Softr expert Harald Palma built a custom online ordering system for the building materials manufacturer, making it easier for field teams to get the branded merchandise they need.
βUsing Softr's conditional filters, I could handle most of the clientβs requirements, minimizing back-and-forth adjustments and ensuring a seamless operation.β
Harald Palma is a designer and Softr expert who specializes in delivering apps for business and education clients, with an emphasis on user experience. He was hired by Baumit, a building materials manufacturer in Europe, to create a custom online merchandise ordering system for employees.
The Baumit team approached Harald with a request to build an online shop for their employees, who needed a way to order branded merchandise and workwear for their field teams: items like socks, pens, tape measures, and more.
But it quickly became clear that the company had specific needs beyond a standard e-commerce setup. First, they required a system where only logged-in users (employees) could place orders within assigned budget limits, controlled by an administrator who could adjust these limits. Each user also needed a personalized dashboard to view their orders and track budgets.
Baumit initially experimented with a custom-coded solution, but it proved difficult to use. The company also explored existing e-commerce tools, but none could fully accommodate the teamβs requirements around logged-in users and budget limits.
They also required a system that could:
To meet Baumit's detailed requirements, Harald developed a custom online ordering system using Softr, with Airtable as a data source. He used Softrβs List and Table blocks, plus Conditional Forms to create an an app that provided:
The new system was delivered by Harald within a few weeks, with the flexibility for adjustments during the initial use, and a design that aligned with Baumitβs brand identity.
βThe combination of personalized budgets, user-specific dashboards, and admin controls proved challenging for traditional e-commerce solutions. The project called for a highly tailored solution to meet these requirements.β
- Harald Palma, Designer and Softr Expert
The newly implemented system enabled more than 100 of Baumit's employees to place 2,500+ merchandise orders within five weeks of launch, with admins managing a budget exceeding β¬600,000.
The platformβs real-time budget tracking and user-specific features allowed employees to make informed purchases within their limits, while admins could monitor and adjust as needed, maintaining high efficiency across teams and eliminating the need for manual orders.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with Baumitβs team saying the new system is βa huge improvement over what we had before. Weβre confident this will make it much more efficient for our team to order all the merchandise they need.β