AJ Produkter's Decade-Long Partnership with UKAD

AJ Produkter is a long-established supplier of office and workplace furniture, school furniture, lockers, changing room facilities, canteen furniture, shelving and racking, premises management equipment, and much more.

Established in Sweden in 1975 by Anders Johansson, the AJ Group is now represented by 26 companies across 19 European countries with two factories and over 800 employees. Their wide range of modern furniture with smart features is designed to improve ergonomics and increase efficiency in order to be a one-stop shop for all workplace needs. They have taken the Swedish entrepreneurial spirit and successfully exported it to Western, Eastern, and Northern Europe.

When AJ Produkter sought a reliable digital partner capable of aligning with their business strategy and technical needs, they chose a nearshore cooperation model with a Ukrainian company. Ukraine stood out as an ideal location due to its high technical standards, favorable time zone, and dependable management. After evaluating several Ukrainian outsourcing firms, AJ Produkter selected UKAD based on our extensive experience with Scandinavian countries and a strong track record of positive reviews from Swedish clients.

At the time of engagement, AJ Produkter's primary marketing channels were offline. They aimed to broaden their business opportunities by digitizing their operations and employing modern web solutions to engage and inform potential and existing buyers about their products. Additionally, they sought tools to optimize the work of their large international content management team.

During discussions with UKAD, the following challenges were identified:

• Increase online sales.
• Simplify and upgrade the content management process for editors across 19 countries using an alternative tool to an outdated desktop application.
• Revamp the website to meet modern UX and UI standards.
• Make the subsidiary brand website (Ojega) mobile-friendly.
• Expand the company's digital presence.

Our collaboration with AJ Produkter has evolved into a productive long-term partnership, blending the client’s business and design insights with UKAD's technical expertise. We successfully implemented the following solutions to meet their business goals:

• Upgraded the existing website's back-end and front-end code (server and UI components).
• Developed a custom Optimizely CMS tool to simplify banner and campaign management for international editors using a WYSIWYG model.
• Created a mobile version of the Ojega brand website.
• Built and set up two additional informational websites: the corporate site and a product solution platform featuring design services and product installation examples.
• Enhanced website performance, achieving a fast load time for both desktop and mobile.
• Provided ongoing technical support for the company’s websites.

Our long-term digital partnership has led to significant achievements. The website modernization (new design, high performance, smart search, product suggestions based on machine learning algorithms, and delivery time calculation) resulted in a two and a half-fold increase in online sales, with online channels surpassing offline ones.

AJ Produkter has developed an effective content strategy and increased customer satisfaction and engagement through additional informational resources created by UKAD's IT specialists. Our cooperation with AJ Produkter has spanned over a decade, with our team serving as the client’s remote R&D department and nearshore digital partner in Ukraine.

AJ Produkter's experience with UKAD underscores Ukraine as a reliable destination for outsourcing, offering high technical standards and effective management. Our expertise in Optimizely and React, combined with a decade-long partnership, has enabled AJ Produkter to achieve significant digital transformation and business growth.