Transforming B2B Manufacturing: The Power of Integrated Product Experiences
Integrating Akeneo with our existing PLM and Salesforce systems was crucial. It enabled seamless data flow, ensuring that our e-commerce platform always reflects the most accurate and up-to-date product information.
Founded in 1927, Poclain is an independent French mid-sized industrial company specializing in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of hydrostatic, electrohydraulic, and electric transmissions. The Poclain Group is firmly committed to a strategic development and transformation plan aimed at better addressing the challenges of tomorrow: the increasing electrification of equipment, the development of connectivity within hydraulic systems (IoT, data management), the expansion of related services, and the reduction of environmental impact. Their products are distributed and utilized around the globe and various sectors, including construction and agricultural equipment where precision and reliability are essential.
Poclain has always prioritized delivering a seamless customer experience while ensuring high customer satisfaction, which is why they embarked on a digital transformation to enhance their sales processes and customer experience.
Poclain relied on manual processes and outdated PDF catalogs, creating a fragmented approach to data management. This made it increasingly difficult to maintain accurate and up-to-date product information. This was particularly problematic as the company transitioned to a digital sales model, which demanded a higher level of data accuracy and accessibility.
Managing and associating critical data with products without a centralized solution became cumbersome. The lack of a unified system hindered their ability to run a seamless eCommerce operation, resulting in inconsistencies in product descriptions, specifications, and pricing. This fragmentation not only affected internal workflows but also led to potential customer dissatisfaction, as clients could not rely on the information presented on its eShop.
Furthermore, the absence of a centralized product information system limited Poclain’s ability to scale its operations effectively. As new products were introduced and existing products were updated, the manual processes required to keep information current became increasingly unsustainable. This situation created bottlenecks in the workflow, delaying product launches and updates, and ultimately impacting the company’s competitiveness in the market.
Initially, product data management was managed within a small group of individuals, which created bottlenecks in the data enrichment process. This limited accessibility meant that only certain users could input and retrieve information, while others had to rely on manual data recovery to enrich content in the PIM system. With around 150,000 products, it is impossible to have one person in charge of all the data. Having the ability to split responsibility between product lines made the data management much more efficient and eventually improved the customers’ experience when visiting the Poclain eShop.
Connecting Akeneo with other systems such as ERP, CRM, and PLM required careful planning and execution. Additionally, ensuring data recovery and consistency across different platforms posed ongoing challenges that could potentially slow down operational efficiency.
To address these issues, Poclain recognized the importance of creating tailored interfaces. Customer feedback highlights that these interfaces are essential, stating, “Data consistency is key.” This emphasis on data integrity underscores the challenges faced in maintaining seamless operations across various systems.
Having a PIM without the right data management processes is like having a beautiful library with no books; it’s essential to feed the system to unlock its true potential.
In mid-2022, Poclain was on the hunt to centralize and enrich product data for their e-commerce platform, and decided to partner with the team here at Akeneo based on recommendations emphasizing our seamless compatibility with Salesforce.
By creating a centralized and structured repository for all product information in Akeneo PIM, Poclain ensured the accuracy, consistency, and accessibility of data required for its eShop. While PDF catalogs are still in use, implementing the PIM was a critical step to enable and support its digital sales channels.
One of the most notable changes is the distribution of responsibility across various product lines. By empowering subject matter experts within each line to take ownership of enriching and maintaining accurate and complete product information, Poclain has ensured that high-quality data is readily available for customers visiting their eShop.
This strategic shift has led to several key benefits:
Poclain also leveraged Akeneo PIM to enable product selection on their eShop, making customers autonomous in selecting the best product without human intervention. By eliminating manual quoting and order entry, they significantly accelerated order processing while improving the customer experience.
Managing digital assets, such as images and technical documents, became challenging due to the lack of a direct interface between Akeneo PIM and Salesforce.
To overcome this, Poclain implemented a dual-storage strategy, maintaining assets in both systems while using consistent naming conventions. This approach ensured seamless linkage between platforms, keeping digital assets up-to-date, accessible, and fully integrated with product information.
By adopting this dual-storage solution, Poclain maintained the integrity of its digital assets and supported a cohesive system integration.
The autonomy that Akeneo provides our marketing team has been a game changer; it allows us to respond quickly to market needs and ensures our product information is always up-to-date.
Our Akeneo Experts are here to answer all the questions you might have about our products and help you to move forward on your PXM journey.
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