MEESENBURG

Before Akeneo, Meesenburg managed product data across multiple teams, systems, and supplier inputs, creating a fragmented and inefficient process.

Supplier data arrived through different channels, including sales, product management, and logistics, each working with their own version of the truth. This made it difficult to reconcile information and nearly impossible to establish trust in the data. Teams often had to validate whether the right data was in the right place at the right time, slowing down operations across the business.

The challenge was amplified by the scale and complexity of Meesenburg’s supplier network. With more than 2,000 manufacturers, each delivering data in different formats and levels of quality, onboarding new products required significant manual effort. Teams were forced to compare spreadsheets, reformat data, and align it with internal standards, product by product.

Even small but critical requirements, such as regulatory or product-specific documentation, added another layer of complexity. For certain products, especially those with safety or compliance requirements, teams had to manually review supplier documents and ensure that the exact information was reflected on the website. This process was not only time-consuming but also introduced risk if details were missed or incorrectly mapped.

As a result, onboarding a single product could take five to eight minutes, and launching new product categories took three to four weeks. At scale, this slowed Time-to-Market, limited agility, and delayed revenue opportunities.

Meesenburg needed more than a system. They needed a way to standardize supplier collaboration, build trust in their data, and create a scalable foundation for growth.

Meesenburg implemented Akeneo Product Cloud, starting with Akeneo PIM (Product Information Management) to centralize product data and establish a single source of truth across the organization.

This cloud-based, API-first foundation made product data accessible to all teams, not just a handful of specialists. Departments across eCommerce, logistics, and product management could now contribute to and rely on consistent, structured data, breaking down long-standing silos.

To tackle the complexity of supplier data onboarding, Meesenburg extended this foundation with Akeneo Supplier Data Manager (SDM).

SDM transformed how supplier data is ingested, validated, and aligned with internal standards. Instead of manually comparing spreadsheets and reconciling multiple versions of product data, teams can now ingest supplier files directly into a structured environment, instantly identify differences, and map incoming data to their internal data model.

This shift gives Meesenburg significantly greater control over what enters the PIM. Teams can detect inconsistencies, highlight missing attributes, and standardize data before it impacts downstream channels.

Just as importantly, SDM improves collaboration with suppliers. When gaps are identified, Meesenburg can provide clear, actionable feedback to manufacturers, helping them improve data quality at the source. This creates a continuous improvement loop that strengthens supplier relationships while raising overall data standards.

The impact extends beyond efficiency into compliance and accuracy.

Previously, teams had to manually read supplier documentation, such as PDFs, to extract required regulatory information and ensure it was correctly reflected in product listings. With Akeneo’s AI-powered capabilities, Meesenburg can now automatically extract key information from these documents and align it with structured product attributes.

This allows teams to quickly validate whether required data is complete, ensure compliance with local regulations, and reduce the risk of errors, all while dramatically accelerating the onboarding process.

Together, Akeneo PIM and SDM provide Meesenburg with a connected, scalable data foundation that supports both operational efficiency and future-ready commerce.

The Result: 10x Faster Time-to-Market and a Scalable, AI-Ready Foundation

By modernizing supplier data onboarding and centralizing product information, Meesenburg has transformed how it operates at scale.

Product onboarding time has been reduced from five to eight minutes per product to under one minute, even across large datasets of tens of thousands of products annually.

This efficiency gain directly translates into faster Time-to-Market. Products that previously took three to four weeks to go live can now be launched in just three to four days, enabling Meesenburg to capture demand earlier and remain competitive in a fast-moving market.

Beyond speed, the business has rebuilt trust in its data. Teams across departments now rely on a single, consistent source of truth, reducing validation work and enabling more effective collaboration.

Supplier data management has evolved from a manual bottleneck into a controlled, scalable process. With SDM, Meesenburg can ingest, validate, and enrich supplier data with greater accuracy, while proactively identifying gaps and improving data quality at the source.

At the same time, the integration of AI-powered extraction capabilities ensures that even complex requirements, such as regulatory information, can be handled efficiently and consistently.

With this strong foundation in place, Meesenburg is now preparing for the next phase of growth. By leveraging structured, high-quality data, the company is enabling AI-driven workflows, improving discoverability, and positioning itself for the future of AI-powered commerce.

Because at Meesenburg, it’s no longer just about managing product data. It’s about using it to unlock growth through product experience.