Faucet Specialist Kludi Trusts Enterprise Product Information Management from Viamedici
The faucet specialist Kludi recently initiated a pilot project with the objective of parallelizing the creation of picture pricelists and other marketing materials previously processed separately. Using Viamedici EPIM (Enterprise Product Information Management), picture pricelists are now automatically and efficiently created from a central database.
The Kludi Group is a faucet manufacturer operating worldwide as a corporate entity consisting of legally independent companies. The different foreign branches therefore also have their own sales organizations. In the past, these decentralized locations also collected and administered their own data. For that reason, the ERP area was consolidated almost ten years ago. Now media marketing data is being taken on.
However, that is also why a very specific, media-neutral database system is vital. Kludi decided on Viamedici EPIM. The product suite allows product information to be administered centrally and published in diverse target media easily and in the shortest time. Another determining factor: The chemistry was right from the beginning. Uwe Krumscheid, IT director at Kludi, explains: „At medium-sized companies there are certain things that are done differently in terms of dialectics and decision-making processes. For us, the good old classic workshop is one of these. And that works very well the Viamedici team.”
The focus during data consolidation was initially on a clear pilot project, the price catalogue. “We decided on this alternative in order to describe a product in need of explanation, such as a faucet, but also to depict it with all its measurements and characteristics. This is something new in our sector”, says Uwe Krumscheid. Aside from a black and white picture of the product, the information also contains a scale drawing which is very important to the specialized tradesman. That way, important details like the dimensions, outlet length, fixture body height etc. can be seen right away. Furthermore, there is a compact, but comprehensive product description technically outlining the product. This text contains the specific classifications and data required by the plumber - in particular in view of the strict regulations with regard to drinking water.
Up to now, the production of price catalogues was influenced by two critical factors. On the one hand, data such as catalogue sales prices was administered repeatedly and on the other, was valid only for a year due to the fluctuation of raw material costs for brass. „We are unable to avoid passing the annual price adjustments onto the market“, Uwe Krumscheid explains. “Together with a service provider, every year in good old DTP manner, the price catalogues were re-set, edited, corrected again and finally sent to print.“
Thanks to EPIM, neither of these pilot project aspects remains a problem. From the existing database, everything from price catalogues to print PDFs can be created automatically. Significant data such as prices or descriptions can be imported directly from the ERP system. “There is no more redundancy and therefore less mistakes. That makes this correction loop superfluous”, explains Uwe Krumscheid. In addition, the decentralized sales organizations can help themselves to product information and make changes depending on their authority to do so.
„For us, it is particularly attractive that we are able to realize the continuous translation of our text description in all languages more or less by the push of a button“, adds Uwe Krumscheid. Especially short technical descriptions, which prevail in the picture pricelists, can be translated directly into different languages. “All of Kludi’s distribution branches must be served in their own language. In the pilot project, Bulgarian, Polish, Russian, Slovakian and of course German and English are required. Naturally, further languages will follow”, says Uwe Krumscheid.
Regardless of the fact that the pilot is still in the introduction phase, it can already be seen that fundamental steps in the creation process of the picture pricelists were able to be parallelized. Even the significant increase in efficiency still leaves room for further potential with EPIM. And so Kludi is already contemplating using the system for other topics. “The open media interface allows the simple electronic publication of HTML or PDF. In the future, we will perhaps also be able to link the pricelists on the Internet. Another idea is the use for marketing campaigns. For example, central marketing defines how a flyer for new articles at a trade fair should look. Open spaces in the flyer can then be edited by the various sales organizations“, says Uwe Krumscheid.
About Kludi:
Kludi belongs to the leading manufacturers of kitchen and bath faucets and total bath concepts. The product portfolio orients itself closely to the customer’s direct needs. Kludi stands for innovative design, function and technical solutions. In addition to classic bath faucets, their product range includes kitchen fixtures and drains. These are produced under their own name, brands such as Esprit and Joop as well as private labels. The production is located in six central European locations. The Kludi
About Viamedici: With locations world-wide and a multitude of renowned and enthusiastic customers, Viamedici is the leading software company for product information management (PIM) and cross media publishing (CMP). The product suite Viamedici EPIM allows product information to be administered centrally and published in diverse target media such as catalogues, brochures, operating manuals, Web-CMS (content management) or online shops.
