esst.bio : App for (almost) everyone

esst.bio has been around for a while – a website and an app for the shops in the PCG world.

We have been pondering for a long time whether and how an app can be integrated into our infrastructure in a meaningful way – so that the final customers also have an extra benefit from it. After all, the websites themselves should be responsive (i.e. suitable for mobile phones). And of course the online shop, which is often embedded, but sometimes also deeply integrated into the website. So why take on even more effort and build an app?

An app is a little closer to the customer. Some may create a “shortcut” to a website in their mobile phone and also allow access via push message. However, this is not common, especially with browsers; access via an app from the official app store is often easier.

This is also the main advantage: as a customer, you are “faster” in the shop and receive relevant information (e.g. about updated subscription orders or delivery status) directly on your mobile phone.

A customer downloads the app from the App Store, connects once to “her” delivery service company and logs in with her customer data. If you “stay in” after logging in, from then on it is only a click away to the subscription or the current delivery.

For the delivery company, this increases customer loyalty; it is also possible to address app customers directly in marketing. Certainly, some customer groups are easier to reach via app.

All participating companies can be found initially under the umbrella of esst.bio. This increases the visibility in the app stores and of course reduces the effort for maintenance and further development. In addition, we also plan to do some advertising to inform potential new customers via this website and app about the possibilities for delivering organic and regional products by subscription.

As described, the website must be suitable for a mobile phone. If this is not the case, the app can also be configured directly for the (responsive) online shop. This also works for older websites and only requires a little consultation.

However, if you are looking for an app that is individually customised to your business (or if you are not exclusively active in the organic sector), Winkler-Software might be the place to go. They are also developing an app with the public PCG interface and it is already in use. A new user interface has also been developed.

Google Play Store
App in Google Play Store
Apple App Store
App in Apple App Store

Meet the team: Andi

Today let’s find out more about Andi :)

“My name is Andrea von der Brelie, I am 27 years young and have been in the PCG support team since last year.
Together with my colleagues, I try to support you and answer your questions and concerns as best as possible. I am also responsible for licence administration, organisation and, together with other colleagues, homepage design.

Some information about my professional career and how I came to Software Support:
After my Secondary school diploma in 2015, I completed a 3-year apprenticeship as a medical assistant. Afterwards I worked in several medical centres and got to know the different medical information systems, i.e. software programs.

And this is how my path into software support began.
I was allowed to support and control the process of software changes in the medical practices in cooperation with their IT. Then one of these companies asked me if I would like to work for them in software support. No sooner said than done, I decided to join without hesitation and would do it again and again!

I was born and raised in the beautiful town of Freising near Munich and enjoy the mixture of city and countryside here.
Freising is also close to Erhard’s beautiful Naturgarten in Meilendorf where I have often been allowed to visit.
I like to spend a lot of my free time in nature and go hiking with my dog. I am athletic and love all kinds of sports, in winter I also like to go snowboarding.

PCG and regional commercialisation structures

There are successful examples in Germany and abroad of regional partnerships in commercialisation. The PCG team is significantly involved in them and we are happy to share our experiences with you:

  • In Baden-Württemberg, several farms have joined forces to form the company biobauern.hn UG. One of them is wino near Heilbronn with Jürgen Winkler.
  • In Bavaria, ILE (Integrated Rural Development) is involved in the Chiemgau region. Hans Lecker from Biohof Lecker is one of them.
  • In Hesse, the Weltladen Kirchhain is in development, near Marburg.
  • In Cali, Colombia, there is EcoHuerta, a delivery service that tries to create a viable income for many small agricultural entrepreneurs through its commercialisation initiative and also to encourage them to adopt organic farming.
  • In Nigeria, there is Humulus Horticultural CC in Windhoek, a German gardener who has introduced PCG as software to Africa in order to organise his organic cultivation and commercialisation there. You can find information about the project on Facebook.

And of course there are many regional initiatives in the surroundings of our customers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.

Meet the team: Till

Now it’ s Till’s turn:

Greetings, my name is Till, I was born in 1989 and I’m from Berlin. I grew up in the warm south, now I live in Freiburg, the city with the most hours of sunshine in Germany.

