Vallox: Implementing a business-critical product information management solution

Implementing a business-critical product information management solution

Commerce & engagement

Vallox is one of the leading suppliers of ventilation solutions for use in the building industry in Finland. It’s absolutely vital that their product information is always up-to-date and accurate for use by HVAC designers and resellers – which is why Vallox turned to us for help.

The challenge – scattered data and too much manual work

Vallox offers a huge range of ventilation products but lacked proper product information management (PIM) tools and processes. All data had to be entered manually across numerous locations which took a lot of time and could lead to errors. That meant also that ensuring overall consistency across different channels was difficult.

Not having a dedicated PIM solution also meant they couldn’t for example easily deliver product information to Vallox MySelecta selection software and MagiCAD, a key tool used by building designers. This lack of integration meant that updates on product information in MagiCAD took several weeks, far too long when product information can change quickly. It also took a lot of manual work to update information in LVI-Info, an online data bank used by resellers of Vallox’s products and contractors in Finland. Since most of the sales happen through resellers, this was one of the key limitations.

The cooperation has been fantastic. At the start of the project, we weren’t sure of the value of using an external vendor to build our PIM solution. But as the project progressed, we realized Vincit’s input and expertise were vital to make this initiative a success.

Marko Kannisto, Product Manager / Vallox

The solution – a PIM solution and integrations with key systems

We started with a digital strategy study that set out the reasons why a dedicated product information management solution would be a good investment for Vallox. Once this was agreed, we worked in an agile way to deliver the solution. This meant releasing the PIM solution in phases, starting with the most important business cases and adding more as the project progressed. For example, one of the first cases was to connect PIM to InDesign to automate the creation of price catalogs which previously required a lot of manual work.

Once the basis for a PIM solution based on Akeneo was in place, we could start to integrate the key design tools and online tools used by building designers and resellers.

Expertise used

Digital strategy

Product experience management

Integrations

Akeneo

The impact – an engine to drive growth and customer satisfaction

Allowing a high-level view
The PIM solution enables centralized management of product information to ensure consistency and delivery across different use cases, enabling a better product experience and supporting business growth and customer satisfaction.

Maximizing visibility and sales
By integrating PIM with MagiCAD and Vallox MySelecta selection software, HVAC designers will always have up-to-date info they need to include Vallox’s products in their specifications. Integration with the LVI-Info online tool means that resellers and distributors will also have the latest information about Vallox’s products, helping to increase sales.

Better business value through internal efficiency
With proper tools and processes, Vallox saves time and can focus on generating new business and customer experience enhancements instead of copy-paste work.

Unlocking digital development
Alongside the PIM project, Vallox started a complete renewal of its website vallox.com. Now, the new website gets all the up-to-date product data dynamically from Akeneo REST API.