Erwin Hymer Group
Custom software solutions and digital strategy for a leading European motorhome and caravan manufacturer.
About Erwin Hymer Group
Erwin Hymer Group (EHG) is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of motorhomes, caravans, and recreational vehicles. Founded in 1957 in Bad Waldsee, Germany, the company has grown to encompass multiple prestigious brands including Hymer, Bürstner, Carado, Dethleffs, and Elddis. In 2019, EHG was acquired by Thor Industries, creating the world's largest RV manufacturer with a global presence across Europe, North America, and beyond. With over 7,300 employees across multiple manufacturing facilities, EHG produces approximately 50,000 leisure vehicles annually, serving the growing market of travel and outdoor enthusiasts.
The Partnership
Developed in collaboration with Device Insight, a comprehensive platform that manages onboard systems in the motorhomes and provides APIs for mobile and web applications supporting business operations like motorhome rentals, driver assignments, fleet management, and customer service.
Key Facts
- Founded in 1957 in Bad Waldsee, Germany
- Acquired by Thor Industries in 2019
- Over 7,300 employees across Europe
- Produces approximately 50,000 leisure vehicles annually
- Owns brands including Hymer, Bürstner, Carado, Dethleffs, and Elddis
- World's largest RV manufacturer with Thor Industries
The Project
Challenge
EHG needed a unified platform to streamline their business operations across multiple brands and countries. They faced challenges with fragmented systems for fleet management, rental operations, and customer service. Additionally, they wanted to improve the customer experience by providing a modern mobile application for motorhome rentals, driver management, and service requests while also monitoring onboard systems for maintenance and support.
Solution
The solution was a Java-based platform with RESTful APIs that power both web and mobile applications. The microservices architecture uses Protocol Buffers for efficient data serialization and Kafka for real-time event processing. The platform enables rental management, driver assignments, fleet tracking, and customer service operations while also connecting to onboard systems for diagnostics and maintenance. The solution provides a seamless experience for both EHG staff and customers across all touchpoints.
Technology Stack
The comprehensive platform for Erwin Hymer Group provides APIs that power their web and mobile applications for motorhome rentals, driver management, and fleet operations. Explore the key technologies below to see how this scalable, high-performance solution was built.
Azure
Kubernetes
Java
Docker
Kafka
Event Hubs
IoT Hub
Terraform
Protocol Buffers
Azure
The project leveraged Azure's comprehensive cloud platform as the foundation for EHG's business operations platform. The solution integrates Azure App Services, Functions, SQL Database, and API Management to create a robust, scalable infrastructure capable of handling thousands of concurrent users and processing millions of transactions daily across their rental and fleet management operations.
Results & Impact
The project delivered significant improvements across EHG's digital infrastructure, resulting in measurable business outcomes and technical achievements.
60% reduction in administrative time for processing rentals and driver assignments
API response times under 200ms for 99.5% of requests despite high traffic
85% smaller data payloads through Protocol Buffers implementation
99.9% system availability with seamless scaling during peak rental seasons
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