Ideals enables E-Gruppe to manage multi-million dollar real estate project with 30% time-savings

Overview

Founded in 1979, E-Gruppe is a German real estate project developer specializing in properties of logistics, retail, mixed-use and public buildings.

Based in Herne, the company is committed to integrating economic and social responsibility with ecological sustainability in all its endeavors.

In 2018, they embarked on a monumental endeavor, the restoration of Herne’s historic “City Center”, the oldest inner-city covered shopping mall in the German state North Rhine-Westphalia.

From technical blueprints to legal contracts, every aspect of the project’s documentation had to be exchanged and reviewed with ease. E-Gruppe extensively researched various options and ultimately discovered Ideals: a highly efficient VDR that met their requirements.

“With Ideals, we save around 30% of our time and a lot of stress. Ideals helps ensure everyone can see the big picture.”

The context

E-Gruppe is a powerhouse of subsidiaries dedicated to every aspect of the industry. From acquisition to construction, rental to sale, their teams are well-equipped to manage commercial real estate in any location.

In 2018, one of their subsidiaries undertook the task of revitalizing Herne’s “City Center”, an  iconic landmark that had aged over time and needed a modern transformation.

With over 100 tenants planned, including a mix of retail, service, office, and residential premises, E-Gruppe’s vision went beyond refurbishment. They also wanted to incorporate renewable energy into the new complex.

Key challenges

The large development would span several years and require managing an extensive amount of data efficiently.

While the E-Gruppe team had previously used email and online file-sharing platforms, they were finding it time-consuming and difficult to avoid document duplication.

After conducting extensive research, E-Gruppe decided to switch to a VDR that would provide:

• Communication features
• Controlled permission levels
• Comprehensive monitoring of the lifecycle of the project

That’s when they discovered Ideals, and after carrying out the initial phase of the new development, the results were exceptional.

Impressed by the platform’s commitment to efficiency, E-Gruppe continued using Ideals for all of their future projects. As Julia Hoffrichter, their Project Manager, comments, “everything is great with Ideals!”

Solution

In 2020 and 2021 alone, E-Gruppe developed over 500,000 square meters of warehouse space.

With Ideals, the company can streamline their workflow by:

• Bulk uploading their sales documentation, including any plans or diagrams
• Sharing data securely with their experts, consultants, assessors
• Automatically indexing the files and folders
• Communicating efficiently with the in-built Q&A

“I have all the project information in one place, so I don’t need to have outside conversations with potential buyers, this saves so much time,” concludes Julia.

The future

E-Gruppe is currently setting up more new projects on the platform, Julia reckons that “the average investment for these three projects is in the high double digit millions.”

It’s no wonder that Julia and her colleagues will continue to use Ideals to manage their projects. In fact, “appreciation of Ideals is passed from team to team and department to department. We always come back because of this very positive experience,” concludes Julia.