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Akeneo PXM Champion: Kruitbosch

Kruitbosch, the recipient of the 2025 Akeneo Leadership Award, leveraged Akeneo to centralize data, streamline supplier collaboration, and automate workflows.

At a Glance

Challenges

  • Inefficient supplier collaboration hindered product onboarding and data quality, impacting overall operational efficiency
  • Crucial product data was scattered across numerous systems, documents, suppliers, and assembly partners, leading to inefficiencies and hindering strategic planning
  • Excessive manual tasks for data management consumed valuable time and resources, limiting opportunities for creativity and innovation

Benefits

  • Leveraging Akeneo’s SDM and Shared Catalogs to streamline product onboarding and automate data collection from over 200 suppliers to significantly improve operational efficiency
  • Integrations with Microsoft Azure and low-code platforms facilitated real-time data synchronization and centralized asset management, optimizing operational workflows
  • Akeneo’s AI capabilities and rule engine enabled automated product description generation, freeing up resources for creative and strategic tasks

Kruitbosch: Recipient of the 2025 Leadership

Kruitbosch, established in 1955, has evolved from a local family business into a prominent leader in the European bicycle and mobility industry, with a strong presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The company boasts over 250 dedicated employees and is renowned for its iconic brands:

  • Cortina: Embodies Dutch cycling culture with stylish, reliable bikes for everyday use.
  • Alpina: Offers safe and durable bicycles tailored for young cyclists.
  • PENDLR: Reflects a commitment to sustainable urban transportation, providing a comprehensive range of micromobility products and services to businesses across Europe.

We are thrilled to announce that Kruitbosch has been awarded the Leadership Award at Unlock London for their outstanding commitment to leveraging Akeneo to drive organizational transformation. By embracing Akeneo Product Cloud, Kruitbosch has empowered its teams across many departments to collaborate more seamlessly and utilize more strategic product information management. The platform has become an integral part of daily operations, eliminating manual inefficiencies and allowing employees to focus on high-value tasks. Through strong internal engagement, structured training, and clear communication, Kruitbosch has cultivated a mature, forward-thinking approach to product data, demonstrating how PIM can be a catalyst for both operational efficiency and strategic growth. Their ability to integrate Akeneo into their broader digital transformation, enhance supplier collaboration, and improve product experience exemplifies true leadership in digital excellence.

Challenges in Achieving Operational Excellence

As Kruitbosch expanded, managing the increasing volume and complexity of product data became a significant challenge. Product information from in-house production, over 200 suppliers, and assembly partners was dispersed across various systems and documents, leading to data inaccuracies and inefficiencies. This fragmentation hindered their ability to maintain data consistency, affecting operational efficiency and customer experience.​

Catering to both B2B and B2C markets added complexity. Dealers required detailed technical specifications, pricing, and real-time inventory updates, while consumers sought engaging descriptions and high-quality images. Additionally, international expansion required adapting product information to different languages, cultural preferences, and regulatory requirements, all while maintaining brand consistency.

 

Pioneering Strategies Propel Kruitbosch to Operational Excellence

Recognizing the critical need for a centralized and efficient product information management system, Kruitbosch turned to Akeneo as the cornerstone of their digital transformation strategy. 

Kruitbosch established a centralized platform with Akneno PIM to serve as a single source of truth for all their product data, consolidating information from various sources and eliminating data silos. This centralization empowered their teams to efficiently manage, enrich, and distribute product information across all channels, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and completeness.

But Kruitbosch’s implementation of Akeneo went beyond simply centralizing product data. They embraced a composable commerce approach, strategically integrating Akeneo Product Cloud within their existing IT ecosystem to create a connected and agile platform. 

Leveraging the power of the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform, Kruitbosch achieved near real-time data synchronization across all consumer channels, ensuring that any product updates made in Akeneo were immediately reflected in their B2B webshop and providing dealers with instant access to the latest information. 

Kruitbosch was also able to integrate Akeneo seamlessly into their existing ERP system, which was crucial for maintaining data consistency and streamlining business processes. Akeneo’s mature integration capabilities allowed for efficient data exchange between the two systems, eliminating manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors. 

Implementing Akeneo Product Cloud as a solid foundation for Akeneo’s SDM and Shared Catalogs to streamline product onboarding and automate data collection from over 200 suppliers to significantly improve operational efficiency.

Kruitbosch’s implementation of Akeneo Product Cloud demonstrates their commitment to improving operational efficiency, as well as fostering a culture of leadership within the organization. They’ve empowered their teams to focus on new initiatives and drive innovation, already yielding results such as:

  • Optimized Workflows: More seamless and efficient operations
  • Enhanced Supplier Collaboration: Faster and smoother product onboarding
  • Increased Efficiency: Quicker time-to-market for new products
  • Improved Data Quality: Greater accuracy and completeness in product information

Through effective utilization of Akeneo, Kruitbosch not only overcame operational challenges but also fostered a culture of leadership, innovation, and customer-centricity, reinforcing its position as a leader in the bicycle and mobility industry.

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