangersheide strives for perfection and so does its CEO Judy Ann Melchior. All the more reason for Tailr to enter the Lanaken office in early 2022 with an inspiration session based on three pillars: an efficient, safe and stable platform, better service and, of course, more turnover.

At that time the Zangersheide website consisted of 6 sub-sites, namely the studbook, the stallions, the Z-magazine, Auction, Breeders Auction, and the events. This large number of subsites was not user-friendly. For one thing, there was no navigation or search across the subsites. On the other hand, it was a tangle for users to know on which site to find which content.

After the extensive inspiration provided by Tailr, Tom Lemmens and Judy Ann Melchior decided to start a discovery process together. In the workshops we took a deep dive into the needs and requirements of Zangersheide and their customers. Then we made the translation to a comprehensive analysis that we quickly turned into reality.

It was a complex project. The proof? As many as 1,000 Jira tickets in the first phase of the project. Soon we had a comprehensive parking lot full of ideas to further optimize the site in phases two and three.

In addition to new features, there was a need for rebranding. Each subsite had its own styling. In addition, the design of print, ads and digital was not well matched. Together with sister company Us, the design process was developed for a new corporate identity and branding guidelines. As a result, the website now has a more premium look and feel, and the User Experience (UX) increased significantly.

Whoever says Zangersheide, undoubtedly thinks of their exclusive auctions. In 2013, their first Online Auction for foals took place. Now, 10 years later, they are the largest auction house in the show jumping sport in the world. From frozen embryos to approved stallions, at Zangersheide you know you're buying quality.

But popularity comes with a price. Due to the increased number of visitors worldwide, the chance of security risks and performance problems increased. Classically, we at Tailr choose Cloudfare for this type of website because this provider blocks multiple countries to prevent cyberattacks. Zangersheide, on the other hand, is a very international brand with buyers and providers all over the world.

For security purposes, we therefore chose a combination of Cloudfare, a strict registration process with the necessary password requirements and an extensive approval flow. To address performance issues, we performed - after the development of the auction platform - the necessary load tests.

Soon, load testing proved to be insufficient in a complex situation such as a live auction. In addition to a live stream, there is also a need for a separate screen for the auctioneer to monitor the (online) bids, as well as an API connection to provide the live stream with the correct bid amount in real time.

This technical feat attracts thousands of live visitors. To make it even more complex, it is possible to submit bids both online and physically. This leaves virtually no room for delays, but also no margin for error: the show must go on. Needless to say, it was a tough challenge. Luckily, the technical architects at Tailr like spicy. The first Quality Auction was a success: it went off without any downtime and our experts took the necessary learnings from this first event. They were able to optimize the process even further after the first auctions.

Zangersheide experienced exponential growth in recent years, but unfortunately the business processes did not all grow with it. Both customers and employees still had to perform many tasks manually. The result? A higher chance of errors, higher costs, and a longer throughput time for processes. High time for simplification!

For registration forms, we opted for an integration with Hippomundo. Through this integration, breeders and owners can look up data about their horse online so that they do not have to enter it manually every time. In addition, we integrated an online appointment module for during the selection days. This allows those selected to choose their ideal time slot themselves. This is an administrative win-win for both the customer and the auction staff.

Zangersheide and Spooks have been a loyal partnership for Zangersheide apparel for years, but in the past the Z-Shop online had moderate success. Customers could not immediately checkout online and the whole purchase process was not intuitive. It was not easy work for the Zangersheide staff either. Payments were checked manually and shipment processing was not automatic either.

Their web shop is rather limited and not Zangersheide's core business: an Adobe or Oro commerce web shop was too big an investment. Therefore, Tailr opted for a Shopify web shop and offered the necessary assistance in creating it.

A link with Mollie was provided, allowing customers to choose between more than 15 different payment methods. In addition, thanks to the link with Sendcloud, Zangersheide employees can prepare orders for shipment in less than 10 seconds. This is because shipping labels are generated semi-automatically. The link also provides an automatic mail with track & trace code, further optimizing the customer experience.

Thanks to all the ideas and the success of phase 1, Zangersheide decided to continue the digitalization path. In concrete terms this means that we are currently replacing their old ERP with Z-Horse. This is an ERP database that we custom develop for the needs of Zangersheide Studbook.

To optimize the customer experience even further, we are currently establishing a link with BOB, Zangersheide's accounting package. This allows customers to consult and pay their invoices immediately. An extra bonus is that Zangersheide no longer must manually create invoices for online orders: this runs automatically.

Finally, we are also working hard on an integration with the online translation serviceDeepL. Zangersheide attracts a very international public in as many as 15 languages. The DeepL integration ensures fast and accurate translations, so that content remains up to date in all languages.