eibabo® - About Us

A subsidiary of eibmarkt.com GmbH, 100% subsidiary of EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding

eibabo® - WINNER der European eCommerce Awards 2023

How did it all begin?

CEO Marco LabáhnThe company was founded in Germany in 1997 as "Gebäudesystemtechnik EIB" and converted into a corporation 4 years later. Being fully convinced of the future-oriented „EIB“ technology the brave step into independence was taken. At that time we only dealt with the system integration of EIB components, primarily in public buildings. At that time, there were hardly any EIB components, only a few made by Siemens, and incredibly expensive.

In 1997, it was hard to convince customers of this technology. We were lucky enough to start our business with three very large projects. What helped us to convince customers was an EIB presentation board with only a few EIB devices at an incredible purchase price of almost 20,000 DM, developed for weeks by the owner in their own bedroom; to the frustration of his girlfriend; a rebuilt Ford Transit as a mobile office with 2 workstations, a lot of EIB equipment, a 200m roll-out EIB bus line leading directly into the building as well as monitoring tools for commissioning and diagnosis.

These were really crazy times with pizza, coke and working weekends. Making money was actually a side issue and of low importance. For presentations, a mobile phone Siemens S10 with color display, at that time an absolute highlight, was used to call the screen via EIB tele control to carry out switching operations or, vice versa, to receive all types of messages, to activate lighting controllers, to control individual rooms and many more functions. This fascinated everyone and really convinced important decision-makers in project development and planning of public buildings who were looking for energy-efficient solutions.

What happened next?

The first profits were immediately reinvested in new developments. Together with importance of building automation, we recognized the internet as a huge opportunity and our first Excel-based and entirely self-developed online shop with over 1,000 articles went online at the end of 1997 and was maintained and updated for many years. eibmarkt® is therefore probably the oldest company on the market with online shops for electrical engineering. Of course, there were only a few orders at the beginning, but that changed a few years later and with Smart Store came the breakthrough.

In 1997 there was still no Google & Co. Our first choice was the German search engine Fireball which later cooperated with Alta Vista and, thus, created worldwide search results. Our early presence in the internet enabled us to win more than 500,000 regular customers from all over the world, and this until 2010 almost completely cost-free, a vital competitive advantage.

What led to the company eibmarkt.com?

At the end of 1999, eibmarkt.com went online. In 2004, we changed to the Smart Store shop system and the turnover development improved dramatically. There were almost no competitors. In the meantime, we also established further core businesses. Our experiences as service providers told us exactly which EIB products were in demand. As a result, our next move was to develop and produce electronic and electrical assembly groups - a logical and necessary step.

In 2001, the company was converted into a corporation. In the period from 2000 to 2004, countless hardware products were developed but only a few of those were really produced. Developing EIB devices was extremely expensive and complex. At that time, the installation bus was still a European standard (EIB® = European Installation Bus) and later a worldwide standard (KNX® = an abbreviation created from the word "convergence", which stands for uniting the different bus systems to form a uniform standard, and the name "Konnex" to create the new registered trademark KNX®). Our system integration projects usually required highly complex control and regulation tasks, which at that time were only possible with the EIB function module from Levi Fils used by us in large quantities.

Since we believed we had enough experience, a similar device was developed by us within one year. This had an even greater importance since the production of this very important device was stopped after ABB took over the Levi Fils AG Switzerland on 11 March 2004. However, the costs for the development got out of hand. Costs for the still pending licensing and testing of this complex device were enormous. A decision had to be made. Finally, the device was not produced and the budget provided for it was invested in the e-business eibmarkt.com. From today’s point of view a decision crucial for the further development of the company. In 2010, eibmarkt.com GmbH was established as a subsidiary of EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding.


You have a huge diversification in many fields, why is that?

This is correct; however, all areas are related to each other and, ideally, complement each other. This is also important for future projects, such as 2D and 3D holography without 3D glasses, also for smart phones, permitting the display of a large amount of information which would not fit onto a Smart Phone or a Smart Watch. This will replace the 3D reprography of online articles and, at the same time, allow a customer to feel the surface structure of a product via a KNX® pad and smell it through a KNX® odour actuator, for example when buying a high-quality leather shoe. 


