case studie

70,000+ homes: digital orchestration for a municipal housing group

With specialist partners we created the digital orchestration for a municipal housing group (70,000+ units): the AS/400 remains, but is connected via APIs to a data hub and standardised workflows. A social intranet links tenant offices, responsibilities, and knowledge; a tenant self-service portal provides contracts, statements, and services online. Result: one source of truth, faster processes, fewer media breaks—and an organisation that works simpler, faster, and more reliably from the inside out.

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location

germany

industry

real estate

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70,000+ homes: digital orchestration for a municipal housing group

summary

One of Germany’s largest municipal housing companies (70,000+ units) manages apartments, parking, commercial spaces, cooperative shares and savings, internet packages, staff data, and more. The core platform was an AS/400 with many separate systems—migrated once after reunification and then maintained largely by hand.

challenge

Information sat in silos: duplicate entry, error-prone exports, and many hand-offs between local tenant offices and HQ. Billing, statements, and enquiries took too long; there was limited transparency across properties, contracts, and contacts. For tenants, that meant forms, phone calls, and office visits instead of simple digital services.

solution

As lead contractor, together with topic specialists we designed and delivered a digital master plan—connect data, standardise processes, and make collaboration easier.

Two-speed architecture: The AS/400 stays in operation but is connected via an API layer. Master data, contracts, postings, and movements are synchronised bi-directionally.
Data hub & governance: Unified data models (MDM), data-quality rules, role/rights management, and an auditable history.
Process workflows: Standardised flows for move-in/out, contract changes, service charges, parking & internet allocation, cooperative shares/savings, incident & repair tickets—with clear ownership and SLAs.
Social intranet (organisational core): One place for tenant offices, contacts, phone directories, billing cycles, knowledge articles and internal comms—search replaces email chains and paper.
Tenant self-service (external): Digital access to contracts, statements, bills, meter readings, tickets/appointments, and bank/SEPA—fewer counter visits, faster answers.
Integration at scale: Interfaces to ERP, DMS, e-signature, billing, payments; automated document creation (notices, letters, lobby postings) from central templates.
Security & compliance: GDPR, full logging, need-to-know access, tenant/office separation; audit-ready processes.

impact

One version of the truth: Properties, contracts, and movements are current and consistent—internally and for tenants.
Faster billing & responses: less rework, shorter cycle times, clear status views.
Lower call and form volume: self-service reduces inbound workload at tenant offices.
Better collaboration: the social intranet links HQ and local offices—knowledge is findable, responsibilities are clear.
Future-proof: new services (e.g., EV charging, upgraded internet, neighbourhood offerings) can plug into the data hub—no big-bang migration needed.

Tags: city / government / real estate

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