Mobile change of tenant – challenges and successes at Gewobag in Berlin

The classic change of tenant – many players & long processes

What happens if there is a change of tenant? And why should it be digital? If a rental contract is terminated, this is first registered in the ERP system. This then triggers appointments to view the residential property. The preliminary acceptance then takes place and the necessary renovation measures are determined. Here, employees document all important data on site – traditionally with a piece of paper and pen. This data is collected in a folder and must be manually transferred to the system in the office. If necessary, repair appointments must be arranged and it is determined who will repair which damage. Eventually, a final acceptance takes place – this data must also be available here. Employees therefore need to have a printout or written note of the data with them on site. Finally, the property is handed over to a new tenant. Due to the many sub-steps, the entire process requires a lot of working time, effort and organisation. Unfortunately, human error and delays cannot be ruled out here. Even if the ERP system already automates some steps, such as appointment scheduling, many things still have to be recorded and transferred manually.

The digital change of tenant – A better overview & greater efficiency

This lengthy process does not have to be so complicated! Gewobag thought so and, in collaboration with PROMOS, introduced a mobile solution with which all steps are handled digitally. What exactly does that look like? The Gewobag-branded easysquare professional app is installed on the mobile devices of both internal and external employees. If a rental contract is terminated, the corresponding termination is activated in Gewobag’s ERP system and an inspection date is stored. The relevant data for the residential property inspection is immediately transferred from the ERP system to the app. Everything can then be seen quickly: which tenant and which property is involved, which rooms are available, what equipment is in the property, the number of keys that were originally handed over to the tenant and much more. All this data is available to Gewobag customer advisors and the caretaker service on their mobile devices, which makes it much easier to record data on site and integrate it back into Gewobag’s ERP system.

When the tenancy contract is terminated, the first date of the residential property inspection – the preliminary acceptance – is set and at the same time the necessary data for the inspection is transferred to the app. As part of the preliminary acceptance, Gewobag’s customer advisors record the condition of the residential property, check the contact details and identify any discrepancies on site, such as a storage room that is not registered or a missing key. These can be corrected and added to directly in the app – even in the cellar, where an Internet connection is not always available. And if the app is accidentally closed without saving, the recovery mode ensures that no data is lost. For the subsequent final acceptance and handover, the data from the preliminary acceptance is carried forward – i.e. updated in the app.

Does the bathroom need to be renovated? Does a room door need to be replaced? All renovation measures for trades are also recorded on a mobile device with the help of a service catalogue. All information is transferred to the ERP system, a maintenance report is created and transmitted to the craftsmen portal. Competent craftspeople are selected and then commissioned. The renovation measures are checked and accepted as part of a separate acceptance date for the maintenance report.

Have all repairs been carried out properly? Does any work still need to be done? Logs are created based on the mobile recording, transferred to the ERP system and stored for the rental property or rental contract. All preliminary and final acceptance reports are sent to the tenant and, where technically possible, the utility suppliers receive the current meter readings.

Challenge no. 1 – A triangular relationship

PROMOS is not Gewobag’s only partner. A special constellation emerged with another ERP software developer, which is Gewobag’s main supplier of ERP software and therefore plays an important role in the change of tenant process. The challenge was to integrate the mobile application seamlessly into the software developer’s logic. This led to a complex triangular relationship between PROMOS as the provider, Gewobag as the customer and its ERP software supplier. However, thanks to the transparent communication and constructive cooperation between all parties, this was not a problem and the task was successfully mastered with innovative ideas.

Challenge no. 2 – Three operating systems & one app

Another challenge arose from the mobile devices. Gewobag’s customer advisors are equipped with iPads, while the employees of the external caretaker service use Windows devices. The app therefore had to run flawlessly on two very different operating systems. But they did not shy away from this challenge! As a result, internal iOS users have been able to efficiently complete all work steps with the app since summer 2022 and Windows users since January 2023. But it didn’t stop there. The caretaker service will be replacing its Windows devices with Android tablets in the coming months. PROMOS is therefore ensuring that new functions and features in the app are available on all three platforms and work flawlessly – features such as offline capability, the map function with jump to the form, the password display and the editing of photos on several levels in the form.

Conclusion – have the challenges been successfully overcome?

Gewobag has now been using the new solution for one and a half years. Gewobag employees and caretaker service staff work with easysquare’s Professional App on a daily basis and use it to handle all the steps involved in the mobile change of tenant process. What is the conclusion? Tanja Lingenberg, project manager at Gewobag, describes the result as follows: “The biggest advantage for us is that we no longer have any media discontinuities. This saves our employees and the caretaker service a lot of time in preparation and follow-up. In the past, everything was recorded by hand, scanned and then entered into the system. These small steps are now synchronised and carried out without media discontinuities, which also reduces the potential for errors.” Changes of tenant are faster and more efficient.

What has changed for Gewobag? “The specifications in the record improve our master data quality. There are no mandatory fields in a paper record. Now all necessary fields must be completed before the form can be finally signed and completed. It also gives us a better overview of all processes and work steps,” continues Tanja Lingenberg.

Is this the end of the project? Not at all! Gewobag records every discovery and observation during the practical application in the ERP system and in the app. The requirements and optimisation topics were prioritised so that the most important points could be dealt with as quickly as possible. Last year, Gewobag worked with PROMOS to implement a number of improvements in the app and the ERP system, such as error monitoring and handling in the ERP system, the display of changes from mobile recording in the reintegration dialogue and the storage of floor plans and internal logs in the ERP system.

Kathrin Finn, Project Manager at PROMOS, concludes: “The realisation of the project was so successful thanks to the open communication and regular exchange between all parties. There were some challenges that arose from the special constellation. We are pleased that we were able to overcome these satisfactorily and that Gewobag can now work even more productively and efficiently with our Professional App. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and receiving valuable feedback from this major customer!” This year, Gewobag and PROMOS also want to further optimise the mobile change of tenant process together. More exciting updates are sure to follow!

redaktion@openpromos.de