We are convinced that this will be standard in a few years. EIBMARKT® GmbH is a member of the KNX® Association Brussels. Almost all the core businesses of the parent company EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding aim at the sophisticated building management. Apart from self-developed and produced electronic and electrical modules, this also includes the specialization in the field of automation software.

The challenges of the core businesses of building automation KNX® and global e-commerce (eibmarkt®, eibabo®) have led to many new business fields: intelligent yacht automation with KNX® in sports boats and super yacht construction as well as robot-controlled 360°/3D product photography in a new dimension for manufacturers and online shops. Both business fields have been broadened and shown a successful development.

CEO Marco Labáhn

We have gained international recognition through numerous awards, for example the "INNOVATIONSPREIS-IT" award (IT innovation award) for EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding for the innovative IT solution "3D Reprography in E-Commerce" – a highly useful solution for small and medium-sized enterprises – awarded by the Initiative Mittelstand (SME Initiative) under the auspices of Microsoft Deutschland GmbH, or the "KNX® World Award" for eibmarkt®.com GmbH. This makes us particularly proud.

What are your plans for the future?

eibabo® is a product of the latest generation of shop systems of the eibmarkt® group and a result of 20 years of mail-order experience. eibabo® allows you to place orders as a corporate or private customer. eibabo®  was developed in the last three years as part of the internationalization process, provides 14 languages and consists of one international shop and 20 country-specific shops with more than 20 methods of payment and approximately one million available articles. This project represented a very big challenge in all its areas, especially the IT connection with all its complex functions of store front, ERP system, logistics and supplier connection as well as presenting the range of articles in 14 languages.

The overall project consisted of over 500 individual projects, which could only be managed by experienced project teams and long-term partners. In the medium term, we have many more plans for eibabo®, which will go beyond a simple shop system. You will be surprised. However, the current focus is finishing the internationalization process. eibabo® will be managed by the same eibmarkt.com GmbH team (call center, service, IT), that manages the already known store eibmarkt.com. This will guarantee the very high standards our customers are used to.

eibabo® - WINNER at the European eCommerce Awards 2023

Our eCommerce platform eibabo® has been evaluated by an international jury and we are proud to announce that we are WINNER of the European eCommerce Awards 2023 in 2 categories at the ceremony in London on 20/09/2023. In particular, you as users have played a significant role in the success of eibabo® with your purchases, ideas and reviews, for which we would like to express our sincere thanks.

The European eCommerce Awards in Great Britain (UK) are accredited by the Awards Trust Mark - The Independent Awards Standards Council - Trust Mark Scheme.

The European eCommerce Awards evaluate and recognise outstanding websites and e-commerce platforms, as well as software, campaigns, agencies and teams in the field of online retail. The participating candidates are evaluated by respected industry experts in a robust two-stage evaluation process. In this process, the jurors analyse and evaluate website designs, technology and user interfaces in several vertical branches that have led to purchase transactions and increased ROI. These awards are evaluated based on criteria which consider the original goals, the effective implementation as well as tangible and verifiable results.

We are pleased to announce that we are WINNER of this year's European eCommerce Awards 2023 with our eibabo® eCommerce platform in the following two categories:

eibabo® - EUROPEAN B2C ECOMMERCE WEBSITE OF THE YEAR

This award honours and recognises an outstanding e-commerce website for direct sale to consumers (B2C). The jurors are looking for an e-commerce website that not only enhances customer loyalty but also increases willingness to purchase and offers an outstanding shopping experience for users.

eibabo® - EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL/EXPORT WEBSITE OF THE YEAR

This category recognises websites and e-commerce platforms that incorporate and implement rules and regulations which apply for online retail outside the EU. Here, the jury evaluates websites which perfectly fulfil the requirements for international retail and transport.

 

  

So you are focussing on 100% internationalization?

Right, this is especially true for eibabo® by providing the content, all communications and order processing in 14 languages and many country-specific payment methods. With our own trading platforms eibabo® and eibmarkt® we deliver more than 1,000,000 articles from more than 2,500 brand manufacturers to corporate and private customers in over 185 countries. As a result, we operate three of the largest e-commerce platforms for electronic and electrical products worldwide. The articles are permanently checked and updated live.

