A Global Leader in Access Solutions
About dormakaba
dormakaba is a global leader in access solutions and building security, with over 160 years of experience and approximately €3 billion in annual revenue. Operating across the full building lifecycle — from planning and construction to operation and maintenance — dormakaba serves customers worldwide through both direct sales and an extensive partner network.
Scaling a Distributed Partner Network
The Situation Before Scalera
A significant share of dormakaba's revenue is generated through its distributor network — yet this channel faced structural inefficiencies driven by tender-heavy workflows.
- Process: Thousands of tenders per distributor annually, processed manually
- Complexity: Increasing tender complexity with heterogeneous partner capabilities
- Bottleneck: High administrative burden limiting active market engagement
- Structural Issue: Knowledge asymmetry across partners leading to inconsistent offer quality
"The more our partners work on tenders, the less they can be active in the market." — Pascal Kägi, Member of the Executive Board Switzerland, dormakaba
Inefficiency Across Project & Trade Business
Impact on Business
The dual structure of direct project business and indirect trade channels created systemic inefficiencies:
- Lost Revenue Potential: Unused cross-selling opportunities across product portfolios
- Scaling Constraint: Growth tied to hiring rather than process efficiency
- Quality Variance: Inconsistent offer structures across the partner network
- Knowledge Loss: Demographic shifts leading to erosion of expert know-how
AI-Powered Tender Enablement for the Entire Network
How It Works Now
Scalera enables dormakaba to standardize and scale tender processing across both internal teams and external partners:
- AI Analysis: Automatic recognition of relevant tender positions within seconds
- Smart Product Mapping: Precise assignment to dormakaba products
- Cross-Selling Engine: Systematic identification of additional revenue opportunities
- Structured Output: Ready-to-use offer base for finalization and submission
"We build product intelligence internally — and scale it into the partner network." — Sven Affeltranger, Co-Founder & CCO, Scalera
Scalable Growth Without Increasing Headcount
Measurable Results
The implementation delivers both operational and strategic impact:
- Significant Time Reduction: Large portions of manual tender analysis eliminated (~50–70% effort reduction)
- Higher Throughput: Partners can process 2–3× more tenders with the same resources
- Increased Project Value: Cross-selling increases average deal size (+10–25% typical uplift)
- Network Standardization: Consistent offer quality across distributed partners
- Faster Market Response: Improved response times increase win probability (+15–30% in competitive tenders)
Why Scalera: Enabling an Ecosystem, Not Just a Tool
Why dormakaba Chose Scalera
The decision was not about optimizing a single workflow — it was about enabling an entire sales ecosystem. Scalera stood out through:
- Ease of Use: Minimal onboarding friction across diverse partner profiles
- Scalability: Ability to standardize processes across geographies and organizations
- Strategic Fit: Alignment with dormakaba's "Easy to do Business" positioning
- Data Flywheel: Continuous improvement through real project data
"Products are becoming interchangeable. Our competitive advantage is: Easy to do Business." — Pascal Kägi, Member of the Executive Board Switzerland, dormakaba
"With Scalera, we reduce effort while creating significantly more offers." — Pascal Kägi, Member of the Executive Board Switzerland, dormakaba
"When our distribution partners grow and succeed, we grow as well." — Pascal Kägi, Member of the Executive Board Switzerland, dormakaba