On the Open as App platform, ARAG offers a portfolio of sales apps – created by insurance experts based on existing Excel data without coding. This way, ARAG gains speed in the digitalization and competitive insurance market.
In the highly competitive German insurance market, ARAG successfully asserts itself as the largest family business. It is also successfully active in 16 international markets. Broker sales play a key role in the distribution of ARAG products in Germany.
The close connection of broker partners and their target group-oriented information about the extensive product world of ARAG is an important success factor. After all, the brokers must be able to answer their customers’ on-site well-founded questions on the tariff structure, the scope of services, and the corresponding premiums.
Until now, the partners had access to comprehensive Excel solutions with complex data and formulas. These required training time and partly mathematical expertise and they were rather unsuitable for direct use at the customer, especially concerning the use of new devices such as tablets or smartphones.
In the course of digitization, which has been a high priority at ARAG for many years, a solution was sought – and found in Open as App. With the Enterprise Platform, employees of the ARAG partner distributor and the broker partners alike can convert their Excel solutions into apps for all modern platforms – smartphone, tablet, or web.
After extensive testing, ARAG decided to use an App Client in its own branding for Open as App. The controlled distribution of the data via an app and the digital monitoring of processes and also sales ideas have proven themselves since then. Updates to product information or additional calculations can be conveniently distributed directly.
On this platform, ARAG today offers a portfolio of apps in sales – virtually a “toolbox for all products”. One of the central apps is a „plan comparison within an insurance product“ including individual offers with a digital signature. Members of the ARAG sales channel have immediate access to all the information they need and they can quickly provide answers based on user-friendly calculation tools. Instead of sharing the open Excel files, ARAG has now full control of its data, the users, and the app.
This is well received by employees, brokers, and customers. For example, on-site tariff services can now be transparently compared via the app, and rates can also be closed directly via the app. Quick access to information has a positive effect. Thanks to direct feedback, the ARAG partner distributor can immediately assess the success of sales projects.
Since the app creation is carried out easily internally, even special topics can be taken up instantly and productively integrated.
With Open as App, we can quickly accompany processes or sales ideas digitally or create online applications for special risks based on our data. Our conversion rate is noticeably higher. So it’s worth it for brokers, employees and the company alike.
André Riemenschneider, Sales Director, ARAG Partner Sales
With automated app creation SDK Group digitizes its sales process and increases its conversion quota and the employees’ satisfaction Challenge – budget-friendly digitization SDK Group supports its insured in staying healthy or getting well again through their lifetime, for private customers as well as corporate clients.
SDK Group supports its insured in staying healthy or getting well again through their lifetime, for private customers as well as corporate clients. Some 640,000 members rely on the SDK for their health. With a premium income of over 810 million euros, SDK is one of the 15 largest private health insurers in Germany.
Around 800 employees in the office and in the field provide high-performance advice and uncomplicated support for members. Online consulting is becoming increasingly important, but personal consulting is still an important part of member support. Due to increasingly complex regulatory requirements on the one hand and products requiring intensive consultation on the other, it is advisable to support personal consultation using standardized digital processes, not only to increase efficiency but also to create a customer experience in the consultation.
However, developing and operating viable business apps is costly, time-consuming, and puts a strain on the budget. Added to this is the pressure to innovate in the market, which leaves little time for experiments or changes in direction. The existing know-how must, therefore, be used optimally for the digital transformation.
The company has found a solution with the Open as App’s no-code platform and is go- ing its own way in digital transformation with automatic app creation.
With Open as App, the SDK Group can transfer its existing know-how and data directly into apps. There are no costly detours, and time- and resource-consuming effort.
The insurance company tests the potential with its long-term care insurance. During the consultation, the app calculates the customer’s care gap within a few seconds. It shows what personal contribution is to be paid in case of care and creates a tailor-made proposal for closing this gap.
Because no programming skills are required, any employee with Excel skills can create and maintain apps – in line with IT requirements. The initial investment is therefore very low, as are the costs for maintenance and operation. Additional skills, for example for maintaining an iOS AppStore account, are not necessary.
In the meantime, Open as App has become an integral part of the SDK Group infrastructure. By far the greatest benefit of the SDK is still experienced in sales promotions. Thanks to the app, sensational completion rates of over 30% can be achieved in campaigns.
This benefits the company, the sales force, and the customer equally. The customers are secured according to the current demand, the sales force saves time and generates more sales, and SDK Group is pleased not only about the increase in sales but also about satisfied customers and employees as well as about another step in the digital transformation.
The costs for creation and operation are in no way comparable to individually programmed apps. Every Excel-affine employee can create high-quality apps.
