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Case Study: Kolmi Hopen

How Kolmi Hopen Met Rising Demand through Improved Product Information Management with Akeneo

Before Akeneo, information was found in many places and from many people. The arrangement process was long and complicated for our internal teams. It is a standard requirement for our customers, that we be compliant and quickly share product information with them. We can do so now, thanks to the Akeneo PIM solution.

Margaux Audiau, Marketing Project Manager

Challenges

  • Coordinating with both internal and external teams distributed in various locations.
  • Meeting an increased product demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Struggling with a dependence on Excel which creates opportunities for errors and duplicate information.

Benefits

  • Distributors & sales team can easily access and be assured that all information is secure, reliable, and up-to-date.
  • >84% available products on Shared Catalogs have a good enrichment ratio and 100% have an image. Score A (May 2023).
  • Built a strong internal and external experiences product experience.

The Challenge

Kolmi-Hopen is a French manufacturer of single-use protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, head covers, shoe covers, etc.). For over 50 years, it has designed and manufactured products with exclusive technologies for contamination control and risk prevention.

The COVID-19 crisis sent the demand for Kolmi-Hopen’s products into hyperdrive. Meeting this demand would require a faster than normal enrichment process and increased productivity, however, the company had historically relied heavily on Excel for data management. Not only did this decrease efficiency, it also set the stage for potential errors and the duplication of information.

Finding product information involved coordinating with different teams and crosschecking data on their ERP system, a process that was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Internally, employees had to dedicate significant hours and resources to find the necessary product information. The process was also difficult for external stakeholders, with distributors struggling to access updated, centralized information. Given that norms, certifications, and sustainability are important considerations in their industry, managing and effectively sharing this vast amount of information became a significant challenge for Kolmi Hopen.

In addition, the multinational presence of Kolmi Hopen necessitated the management and localization of product information across various regions. However, without a centralized system, it was nearly impossible to efficiently update, manage, and share this data across different locations and in different languages.

 

The Solution

With products that must meet very specific and demanding standards, product information management became a strategic element in Kolmi Hopen’s plan to differentiate itself in the market, as well as to provide added value to its customers. And so finding a robust PIM system rose to the top of the priority list.

After conducting a benchmark study with partners and publishers, Kolmi Hopen identified Akeneo as the ideal solution to manage their product data, enhance their operations, and create a single source of truth.

Shared Catalogs allowed the company to share personalized product catalogs with both internal teams and external clients. At Kolmi Hopen, each product has strict requirements, and when responding to calls, each salesperson must adapt their offer to each end customer. Thanks to Shared Catalogs, the sales teams can easily and quickly share product information with their customers. Plus, distributors had direct access to all the information they needed.

Akeneo’s Shared Catalogs combined with its table attributes, families and variants, and asset manager features provided a holistic approach to product information management for Kolmi Hopen and set the stage for the next level of growth and customer service.

 

 

 

The Result

Enhanced user experience and engagement

After implementing Akeneo, Kolmi Hopen saw a noticeable improvement in both internal and external user engagement. The Shared Catalogs feature proved to be instrumental in improving user experience, with an average of 226 connections per month over a six-month period. Shared Catalogs is also popular both with Kolmi Hopen’s internal teams and their external stakeholders. On average, they have 63 internal users and 15 external users. A significant achievement was that 83% of users logged on at least once since the catalog was opened, demonstrating high user engagement with the platform.

 

Superior product data enrichment

Akeneo PIM had a major impact on the enrichment and optimization of Kolmi Hopen’s product data. Across the products available on Shared Catalogs, a whopping 84% showcased a high enrichment ratio, indicating comprehensive and valuable product details. Additionally, every product featured an image – an important factor in enhancing their visibility and appeal to potential customers. In regards to quality assessment, the company improved its overall quality score with 64% products scoring A and 36% scoring B (in may 2023), highlighting the substantial boost in product data quality.

 

Improved efficiency for internal and external communication

Akeneo’s PIM solution and the Shared Catalogs feature facilitated open and regular communications for Kolmi Hopen. Whether it was the rollout of new features, launching new product catalogs, or even offering useful tips and tricks, the platform enabled consistent and efficient communication channels. This resulted in improved relationships and understanding between internal teams, and also fostered a more engaging experience for external clients and distributors. Consequently, the overall product experience offered by Kolmi Hopen became more holistic and personalized, contributing positively to the company’s reputation and customer satisfaction.

 

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