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Case Study: Novia

A PIM solution capable of supporting both an eCommerce launch and sales expansion

With Akeneo, we can enrich much more product data and help our customers more easily find what they are really looking for.

Bruno De Schepper, Product Manager

Challenges

  • Inconsistent product information quality across channels.
  • More extensive tags needed to filter products efficiently.
  • Lack of easy link between the ERP system and eCommerce website.

Benefits

  • Improved multichannel management.
  • Easier searches for both customers and partners.
  • Uncoupled product information from eCommerce and ERP.

The Challenge

Novia, founded in 1984, is a family business specializing in the sale of architectural fittings such as door handles, furniture handles, bathroom accessories, taps, and letterboxes. The company sells a total of 200,000 products from 5 different suppliers, 7,000 of which are also sold via their eCommerce store.

In the past, Novia worked only with an ERP system that would be a substitute for a PIM, containing limited product data, as well as images and technical files. There was no database offering access to the product information needed to easily filter and properly complete products. Novia took the first step toward multi-channel selling by setting up a website that customers could use to add products to a wishlist and receive an offer. This involved manually transferring necessary product information from the company’s DBfact ERP system, which was a time-consuming task.

However, the company eventually decided that, in order to build a fully structured webshop and sell via marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Storesquare, an ERP link via PIM would be necessary.

 

The ERP was just a trick — we needed a solution to prepare the products properly before sending them online.

Bruno De Schepper, Product Manager

The Solution

The project went very smoothly. After choosing Magento’s eCommerce platform, the decision to implement Akeneo at the same time was made quickly. The integration between the two systems was smooth thanks to the PIMgento connector.

Novia started the project with the enrichment of 6,000 products in the Belgian/Flemish market before adding 7,000 new products to the system. Now that the systems are in place and working, the company plans to grow its product catalog. Novia also wants to improve the quality of its product data by adding new attributes, thereby providing better product information to its customers.

Novia has now truly transitioned into a multichannel environment, selling products in two stores in Belgium, a Magento webshop, and the Amazon.com and Storesquare marketplaces. A collaboration with Bol.com, the leading webshop in the Netherlands for books, toys, and electronics, will soon follow.

Today, Akeneo serves as the CRM for all product information.

 

 

 

Akeneo is a powerful, highly connectable and simple product.

Bruno De Schepper, Product Manager

The Result

Increased internal productivity by gathering product data in a single system

Novia finds Akeneo to be a handy solution and whole-heartedly recommends it to peers. The data import facility is an especially great asset, as suppliers would otherwise typically provide spreadsheets with product information. As a result, productivity has increased, and customers enjoy the same improved information quality across all channels.

Employees, meanwhile, now spend less time enriching product information and can be more active with the customers and the shop. The PIM freed up the marketing team from time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on what really matters: customer experience.

 

Easy connection to other systems and marketplaces

Having Akeneo also allows the company to more easily expand to new markets. With one central repository for qualitative product information in place, it is now simpler and more efficient to add new channels. Novia is very excited to join a third marketplace, namely Bol.com, in the near future.

Novia also plans to add new usages for its product information, opening it up to their points of sales, to provide a consistently compelling customer experience.

 

Are you ready to take the next step?

Our Akeneo Experts are here to answer all the questions you might have about our products and help you to move forward on your PXM journey.