The brand shops publish their product diversity with the help of more than 400 partners and interfaces to all globally relevant portals. Through our own data processing center, we are able to deal with comprehensive orders within 24-48hrs. Brand products from all leading manufacturers in the fields of electrical installation, lighting, network technology, brown goods, white goods, KNX® building automation, wireless home automation and many more can be ordered and delivered worldwide, also across countries. Even items not listed in the shop can be delivered. eibmarkt®, one of the leading KNX® providers, is also specialized in KNX® building automation and customers are supported by highly trained service staff, that is available 24hrs / 365 days and  helps customers with advice and action on eibabo®.


What particular service do you offer?

Each customer has a specific contact person. The name of the contact person is provided in the personal customer account after placing the order. You can communicate with your adviser every day using your customer account, by email or by telephone. The customer account is, however, the fastest and safest way. With just a few clicks, you reach your contact person at any time, even at weekends and during public holidays. This is a special service for our customers and stands for security and trust. Our employees speak several languages and are always at your disposal around the clock. They can answer any question within a very short time. During the day, you will receive a reply in your customer account within a few minutes.


Your eibabo® customer care team.

The customer account provides access to the eibabo® website. After logging into the order history, you can select your order, choose a predefined topic (delivery, complaint, etc.), fill in a very simple form and send your question to your consultant. Our reply is immediately available for you in the order history no matter where you are. At the same time, each reply is sent to your e-mail address as soon as it has been completed.

What makes you stand apart from the fierce competition in the industry?

eibabo® is a very complex shop system with a wide range of functions. For example, our publications have a special added value thanks to multiple illustrations, 3D views, extensive texts and intelligent links to all articles that could additionally be important and suitable, which creates a positive user experience. This is, of course, a continuous process with permanent updates and and improvements. Another distinctive feature is the intelligent, self-learning and phonetic search function, stored on high-performance servers, which provides extensive parameters for a quick identification of the required article. For more than 25 years, we have been operating shop systems and enterprise resource planning systems on our own servers in the data processing center in Plauen.

We would like to say THANK YOU to all users, and especially our loyal customers who have been with us for years.

Due to the worldwide distribution of all articles, extensive additional functions have been integrated in the shop. This includes the display of all major international currencies with their exchange rates at every price, updated several times a day, country-specific languages, payment methods and delivery times, permanent worldwide tracking, a complex tax matrix for domestic shipping / EU shipping and delivery to EFTA countries or deliveries to third countries depending on whether you are a private or business customer with / without sales tax ID for intra-Community supplies, the EU delivery threshold display according to the Value Added Tax Act and international customs clearance. 

What security standards does eibabo® provide?

eibmarkt.com GmbH is one of the few exporters in this sector authorized by the German customs authorities. There are audits several times a year where the customs authorities check that all regulations are complied with. eibmarkt.com GmbH is connected to the AEB data processing center and operates according to the ATLAS procedure certified by the Bundesfinanzdirektion (Federal Finance Department). Through our own digital customs clearance, we are able to see and influence processes quickly and without bureaucracy.

Our employees are well-trained in this system and speak several languages to answer inquiries from international customers. All kinds of safety standards, particularly those for payment methods and privacy terms are continuously monitored and verified by external institutions. All customer areas are protected by high encryption standards. Registration is not legally binding since your data will only be used for processing your order and only absolutely necessary data will be given to companies directly involved in the order process (for example, address data for shipping).

So, eibabo® belongs to eibmarkt.com GmbH?

Right, eibabo® is a company of eibmarkt.com GmbH. Right now, there are no plans to convert it into a separate corporation as another subsidiary of the Holding Company but this is not completely impossible should there be future global expansions.

 

 

 Marco Labáhn
(CEO EIBMARKT GmbH Holding)


Dialogue: Mrs. Kerstin Ziegenbein (agency aanders®) and Marco Labahn (CEO of EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding)

  

EIBMARKT GmbH Holding 

EIBMARKT® GmbH Holding - 08527 Plauen - Kemmlerstrasse 1 - Germany
(Headquarters with administration, application development, call center, 360°/3D studios)
EIBMARKT GmbH Holding Imagefilm

Imagefilm EIBMARKT® GmbH: KNX® smart home - eibmarkt®, eibabo® (english full hd)
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