Growth can be exciting, but it can also stretch your systems to the brink. For SPARETECH, an industrial data platform that helps manufacturers manage spare parts, that moment came when they landed a massive global client with users spread across the world.

Suddenly, their highly manual, CSM-led onboarding approach no longer scaled. Facing an endless string of Zoom trainings that would guarantee to overwhelm their CSM team, SPARETECH needed a way to deliver onboarding. That’s when they decided to leverage one of their existing software: Userflow. 

We talked with Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager at SPARETECH, to find out how SPARETECH used Userflow to ease their growth pains and successfully scaled up their onboarding. 

Buckle up, because this is quite the story.

Manual Onboarding That Couldn't Scale

SPARETECH helps industrial companies transform spare parts data into a smarter, more collaborative experience—reducing MRO spend and inventory waste through better internal transparency and market visibility.

Their onboarding challenges came to a head when a major international client decided to expand their use of SPARETECH globally. What sounded like a win quickly revealed a serious operational gap: suddenly, the team was responsible for onboarding 3,000 users across 10+ time zones, a scale they had never encountered before.

Up to that point, onboarding had relied entirely on live Zoom sessions and slide decks. It was labor-intensive, hard to scale, and frankly, not the most effective way to train users who needed to hit the ground running.

“I’d be talking, staring at a wall of icons because nobody turns on their cameras. No idea if people were listening or doing their shopping. And we had no clue if anyone actually understood the product. No feedback. No way to track anything.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

With users in North America, South America, and Europe all needing to be onboarded fast, SPARETECH’s CSM team realized the old methods wouldn’t just fall short, they’d completely collapse.

“There was no way we could keep up. It would’ve broken our backs. The CSM team would’ve had no sleep.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

The Solution: A Self-Guided Onboarding for Every User

As it turned out, the solution was already at their fingertips. SPARETECH had been using Userflow—but only to announce new features. Once the team recognized its full potential, it quickly became mission-critical, transforming their onboarding from a manual, reactive process into something scalable and personalized at last.

“We basically recreated the experience of having a Customer Success Manager looking over your shoulder, but now it works for thousands of users at once, in their own language.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

SPARETECH began by building a complete first-time user experience directly inside the product. With over 14 onboarding flows, localized in over a dozen languages, they ensured that every new user, no matter where they were in the world, received clear, contextual guidance the moment they logged in.

And of course, all of this was fast and easy to deploy. 

“It's so darn simple to create new flows.”

 — Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

Localization That Actually Scales

With an international client base, localization wasn't a nice-to-have—it was a hard requirement. The team had a process in place, but it was entirely manual and eating up far too much time

“Before we upgraded to the Pro plan, we were hacking it, because we wanted to try to save money. So we tried duplicating flows and translating manually. It was a horror show.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

So, they got Userflow Pro, and instantly they saw how its localization feature made their lives easier. By exporting translation files and using an internal glossary, they were able to deliver consistent guidance across regions without rebuilding the same flow over and over again. Even before the launch of Userflow’s AI-powered translations, this workflow saved the team significant time and reduced localization errors.

Autonomy Without Engineering Bottlenecks

SPARETECH’s product team also gained something invaluable: independence.

With minimal setup from engineering, product managers like Thomas could build, deploy, and iterate flows on their own. That meant they could move fast, whether to test ideas, collect feedback, or make improvements without waiting in line for dev resources.

“With Userflow, you get this ability to build so many things without code. You become much more flexible, much more agile.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

This also gave them a better way to track adoption. Instead of relying on complex Amplitude setups, they used Userflow’s tracking to see who was completing key actions, and why.

Results: Scalable Onboarding, Happier Teams, and Global Reach

SPARETECH’s adoption of Userflow didn’t just solve an onboarding problem. It transformed how they support users at scale. By shifting from manual sessions to personalized, in-product guidance, they unlocked new efficiencies, reduced team stress, and delivered a better user experience across the board.

Faster Onboarding for Thousands of Users

With 14+ onboarding flows localized across 14 languages, Userflow helped SPARETECH onboard 3,000+ users across 10+ time zones—with minimal reliance on live calls

CSM Workload Drastically Reduced

Manual onboarding was replaced by automated flows, freeing the Customer Success team from repetitive calls and allowing them to focus on high-impact work.

Better Global Coverage, Without the Chaos

SPARETECH moved from duplicating flows per language to managing localization from a single source of truth—ensuring every user sees the right guidance in their native language.

More Autonomy for Product Teams

Product managers now own onboarding end-to-end. They build, test, and launch flows independently, validate adoption without engineering help, and adjust flows in real time.

In-Product Support That’s Always On

The embedded help center ensures users can self-serve answers without needing to log a support ticket—reducing delays and improving satisfaction.

With Userflow, SPARETECH built an onboarding system that works around the clock, across borders, and without bottlenecks, laying the foundation for long-term, scalable growth.

Implementation Insights: What SPARETECH Learned

Start with context, not just content

By embedding onboarding directly inside the app, SPARETECH guided users when they needed help most during real tasks. 

Localization needs to be part of your foundation

Userflow’s localization features made it easy to maintain one source of truth and deliver onboarding that adapts at global scale.

Empower product teams to own onboarding

With Userflow, product managers could take ownership of the onboarding experience, enabling them to create, track, and optimize flows without waiting on dev cycles.

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Beyond Onboarding: Userflow as a Long-Term Growth Partner

Today, Userflow is far more than an onboarding solution at SPARETECH. It’s a foundational layer for user education, product announcements, and customer success across their entire client base.

While onboarding was the initial focus, SPARETECH quickly realized Userflow could power much more of the product experience. Today, they use Userflow across the entire customer journey. Here are a few use cases: 

Micro-Surveys for Product Validation

To test hypotheses or gauge awareness, the product team was able to deploy lightweight, in-app surveys. Whether it’s a single-question NPS prompt or a quick “Did you know this existed?” feedback form, they can gather actionable insights that are super contextual without interrupting the user experience.

Help Center and Contextual Support

With Userflow’s embedded resource center, SPARETECH has built a searchable, self-serve help hub right inside the platform that is a massive improvement on ‘horrific’ old one. Users can quickly find guidance tied to specific parts of the app, all with no ticket required.

“Simply put, Userflow is a superpower for product teams.”
— Thomas Karbe, Senior Product Manager

As Userflow becomes more deeply embedded in SPARETECH’s workflows, it’s proving to be more than just a tool. It is now an essential partner for sustainable long-term growth. And one thing’s for sure: they’re not going back to Zoom for onboarding.