This setup enables Häfele to scale digital capabilities across different international markets within a region, while ensuring speed, quality, and low operational risk by strategically nearshoring core digital capabilities from high-cost markets to Portugal.

Our story

01

The Task

Häfele aimed to complement local setups with a dedicated Competence Center that operates independently with the subsidiaries, focused on optimizing e-commerce content capabilities at a regional level.

The objective was to enable a unified approach, align standards, and strengthen collaboration while remaining as an integrated part of Häfele’s organization.

02

Our Challenge

The challenge was to scale regional e-commerce content capabilities quickly without adding organizational complexity. Häfele needed an independent setup, not owned by any single subsidiary, but capable of meeting high-quality standards and working as a true extension of Häfele’s e-commerce content organization, rather than an external delivery unit.

At the same time, consistency across markets was essential. Successful regional scaling requires a shared understanding of standards, priorities, and what strong execution looks like beyond local optimization.

03

Solutions

To address these challenges, a dedicated e-commerce Content Management Competence Centre was built and operates in Porto based on the BOT model. The setup combined operational ownership, nearshore delivery, and deep organizational integration in one scalable model.

Together with Häfele, the required roles, team structure, and collaboration model were defined upfront so the Competence Centre could operate as an integrated part of the organization from day one.

This structured approach enabled a very short time-to-hire, with the first team members joining within weeks, and laid the foundation for close collaboration, short coordination lines, and consistent execution across markets.

03

Successes

By taking ownership of setup and operations, the model enables Häfele to focus on business outcomes rather than organizational overhead, while delivering visible results:

• Short time-to-hire, with first team members joining within weeks.

• Fully integrated nearshore setup with locally recruited specialists.

• Early support for Western Europe and Canada, with steadily growing reach across RWE subsidiaries.

• Stronger standardization through shared ways of working and a common understanding of “what good looks like”.