The apps are actively requested from the central office. Open as App has become an elementary part of our IT infrastructure.
Olaf Engemann, Chief Sales Officer, SDK Group
In the hectic days in intensive care, doctors and nurses rely on interactive apps for fast and easy information – created without coding.
The pharmacy of AKH Vienna regularly publishes the available medications, including recommended dosages. This vital information is used by the doctors and the nursing staff of the neonatal intensive care unit of the AKH Vienna and the MedUni Vienna.
The list is updated regularly, e.g. when drugs are no longer available or have been replaced. Previously, this Excel file could only be viewed on the computers in the wardroom. This was time-consuming and did not fit at all into the strict routine of a station. In the newborn intensive care unit, therefore, innovation is not only crucial for medical care, but also for the flow of information.
From the existing Excel list, the medical staff created a ready-to-use medical app that runs on all Android or iOS smartphones. The app now lists all available medicines or substitutes.
For comfortable use, it includes a search function. Each entry goes with a detailed dialog which shows all information in detail. If the file is updated or exchanged, the app is also immediately updated. The distribution to the staff – in protected private mode – is as simple as creating the app.
The medical app is popular on the neonatal intensive. Around 50 doctors and nursing staff use the app in their everyday hospital life – rather than the stationary computer. They can check doses and interactions, rely on the prescribed values of the hospital management, and quickly back up their decision.
Soon, more functionality and apps are added: for example, an app with dosage calculation for important medications and infusions or an app for calculating the tube size during intubation and the insertion depth into the central accesses.
The advantage of the self-created app compared to commercial apps on sale: The university can respond immediately to the results of current studies and provide standardized dosage instructions according to the assessment of their experts.
We have been using Open as App for almost a year. The creation and distribution of apps are very easy. The added value is enormous. For our staff, our apps are extremely helpful because they now have easy and quick access to reliable information.
Dr. med. univ. Michael Schneider, Medical University Vienna
Armstrong is a leading multinational energy management company serving a vast range of industries from locations all over the world. The company helps customers in a wide range of industrial and institutional markets operate their thermal utility systems efficiently and safely.
With Open as App, the multinational company Armstrong launched a full app portfolio with 52 no-code apps in just four months – without the help from developers or learning to code.
As a global leader in steam and condensate products, Armstrong is at the forefront of technology and innovation. The Steam and Condensate Division sells to customers through an independent representative network – and supports sales reps in several ways, including quoting, troubleshooting, and teaching about Armstrong products.
Armstrong wanted to give its reps and employees a way to make everyday calculations while in the field quickly and found an easy-to-use solution with the no-code app platform Open as App.
Before building mobile no-code apps, Armstrong already used web calculators. The team already had a few calculators on the website and even more as data in Excel sheets. However, those were hard to use when talking to clients. Sales reps lost time and sometimes couldn’t complete orders straight away. So, Armstrong needed a new way for its representatives to access real-time calculators in the field quickly.
As the team of Armstrong searched for partners and platforms to develop apps, they came across Open as App. They built their first app in minutes and realized that they could create professional calculation apps without costly external developers.
The apps Armstrong created are simple and easy to use and provide useful information. They keep all the data and logic of the Excel file that is used as a data source.
Almost all Armstrong apps are calculator tools. Some apps are used for sizing products, while others compare solutions and find how much money and/or energy can be saved. You can switch between imperial and metric units. Also, some sizing calculators have warnings built into them to prevent sizing something that could cause damage.
App calculating annual savings and payback period for returning condensate to the boiler in a steam system
The roll-out was managed using the Open as App platform. Armstrong compiled a list of their sales reps and notified them that they were launching the apps. Then each person was given access. Armstrong also made an instruction sheet that walked the sales reps through the process of registration and the Open as App set-up on their phone. New hirings or additional users apply for the apps in a web form that asks for some basic info. Once the form is submitted, they will receive the instruction sheet and are given access.
App updates are rolled out automatically. When Armstrong initially launched the calculator apps, they only had imperial units due to time constraints. After the launch, the team received many requests for adding in metric units.
The Armstrong team uses the apps, but mostly they’re used by the sales reps in the field. By doing calculations on-site while talking to the customer, sales reps save time and provide a better customer experience. They also have tools that help them accomplish more and close deals without talking to Armstrong first. This approach saves time on both sides and leads to a good result.
Open as App allows us to quickly develop, distribute, and update apps that we’d otherwise need a third party to do for us. Our apps save time by quickly making calculations. They’re also a tool that allows our reps to accomplish more without needing to contact Armstrong.
Mitchell Bingaman, Application Engineer, Armstrong International