After finishing high school I worked for a few years as a bar tender in different bars, until I got more tempted to work with my head. At first I wanted to study electrical engineering, but then a good friend introduced me to the basics of programming and got me “hooked” – so I decided to study Computer Science. In order to get into university, I passed the Bachelor’s degree and started to study and then experiment.

During my studies, I soon noticed that it was the small and large, tricky tasks in software development that made me forget the time in front of the screen. Therefore, I think it is great to work in this field of IT and I am happy to have met PC-Gärtner, for whom I have been working remotely in a co-working space since the end of summer 2021.
With my work I hope to contribute to the success of the PCG team. (To not miss the exciting evenings as a bartender, I try to work one evening a month if time allows, so if you are around…).
I actually got in touch with PCG through Steffen, who I’ve known since my teens. I was hoping to meet you all in person at the last user meeting, unfortunately I was prevented from doing so by Corona’s rules – but I am very confident about the next user meeting and am already looking forward to meeting you all face to face.

News in shop 6/22

As usual, small adjustments and error corrections have been made to the system. Here we will briefly mention some of them:

  • Search in the shopping cart: This is helpful for large shopping carts and completes the sorting possibilities in the shopping cart. Both elements must be integrated and, if necessary, adapted by the web designer.
  • Irregularities in the data cannot always be detected – there are now alerts (email or SMS or PCG) that signal them before the customer is aware of them.
  • Mass mails can now be sent out slower automatically. This reduces the workload of sites or customer service for certain actions.
  • Optimisation of the automatic detection of “spam-clicked” returns. This ensures a high delivery rate of e-mails.
  • The new e-shops respect all the requirements of the new legislation (Omnibus), including the modification of the reference quantities or crossed-out prices.
  • New options for shop elements allow the web designer, for example, to build simpler pick-and-buy logics into the web pages.
  • Seasonal articles are no longer paused if they correspond to a cancellation.
  • The CSS test is back! This wasn’t a priority for the new shop templates, but it’s easier to build and test an alternative CSS during the process – and saves a staging system when it’s “just” the design.
  • There are new options for the minimum order settings: the value of a packing station can now override the total value, or a high total order value can sometimes override a packing station specific value.
  • After the PCC user meeting, the cancellation option has also been reviewed.

Nostalgia:

We have definitely unplugged the good old Schönegge model. This first – and super-fast – Javascript version of the shop was still operational until the end of 2021 – so for more than 18 years! Well, not everyone thought it was pretty 😉 – and it hadn’t been in conformity with the law for a while.

Legal requirements for basic price units from 28.05.2022

Since February 2022, the unit “100g” is no longer available as a basic price unit in new software versions. In the PCG update, it has been or will be replaced by the unit “1 kg” on items whose basic price was affected, and converted accordingly, in order to be in line with the changes to the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV) from 28.05.2022. If the basic price unit for certain articles remains “100g”, we recommend that you update PCG instead of changing them manually.

The basic price specified by law is intended for easy price comparison for consumers, must be clearly attributed to the product, but must not be displayed larger than the selling price. It must be indicated as a price per quantity, including VAT and other price elements. The usual units of quantity are kg, litre, metre, square metre or piece. The base price does not need to be indicated if it is the same as the final price or for quantities of less than 10 g or 10 ml.

This post does not constitute legal advice. For more detailed and accurate information, please look for more information yourself.

Hybrid PCG User Meeting 2022

As already announced, the PCG User Meeting 2022 will take place in the charming town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber as a hybrid meeting. Please reserve Wednesday, 2nd to Friday, 4th February 2022 and register by mail by 16th January.

At the moment, the 2G rule and FFP2 mask obligation apply for participating in the house and we will inform you quickly if something changes.

However, online participation is of course also possible. Please note this on the registration form.

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We are hosted in Rothenburg im Wildbad, which is the former spa house in the immediate vicinity of the Tauber river, in the Tauber valley. Nevertheless, the town centre and the railway station are within walking distance, although there are a few metres of altitude to climb. Parking spaces are available, of course.

See you soon in person or on the screen! We look forward to a great start of the new year with you!

