CASE STUDY

Transforming consumer insights across 16 countries with MyScan for GfK

Client :

GfK SE

Client & Project Background Information

GfK SE has a rich history spanning 100 years and employs over 10,000 people. As Europe’s largest market research company, it specializes in measuring and analyzing consumer behavior. In 2023, GfK SE merged with NielsenIQ to become one of the largest market research companies in the world. GfK tracks and reports all grocery and retail purchases made by more than 100,000 households on a daily basis, allowing purchasing patterns and decisions to be related to social-demographics. Starting in 2016, GfK SE started the initiative to fully re-imagine their aging tracking tool technology and to replace it with the groundbreaking application “MyScan”, developed by VT Netzwelt.

"The team demonstrated an exceptional ability to understand our needs and translate them into a cutting-edge solution tailored to the challenges of N3XT Generation Manufacturing. Their collaborative approach made them an invaluable partner in delivering this transformative tool."

Justus Gentner

COO, YouGov Germany

The Challenge

Transforming GfK’s legacy system and physical handheld tools into a modern, flexible mobile application for personal smartphones posed a range of complex challenges:

  • Legacy System Complexity: GfK’s data collection system relied on a proprietary syntax developed and refined over 20 years. Rebuilding this intricate architecture required a deep understanding of the legacy system, meticulous documentation, and expert adaptation to a mobile platform.
  • Global Usability: The application needed to perform seamlessly across 25 countries, including regions where users relied on low-spec smartphones with limited RAM and processing power.
  • Advanced Functionality: Beyond replicating the robust data collection capabilities of earlier Palm-like devices, the new mobile app had to fully leverage modern smartphone technology. This included integrating advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) features to enhance data capture. Custom OCR models were developed using Tesseract and OpenCV, combined with tailored image preprocessing techniques to ensure accurate and efficient performance across diverse devices.
  • Device Optimization and Scalability: To meet the constraints of low-spec devices, the application was designed to be lightweight and resource-efficient without compromising its advanced functionalities. Additionally, the system was architected for scalability, ensuring reliability and stability for hundreds of thousands of concurrent users globally.

Our Contribution

Our team successfully developed MyScan from scratch for both iOS and Android platforms. Key aspects of our work included:

  • Technical Development:
    • Rebuilding GfK's legacy system into a robust, scalable mobile application.
    • Optimizing the application to run on low-spec smartphones without compromising functionality.
  • User-Centric Design:
    • Creating an intuitive interface to encourage adoption and improve usability.
    • Ensuring that the application was lightweight and efficient, catering to a diverse range of devices across multiple countries.
  • Global Compatibility:
    • Developing features to accommodate regional differences in data collection and user preferences.
    • Implementing support for multiple languages and regional configurations.
  • Deployment and Maintenance:
    • Supporting hundreds of thousands of concurrent users.
    • Providing ongoing maintenance to ensure the application remains competitive and up-to-date.

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Achievements

The MyScan project has been an enormous success, delivering significant benefits to GfK and its users:

  • Enhanced Market Position: The application has strengthened GfK's competitive edge, helping secure its position as a market leader.
  • Cost Reduction: Eliminating the need for separate Palm-like handheld devices significantly lowered consumer onboarding and operational costs.
  • Increased Adoption: The app’s ease of use and availability on personal devices resulted in higher client response rates and quicker onboarding processes.
  • Global Reach: The application operates successfully in around 25 countries, adapting to diverse user and device requirements.
  • Longevity and Impact: MyScan has been in continuous use for around a decade, proving its flexibility and reliability in the competitive market research industry.

Conclusion

The success of MyScan underscores our capability to deliver groundbreaking, scalable solutions tailored to the needs of global enterprises. By transforming GfK’s legacy systems into a cutting-edge mobile platform, we empowered the organization to streamline operations, significantly reduce costs, and elevate user engagement across 25+ countries. MyScan not only redefined data collection for GfK but also set a new standard for innovation in market research technology. This project is a testament to our dedication to driving digital transformation, enabling businesses to thrive in a competitive landscape and secure their position as industry leaders.