INFOLOX for KLOCKE
The task assigned by KLOCKE, a long-established Westphalian company, to the product experience specialists at INFOLOX was clear: to significantly improve the product experience through better product data – while also increasing efficiency and speed. As a leading mail order and wholesale company for florist and decoration supplies as well as wine and delicacies, KLOCKE has been active in omnichannel commerce for several years with multiple online shops and print publications. However, the very wide range of different products under several brands that Klocke has built up in its more than 85-year history still had some room for optimisation, which the family-owned company from Porta Westfalica wanted to exploit by introducing a PIM/MDM system.
Challenge
Given KLOCKE's extremely wide range of products, designing and implementing a comprehensive, channel-independent data management system for various publications placed particularly high demands on the PIM/MDM system and the implementation partner. The aim was to introduce a central PIM (Product Information Management) system that would enable seamless integration with existing source and target systems and improved data management. Based on a cross-domain data model, better-prepared product data was to be made available more quickly and reliably in order to enhance the presentation of products on digital and print channels and, in addition, to enable faster retrieval of the right products through optimised online access via product range, themes, seasons, occasions, brands, search and facet filters.
Solution
By introducing the PIM and MDM system viamedici EPIM in conjunction with a flexible multi-domain data model from infolox, KLOCKE was able to implement the necessary channel-independent data management. The data model approach developed by INFOLOX enables precise tagging and filtering of product data according to various criteria such as product type, brand, materials, colours and more in the new online shop. For wine products, for example, specific data such as winery, vintage, quality level, grape varieties, taste, aromas and alcohol content were recorded. In addition, food recommendations and other relevant information were stored in order to offer customers comprehensive product information and inspiration. The solution developed with INFOLOX not only improves the product search and product discovery experience across all channels – especially in the online shop – but also leads to greater efficiency in data preparation. Detailed tagging and filtering by marketing topics, target groups, etc. has significantly optimised sales processes.
Technical implementation
Integration with the merchandise management system enables an automated creation process in EPIM: items are created in an inbox and basic and master data are transferred automatically. Shopware has been integrated for e-commerce to ensure a seamless connection between the PIM system and online shops. Taurec/Tbx is used for reporting, analysis and planning. Data sheets are generated and created as associated elements in the EPIM system to ensure consistent and comprehensive documentation of product information. The creation of products/articles from the merchandise management system, including the transfer of basic and logistics data to the EPIM system, led to a significant increase in efficiency through process optimisation. In addition, products are automatically moved and archived according to their status in the merchandise management system.
The node.js-based Data Integration Cockpit from INFOLOX acts as an integration layer between PIM and source/target systems. It provides access to all integrations, interfaces and publication processes and is used to control, execute and document the processes. All processes for improving data quality also run via the cockpit. Standard publications and exports can also be carried out without access to the PIM system and via simple masks.
Fazit
The successful introduction of the PIM system at KLOCKE shows how a well-thought-out data management strategy and the integration of modern technologies can lead to a significant improvement in business processes and customer satisfaction. KLOCKE is now ideally equipped to meet the growing demands of the market and continue its success.
What does the customer say?
Maximilian Klocke on the project:
We are very pleased and happy that we examined several PIM integrators and service providers in detail after selecting the software. Both during the selection phase and later in the project, INFOLOX impressed us with its expertise, experience and methodology. Above all, infolox's efficient approach and flexibility throughout the project, tailored to our company and our team, was extremely helpful for us. With infolox, we not only introduced a PIM, but also optimised our end-to-end processes and took them to the next level. We were a very good team and exceeded all our goals."