First image: (c) Wildbad Rothenburg

Meet the team: Malte

And today, Malte presents himself 🙂 :

I have been fascinated by natural sciences since I was a schoolboy, so I started studying chemical engineering after my A-levels, followed by an apprenticeship as a CTA (chemical-technical assistant) in materials science. However, I realised after a while that university wasn’t necessarily for me and I decided to enter the working world.

So I joined Charly’s company and I really liked it there. I spent more than 3 years working in many different areas and got to know a lot about the PCG. As I was already unofficially in the role of a mini-supporter at the Ökokiste for the daily small problems of my colleagues, I was pleased about the offer of a change to PCG support. That’s how I ended up joining the PCG team.

I grew up in a small, charming village in central Hesse. I have two older siblings and am the proud uncle of four little rascals. In my free time, I like to ride my bike or relax on the sofa with a good series or movie. When I have time, I like to try new, exotic dishes, with a preference for Asian cuisine.

Logistics

Most users of our system have their own logistics, which has proven particularly useful in these pandemic times: not only is the quality under their own control, but the lack of capacity is also easier to manage. In addition, in-house optimisations typically result in very efficient (and low CO2) delivery.

Bikes, drones

But service providers can of course help, especially when it comes to peak times, or specialists, e.g. bike messengers in city centres, (limited) electric vehicles or drone deliveries. Sometimes this becomes a permanent collaboration, beyond helping during rush hours.

Ok, we actually can’t report a cooperation with a drone delivery service yet, but we already have some experience with bicycle delivery services. It is possible to transfer the relevant data (addresses, weights, number of boxes, sizes) to the IT of the respective partners, usually once the packing process has been completed. Depending on how these partners have organised their drivers, the order of the boxes at the transfer point is also important, and this can deviate from the internal optimisation.

It could even go so far that the partners receive a preview of the upcoming deliveries before the actual order deadline or the end of packing – and then report their desired packing order back to the system.

In addition to the previous manual export of the tours from the goods management system, there are now several IT interfaces to logistics systems that are common in the logistics sector. Not only is data sent automatically, but also the feedback “delivered” or “in delivery” comes back to us in the system and can trigger the familiar customer feedback (email, SMS, push). Even the not-so-trivial refund management is getting better and better and is sometimes already fully automated.

Depots

Another commonly used optimisation idea are depots: besides the de-facto depots of the customers (customer A also receives the boxes from B and C), these can also be the market places or friendly farm shops.

A depot can be public in the system – i.e. selectable for every (new) customer – or private. A private depot is typically assigned in the ERP system, but can also be protected by a secret code, so it can be used by someone to have their order delivered there.

The secret code is sometimes also the key to a delivery system (e.g. Sesame Boxes), whose depots should of course only be opened by authorised customers. Such systems also require space management, as subscriptions and orders reserve this space in the future.

Of course, this capacity information can also be useful for any other depot. A depot that is “full” is then no longer available for further orders.

Tours

Capacity management is also helpful for tours in order to achieve the efficiency described above. Some values can be stored in the system for this purpose, e.g. number of orders or maximum customers who can be supplied.

Save the date: 2022 PCG User Meeting

In a way, we remain loyal to the conference centre in Schmerlenbach. Because our new planned location is also a Christian conference centre – in the historically beautiful Bavarian town of Rothenburg/o.d.T.: the Wildbad Rothenburg.

Please note the date Wed, 02 February (evening) to Fri, 04 February 2022 (noon) for the next PCG user meeting.
In addition to the organic certification for the used and processed food as well as regional products in the centre, the house offers conference spaces and rooms in a historical ambience. Furthermore, the town of Rothenburg and the railway station are both within walking distance (25 min). A bus also runs to the house. The ICE stations are Nuremberg and Würzburg and regional trains run from there.

As usual, we want to have a look at the latest developments and take you with us into the new developments of the PCG universe. In addition, we want to meet during the breaks and on the two evenings to catch up on what we were not allowed to do this year: the face-to-face conversation in small and large groups. The PCG team is especially looking forward to this!

Picture credits: Wildbad Rothenburg