The brand identity of CEWE products is highly dependent on CEWE’s proprietary developments. Thanks to these proprietary developments, CEWE has already successfully managed the transfer from analogous film technology to digital printing technology and has achieved faster growth on the market than the competition, through its own innova-tive products. A large number of test victories and awards in many countries bear out this capacity for innovation. CEWE recently
re-ceived the “Innovative through research” award issued by Germany’s
“Stifterverband” business community initiative. Even back in the film age, a large number of patents for machinery and equipment helped CEWE to transform its technological and innovation leadership into competitive advantages. Even now, CEWE develops its own equipment in order to increase its level of productivity and quality for print fin-ishing. Key achievements have also been patented.
CEWE currently has more than 130 employees working on the de-velopment of ordering software for home computers, mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and also smart TVs, for CEWE photo stations at the outlets of its business partners, ordering functions and web design for our business partners’ sites and also handling the development of production software and operating the company’s data acceptance platform. In its software development, CEWE makes use of agile software development and automated tests, for faster market launches of better-tested products and software features. In a propri-etary mechanical and electrical device development process, proto-types are planned and built which external partners then subsequently duplicate for CEWE’s plants.
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The mega-trend of mobility is increasingly important for photography Growing use of smartphones and their increasingly high-quality cam-eras is also having a positive impact on CEWE. In December, more than 14 % (+ 75 %) of all of the image data processed by our plants derived from mobile devices. This increase is compensating for the decline at CEWE of images produced by compact cameras. Photos created by smartphones or mobile telephones are now a natural part of photo orders. Together with images created using digital reflex cameras, they have become an integral component of storytelling with CEWE: Even now, every fourth CEWE PHOTOBOOK includes at least one image produced using a mobile device. This trend is con-tinuing, with high growth rates. Users’ enjoyment of their pictures is enhanced through the functionalities which smartphones offer. Of the photos printed out on site at CEWE photo stations, almost every sec-ond image has been created using a smartphone.
CEWE recognised the potential of this market very early on and has developed suitable products. In 2005, in cooperation with Nokia CEWE already introduced the first-ever photo service for Nokia N series devices and firmly integrated this in the Symbian operating system. At photokina 2010, CEWE presented its first app for Apple’s iOS operating system and its cewe phonealbum product. Since pho-tokina 2012, iOS and Android users have been able to order photos, postcards and CEWE PHOTOBOOKS. These apps also enable users to transfer their pictures to CEWE’s photo stations and to print them out on site. Together with Nokia and Microsoft, CEWE has also launched on the market an app for ordering images and posters using Win-dows Phone. Further apps were presented at photokina 2014. CEWE postcard met with the strongest response. This app enables users to send postcards directly from their smartphone / tablet, featuring their pictures on each side of the postcard and as a stamp, and also their own signature.
My CEWE PHOTOWORLD mobile
This software has undergone continuous development since its launch at photokina 2012. The improvements implemented include the avail-ability of products within this app and also, above all, its user-friend-liness. CEWE has analysed feedback from consumers and the results of several usability tests and reacted to these findings. At photokina 2014, all of CEWE’s ordering applications were harmonised, both visu-ally and in terms of their user guidance systems. These new product and ordering options prompted curved.de magazine (January 14, 2015, “Ordering photos using your smartphone: three apps tested”) to conclude: “You don’t become the market leader without good reason”.
My CEWE PHOTOWORLD
Our consumers generally use our software “My CEWE PHOTOWORLD”
to produce CEWE PHOTOBOOKS. This software is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. CEWE also offers a design service, where photos are selected by professionals and given a suitable layout. Users can then implement any desired changes through an Internet-based dialogue. Through this service, in cooperation with Aida and TUI outstanding cruise holidays can be captured in a CEWE PHOTOBOOK.
Customers can also produce a CEWE PHOTOBOOK by means of an online software package which was newly developed in 2014.
The many fans of this ordering software talk to each other on CEWE’s platforms. The CEWE PHOTOBOOK FORUM and feedback from the customer service department provide valuable tips for the company’s ongoing development. Crowdsourcing, i. e. obtaining feedback, requests and suggestions from users – is an increasingly important part of the development process.
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The current versions (6.0) of many new products were already launched during the Christmas season in Germany and will be gradually rolled out in other countries.
Integration of other customers’ images from the online platform is another step towards improved user friendliness. While users use desktop software to produce CEWE PHOTOBOOKS, they can gain inspiration from other customers’ examples or seek out suitable de-sign ideas. An increased range of video tips has also been integrated, for improved support for users creating their current project. This includes the possibility of integrating a video by means of a QR code.
Using the CEWE PHOTOBOOK assistant, videos with a QR code can now be fully automatically integrated in a suggested layout. This feature is increasingly popular, so CEWE is now offering 5 and 15-year storage options as well as the three-15-year option.
COPS, the CEWE ONLINE PRINTING SYSTEM
As in the previous year, the changeover of product sites and, above all, order editing software to a responsive design – i. e. optimised presentation depending on the browser used and the device’s resolu-tion – was one of the key tasks in this area. CEWE’s websites also offer a large number of new products and services for ordering, such as premium cases for tablets and smartphones, a choice of motifs from over a million professional images for CEWE WALL ART (MO-TIF GALLERY) – now with freely selectable printing formats – and a large number of designs for CEWE CARDS and CEWE CALENDARS.
Every fourth visit to our websites is made through a mobile device.
Our product sites have also been once again upgraded, to provide further space for the emotionality of these products and for the new brand elements developed by our marketing department for CEWE WALL ART, CEWE CARDS and CEWE CALENDARS as well as our redesigned theme worlds.
A separate platform has been created for CEWE PHOTOBOOK compe-titions which is highly popular, both in terms of participation and also the number of comments made on the books submitted. CEWE has thus established a further means of ensuring that its customers have fun with their photos and can communicate with one another.
Further optimisation of high-performance back-end system This year, the peak volume of orders at Christmas was once again higher than in the previous year. All of the above-mentioned applica-tions deliver orders submitted to CEWE’s end system. This back-end system is distributed across two indepback-endent and redundant data centres. From here, orders accepted are allocated to CEWE’s plants.
During the peak hour for Christmas business, this platform accepted almost 550 orders per minute – another new record. To ensure rapid transmission of these volumes of data to our plants, the necessary servers were further optimised (virtualised) or re-installed in good time ahead of the season.
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CEWE MYPHOTOS
In 2014 CEWE was once again awarded a photokina Star. It received this award for its product CEWE MYPHOTOS. The beta version of a new service was presented which enables users to store, organise, edit and order digital photos at any time and anywhere, using any de-vice. CEWE thus supplies an open ECO system allowing the exchange of images across all computer- and mobile-based operating systems.
As an independent service provider, CEWE thus offers its customers a benefit which is not available from any closed-system hardware or software manufacturer.
• CEWE MYPHOTOS is a service for storing and organising photos.
• CEWE MYPHOTOS is the specialist tool for arranging, editing and ordering photos and photo products.
• The photos stored on CEWE MYPHOTOS are available at any time and anywhere, on any device. (PCs & laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, CEWE photo stations)
• CEWE MYPHOTOS supports multiple-platform devices, for all com-mon operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, Linux / Android, iOS, Windows Phone). CEWE MYPHOTOS can also be used by means of desktop software, a browser and an app
• CEWE MYPHOTOS is the common feature of all CEWE ordering channels
This new service is currently being developed, in response to con-sumer feedback and to include further functionalities. It will be made available to customers at the start of the second quarter of 2015.
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