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+ Growth
  • Expanded digital reach with consistent product information
  • Accelerated market entry through unified data management
  • Improved brand visibility across global marketplaces
  • Increased customer engagement with enhanced product experiences
+ Effiency
  • Efficient data processes for faster updates
  • Reduced manual workload with automated content syndication
  • Centralized data hub minimized errors and inconsistencies
  • Enhanced cross-team collaboration for agile workflows

"With Contentserv and SDZeCOM, we have found two partners who have long provided us with reliable support in our digitization journey. Understanding our requirements, contributing original ideas, and creating opportunities to efficiently solve these are enormously important to us. With Contentserv’s future-proof solution and Exconcept’s integration to the real-time interface, we are taking the next evolutionary step in terms of efficiency, data security and future viability."

Martin Spaney
eCommerce Manager, Leitz GmbH & Co. KG

About Leitz

Founded in 1876 as a workshop for hand drills, planer knives, and hatchets, this family-owned business is now the world’s leading manufacturer of precision tools for professional woodworking and plastic processing. With over 8,000 tools in the standard program and numerous special designs, the product range is aimed at a broad target group – from small craft workshops to globally operating industrial companies.

The Leitz Group is present in over 150 countries worldwide — 38 of which has its own subsidiaries. As of 2023, the team currently comprises a total of around 3,000 employees across all subsidiaries.

leitz-case-study-drill-machine
Pain

How Leitz reinvented product data for the future

Leitz, an early adopter of product information management, turned to Contentserv when its original PIM system became obsolete due to market changes. With Contentserv, Leitz not only secured its critical product data infrastructure but also streamlined workflows, simplified processes, and gained integrated translation support. As the company grew, a real-time interface was implemented, opening doors to dynamic networking possibilities that would elevate Leitz's service quality and responsiveness across channels.

However, with a fast-moving ready-to-wear market, the colossal manual entry of different product data (6,000 color references per season, assortment tracking, product feature updates in different languages, etc.) became extremely challenging. Furthermore, primarily using spreadsheets for this purpose was very time-consuming and error-prone. These files quickly became archaic in the context of Lacoste’s digital transformation and they would often contain numerous data entry errors, which resulted in a slow time-to-market that was harmful to sales. Another major challenge involved variable data such as collections, which must be renewed every six months and had to take into account the difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Therefore Lacoste needed to adopt a tool that would streamline the creation and distribution of its product catalogs on both its merchant and marketplace sites. This made it clear that Product Information Management (PIM) was the right solution to quickly enrich databases, accurately aggregate content, and shorten time-to-market, all while increasing agility and flexibility.

Aim

Aiming for excellence in product data evolution

Leitz’s collaboration with Contentserv has embarked on a transformative journey across two key stages, each designed to meet evolving business objectives:

  • Stage One aimed to establish a robust foundation by centralizing product data management linked to the ERP system, automating catalog print output, and enhancing online shop connectivity. This stage focused on simplifying processes and boosting automation compared to the previous system.
  • Stage Two set out to integrate a real-time interface, serving as a central hub for various systems. This included connecting a new Magento store and a customer service app to enhance customer engagement. The goal was to ensure data security and future-proofing while enabling seamless integration without needing separate interfaces for each solution.

With these strategic implementations, Leitz has enriched its product data and significantly increased operational efficiency, positioning itself for future opportunities in an ever-evolving market.

In addition to these initial objectives, there were two other quantified objectives: the implementation of the PIM solution should make it possible to increase the average value of orders and reduce product returns.

Lacoste evaluated five PIM solutions, and at the end of 2016, they selected Contentserv. Contentserv allows data to be quickly onboarded and adjusted via user-friendly, intuitive interfaces, and for information to be distributed across all sales media. A pioneer in the PIM industry and a leader for 20 years with an international customer portfolio, Contentserv has extensive experience in product information management.

Gain

Reestablishing confidence in product management

By deploying the Contentserv solution, Leitz successfully secured its product information management, enhancing both simplicity and efficiency. Shortly after implementation, the company achieved a remarkable 50% reduction in time spent extracting the catalog. Leitz can now publish targeted partial catalogs for specific sectors, like furniture or plastics manufacturing, with minimal additional effort. The integrated translation management system significantly reduced workloads, supporting Leitz's operations in 150 countries.

The new real-time interface offers more than just immediate gains; it paves the way for future innovations and serves as a cornerstone of a long-term digital strategy. The connection to the app exemplifies how such advancements can elevate customer service and foster lasting loyalty. Moreover, the middleware developed by Exconcept ensures data consistency and precise control over information sharing.

The user-friendly interface and straightforward structure were key factors in Leitz's decision, making the transition to the new system seamless for employees. Among all considered solutions, Contentserv stood out for its comprehensive performance across all requirements. The integrated media asset management and built-in translation management, requiring no additional tools, were crucial advantages for a company that prioritizes in-house operations.

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Why (How) Leitz uses Contentserv

  • Integrated PIM centralizes product data management, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.
  • Real-Time interface enables seamless connectivity with existing and future systems for enhanced flexibility.
  • Translation Manager streamlines multilingual content delivery across 150 countries, reducing workload.
  • Automated catalog publishing cuts extraction time by 50% and allows easy creation of targeted partial catalogs.

However, with a fast-moving ready-to-wear market, the colossal manual entry of different product data (6,000 color references per season, assortment tracking, product feature updates in different languages, etc.) became extremely challenging. Furthermore, primarily using spreadsheets for this purpose was very time-consuming and error-prone. These files quickly became archaic in the context of Lacoste’s digital transformation and they would often contain numerous data entry errors, which resulted in a slow time-to-market that was harmful to sales. Another major challenge involved variable data such as collections, which must be renewed every six months and had to take into account the difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Therefore Lacoste needed to adopt a tool that would streamline the creation and distribution of its product catalogs on both its merchant and marketplace sites. This made it clear that Product Information Management (PIM) was the right solution to quickly enrich databases, accurately aggregate content, and shorten time-to-market, all while increasing agility and flexibility.

Ready? Here you grow.

Get in touch with one of our Contentserv experts to discover the Product Experience Cloud.