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Case Study: Leatherman

Powering Success: A Journey from Legacy PIM to Streamlined Efficiency with Leatherman, Aleysian, and Akeneo

We ran a pretty thorough selection process to choose this software. We had stakeholders from IT, product, brand marketing, and eCommerce helping to build the requirements, evaluate the RFPs, attend demos, and ultimately make the final decision about who we went with. Akeneo met all of our 100+ requirements for a PIM.

Liz Lee, IT Director

The Challenge

At the core of Leatherman’s strategy lies the aspiration to foster closer bonds with consumers and elevate their experiences at every interaction point. Their journey towards direct-to-consumer (D2C) excellence has primarily revolved around their in-house eCommerce platform and Amazon FBA, with ambitious plans to expand their presence in marketplaces and international eCommerce domains.

However, Leatherman found itself shackled by a legacy PIM system that had outlived its usefulness. Designed to meet their needs a decade ago, the PIM solution had grown into an impediment as Leatherman’s product portfolio, sales channels, teams, processes, and technology had evolved.

The outdated PIM featured a cumbersome user interface and a lack of data validation capabilities, resulting in the entry of erroneous data into the system. Without robust search functionality and with a rigid navigation system, Leatherman’s PIM solution quickly began to show the cracks of a system that couldn’t keep up with  rapidly changing data and technology.

 

So often you get into an implementation and you realize the software isn’t quite as great as how it was sold to you. You find out the gotchas and limitations and things don’t work quite the way you want. We’ve had the exact opposite experience with Akeneo! Our team loves the tool more and more all the time. Our dev team has really enjoyed working with it and feel they have all the tools they need. Our users love the interface; they’ve found the product models, families, and rules have all been super flexible.

Liz Lee, IT Director

The Solution

Collaborating with stakeholders from IT, product, brand marketing, and eCommerce, Leatherman established an extensive selection process that included:

  • SaaS-based architecture, offering modern multi-tenant capabilities with built-in security that would scale as the company scaled.
  • Seamless integration with their existing tech stack, including Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Bynder (Digital Asset Management), and TransPerfect (language localization).
  • A user-friendly interface that resonated with their teams.
  • Robust data security features.
  • Exceptional customer service throughout implementation and beyond.
  • Long-term business value.
  • A simple interface that effortlessly connected with their numerous tech partners, streamlining product data management.

 

Leatherman’s Product, eCommerce, and Marketing teams were clamoring for a change. Their objectives for the PIM project were clear:

  • Establish a single source of truth for all product data.
  • Ensure the availability of accurate and trustworthy product information that anyone within the organization could access effortlessly.
  • Streamline workflows to eliminate redundancy.
  • Foster the freedom and flexibility to merchandise products across diverse sales channels, including eCommerce sites and an Amazon shop.

 

The Result

Leatherman’s internal teams played a pivotal role throughout the implementation phase. Collaboration spanned various departments, ensuring not only successful implementation but also generating enthusiasm and support for this critical part of their digital transformation.

Leatherman embraced a cross-functional approach from inception to conclusion, involving representatives from IT, product, eCommerce, and brand marketing in defining project goals and requirements. The same team selected the software and implementation partner, closely collaborating with Akeneo and Aleysian on the implementation process. The involvement of key stakeholders from the outset ensured unwavering support and enthusiasm throughout implementation and adoption.

Through the implementation of Akeneo, Leatherman’s team has experienced numerous benefits, including:

  • Time savings for team members, enabling focus on other critical tasks.
  • Enhanced confidence in data integrity.
  • Increased speed to market.
  • Empowerment of team members to effectively utilize the tool.
  • Intuitive interface.
  • Streamlined efficiency through features like Product Models, rule creation, and product families.

Leatherman explored multiple implementation options, yet ultimately, the choice to partner with Aleysian stood out as the clear decision. Right from the outset, Aleysian fostered a sense of comfort and a strong connection with Leatherman. It was important to Leatherman to meet the team that they would be working hand-in-hand with for the implementation. When they met with Aleysian, it became evident that the team possessed an abundance of knowledge and experience, assuring Leatherman that the implementation would be a seamless collaboration. 

 

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