Portwest

Portwest’s initial challenges arose as a result of their success. With their 900+ page catalogs, 47,000+ SKU, and 6,400 members of staff, their product data became fragmented in various files, siloed in the minds of employees, and challenging to manage in a dysfunctional system which required constant maintenance.   

Product data was scattered throughout various ERP systems, which would only store some product information. This resulted in media assets being incorrect, translation became challenging to manage, and the certifications which ensured product quality were missing. All of this, added with the fact that Portwest had no dedicated management system. 

As a result there was a lot of manual work, development and enrichment. For example, a single product catalog could require “up to 11 months to produce, with up to 20 proofs before the launch, significantly slowing time-to-market and limiting scalability” as the products continued to grow.

Portwest needed a system that could centralize product data, create catalogs with the correct product information, and scale efficiently across new markets, to ensure scalability, high product data quality, and long-term operational efficiency.

With the help of Akeneo PIM, Portwest centralized its product data in a single source of truth which was “well-designed, user-friendly, and centralized all product information”. 

Key features, such as reference entities, have enabled Portwest to efficiently manage certifications, compliance attributes, and shared technical data across 47,000+ SKUs. Reviewing these thousands of SKU and other product data became friction-less with advanced features like product filtering, drastically improving the reviewing process. 

To transform publishing operations, Portwest implemented the InBetween Publishing Solution, directly integrated with Akeneo PIM. This enabled the automated creation of high-quality datasheets, catalogs, and localized sales materials directly from live product data. 

The Result: Workwear Data, Working Harder

The implementation of Akeneo PIM and InBetween Publishing Software has transformed Portwest’s ability to manage and publish product information globally. It turned Portwest’s product data into a measurable driver of efficiency, compliance, and growth. 

Portwest’s product data can now be generated into datasheets in minutes, consistently across 28 languages. Improved visual presentation and richer contextual content transform datasheets into powerful sales and marketing tools rather than purely informational documents.

Their product catalogs, which used to take up to 11 months to produce, now only take 6 months, saving the team 5 months, reducing the proofs from 17-18 to around 3, and cutting production time by roughly 45%. This is also a result of the reduction in design requests for other tasks. 

Distributors can independently generate branded sales materials from PIM data. Portwest has already published over 800+ distributor-driven requests within the first two months of launch in January 2026, saving the internal design team 300+ studio hours, while still providing accurate localized content to sales people and customers. Enabling the expansion into key markets such as Hungary, while maintaining consistent product experience standards globally. 

What used to be a manual process of around 150 ad-hoc flyer requests became a fully automatic self-service process, saving an estimated 560 hours of manual design work annually, representing approximately €40,000 in yearly cost savings. 

Akeneo PIM and InBetween became the foundation that allows Portwest to reach the levels of product quality and consistency one would expect from such an ambitious and technical global player.