Swiss-Ski: Holistic fan experience with Salesforce and MuleSoft
Success Story
Central CRM solution for events, tickets, and fans
Offering fans a holistic winter sports experience and supporting local organizing committees (lokale Organisationskomitees, LOK) with a digital ticketing solution – with this goal in mind, Swiss-Ski developed the Swiss-Ski app together with Salesfive. To achieve this, Swiss-Ski connected the CRM system from Salesforce, used MuleSoft as interface software, and integrated various third-party systems.
Thanks to the app, all relevant data now flows together in one central location: Memberships, ticket and webshop sales as well as information about skiing, athletes and events.
Members and fans can be targeted with personalized marketing campaigns. At the same time, they can experience their favorite sport even more intensively thanks to the diverse digital offerings in the app.
Overview
This was implemented
The Swiss Ski Association Swiss-Ski is now bringing winter sports even closer to its fans with its own ticket and event app based on Salesforce and MuleSoft.
Technical strategy consulting and conception
Implementation of Salesforce as a single source of truth, development of individual Salesforce functions, and integration of Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud
Development of an integration layer with MuleSoft and connection of third-party systems, including member administration, ticket system, web store, identity provider (IdP), and mobile app
Setting up ticket management directly in Salesforce and providing a ticket sharing function
Technologies
These technologies were used
Systems are only as good as the technology behind them. That‘s why we rely on modern solutions from the Salesforce ecosystem for our customers‘ digitization projects. The following technologies, among others, were used at Swiss-Ski.
MuleSoft
MuleSoft connects applications, data, and systems via APIs to form a unified integration platform.
Challenges
How things started
The project faced the challenge of integrating different systems, creating a uniform database, and coordinating numerous partners within a tight schedule – with Salesforce as the central solution for efficiency and transparency.
Swiss-Ski intended to use the Swiss-Ski app to connect various systems that previously worked separately.
Ticket management and the webshop were to be integrated, including advance bookings and a click-and-collect function for events.
An important prerequisite for the project was a uniform database. This was previously organized individually for each system.
With the planned platform, all systems should be able to access shared data – easily, quickly, and securely.
Swiss-Ski worked with numerous partners on the project, including the association’s main partner, various agencies and service providers and, of course, Salesfive as the implementation partner.
The large number of participants required transparent communication and regular coordination during the project.
Swiss-Ski planned the app premiere for February 2025 at the Men’s Ski World Cup in Crans-Montana. This meant that only four months remained for the MuleSoft launch and the integration of the third-party systems.
Great flexibility and high speed were needed to meet the requirements and implement a powerful Salesforce solution.
“You can feel Salesfive’s passion for snow sports. You always get the feeling that they care about what happens to the project. We are listened to and valued as customers and are not just a number. We felt very well looked after.”
Solution
The project success in detail
The Salesforce Clouds provide all the necessary components to efficiently solve Swiss-Ski‘s challenges.
Salesforce as a single source of truth
In December 2023, in the first of two project phases, Swiss-Ski set up the Salesforce CRM system as a single source of truth, laying the foundation for the entire digitalization project.
Powerful cloud solutions
By May 2024, Swiss-Ski had integrated Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud, providing a standardized database. Since then, Swiss-Ski has had centralized access to its members’ master data and can continuously expand it with high-quality data – for an even better user experience.
MuleSoft as integration layer
The second phase of the project began in September 2024. In just four months, Salesfive developed an integration layer with MuleSoft. This allows third-party systems to be connected seamlessly – including ticket management, the web store, the IdP, and the mobile app.
Modern ticket management
Purchased tickets are displayed to users directly in the Swiss-Ski app. They can show them on site at the entrance to the event, add them to their wallet, and forward them by email or WhatsApp, among other things. This is made possible by the single sign-on and a specially developed function in Salesforce.
Personalized user experience
Fans can shop in the Swiss-Ski app and pick up fan merchandise on site via click and collect. Discounts for individual members are automatically taken into account thanks to the single sign-on. Members and fans can also be targeted with personalized marketing campaigns.
Flexible scalability
Salesforce and MuleSoft form the backbone of the scalable platform. The app will gradually be used at other events – regardless of their size – and functions will be added. Swiss-Ski is thus relieving the burden on organizers and can be even more present with its fans at the same time.
“The integration worked perfectly. At the first event, 94% of buyers purchased and received their tickets via our platform. That was a key KPI for us and we clearly exceeded it.”
Company
About Swiss-Ski
The Swiss Ski Association Swiss-Ski is the umbrella organization for Swiss snow sports. Since its foundation in 1904, Swiss-Ski has been one of the most important and successful sports associations in Switzerland. It unites eleven sports under one roof: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, biathlon, snowboarding, ski cross, freeskiing, aerials, moguls, and telemark.
Swiss-Ski promotes top-class sport and is oriented towards the best sports nations in the world. It emphasizes popular sports, gives children and young people access to snow sports, and contributes to public health. The association also promotes major events in Switzerland. Swiss-Ski is embedded in a comprehensive network of international and national associations and organizations.
Technology
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