Akeneo PXM Champion: Igus

Managing Igus’ vast product catalog of over 1.3 million products presented many significant challenges, especially in maintaining data accuracy, streamlining translations, and ensuring efficient marketplace integration. With 150 users in multiple countries and regions, the company needed a centralized solution to harmonize product data across its CMS, DAM, ERP, and eCommerce platforms.

The absence of a single source of truth created inefficiencies, as product information, pricing, and delivery times were scattered across different modules. Additionally, an unclear user rights management system made it difficult to delegate responsibilities effectively, limiting team autonomy in global markets. Planning to expand into the Middle East, Asia, and beyond, Igus required a scalable solution capable of localization, automating processes, and enabling seamless data distribution across its extensive digital ecosystem.

Additionally, ensuring a seamless and efficient translation workflow was a key concern. Igus needed to manage product information across 44 locales, ensuring consistent and accurate messaging tailored to different markets. Without an optimized translation process, maintaining quality and speed in content updates was a significant bottleneck, potentially slowing down their global expansion.

To overcome these challenges, Igus turned to Akeneo for a number of key reasons. Firstly, Akeneo PIM offered the flexibility and user-friendly interface they were looking for. Additionally, Akeneo provided the high-performance API needed to integrate multiple systems, automate data imports, and ensure seamless connectivity across their CMS, DAM, ETL, and ERP platforms.

By enabling 44 locales and integrating a translation app through Akeneo, Igus significantly improved its translation workflows, doubling their speed while reducing manual labor and enhancing quality. This change played a crucial role in accelerating market expansion efforts and maintaining accurate, culturally relevant product information. The ability to create and maintain quote texts crafted by international colleagues ensured that communication was always on point and aligned with local market needs.

With Akeneo’s rules engine, Igus established automation processes that served as multipliers of data across regions, ensuring consistency across all channels. Additionally, flexible user rights management empowered teams to create and release localized products independently, improving efficiency and autonomy. These enhancements allowed regional teams to take control of their product data, reducing bottlenecks and increasing responsiveness to local market demands.

Igus also benefited from enhanced search and filtering options, along with a structured categorization system that improved data discoverability and usability. The integration of a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system further streamlined the management of media assets, ensuring that high-quality images, videos, and product documents were consistently associated with the correct products across all markets.

With this implementation, Igus drastically improved catalog completeness, streamlined operations, and increased eCommerce revenue by several million dollars. By centralizing its product data management and enhancing localization capabilities, Igus not only optimized its current workflows but also laid the foundation for continued global growth and innovation. Additionally, automation reduced the manual workload, freeing up resources to focus on strategic expansion initiatives.

This transformation has reinforced Igus’ position as a global leader in motion plastics, demonstrating their commitment to engineering excellence, digital innovation, and delivering a superior product experience across all markets. As Igus continues to expand into new regions, their investment in a robust product experience strategy ensures they remain agile, competitive, and well-positioned for future growth.