Perfion’s mass data maintenance and inheritance features are impressive
"We compared a wide variety of PIM systems, and two points were particularly decisive for us in favour of Perfion: First, the ease of use of Perfion - where especially the mass data maintenance and inheritance were very convincing. Secondly, the API, which enables real-time data exchange between Perfion and our Enterprise Resource Planning system Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013. Here, the NAV integration is a huge advantage, as users do not have to switch between systems." Marcel Greulich, Software Developer, Wentronic GmbH
Challenge
Wentronic’s previous setup for Product Data Management was a combination of many file servers, an outdated and heavily customized ERP Navision 2.6 plus various additional proprietary applications such as image and press databases.
Due to the decentralised and heterogeneous data management, great manual efforts were required to keep the product data of over 12,000 items updated in all languages, media, and output channels. Because each medium required its own maintenance, it was not possible for the company to provide the desired high-level data quality at all times. The limited data quality also made some convenience functions impossible, such as feature searches in the webshop. E.g., customers could not easily search and find “all cables of one meter length”, “all items with a blue housing” or “accessories for connection to an iPhone”.
Solution & benefits
Also because of the outdated data setup, Wentronic’s entire IT infrastructure was replaced: With Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, the company kept it’s existing ERP provider, but took the PIM relevant data from NAV and placed it in the closely connected but separately managed Perfion system. Today, Wentronic maintains product data exclusively in Perfion.
The data from the existing file servers, image databases, etc., were integrated into the new PIM solution, while the ERP system was connected bidirectionally via the API interfaces. With Perfion, a central, consistent, and structured database that feeds all media, catalogues, and websites and allows exports and feature searches was created.
Migration to Microsoft Azure
Wentronic required a PIM system that did not have to be hosted on-premises only. The perfect solution was found in Perfion and at the turn of the year 2022, a complete migration of Perfion to Microsoft Azure was successfully completed.
EDI interface
Since Wentronic sells its products to large customers, who place a high value on maximum automation of business processes - e.g., Otto Versand and Amazon – an EDI interface was also established with support from Perfion data and an additional third-party software. In addition to the pure product data, all commercial processes between business partners, such as purchase orders, shipping advice or invoices, are processed exclusively by the systems without any additional, manual intervention by the staff.
Perfion manages all languages
Because of its UTF8 support, Perfion manages all the characters of the up to 10 languages that are currently used in Wentronic Sales.
PIM for all print and digital media
As a retailer and manufacturer, Wentronic produces various commercial media for its own brands. These print and digital media have been “fed” with data from the Perfion PIM system since 2015:
- B2B webshop for all Wentronic subsidiaries worldwide
- Separate brand catalogues and manufacturer websites for the company’s own brands
- Trader Newsletters, product data sheets, and offers
- Exports via XML, CSV as a service for business partners
"One of the decisive factors for us was the flexibility of Perfion to add additionally required functions and features. E.g., we needed an efficient workflow management with approvals, translation routines and correction loops, which we were finally able to realize in cooperation with Perfion."
"In addition, the company Perfion made a very pragmatic, sympathetic, and straightforward impression, which is always an important factor to us when choosing business partners.” Marcel Greulich, Software Developer, Wentronic GmbH
About Wentronic
As a distributor of electronic accessories, Wentronic is one of the leaders in the sector in Europe, marketing their comprehensive product range to wholesalers, mail order dealers, online retailers, and conventional retailers, as well as industrial companies all over the world. Since 1993 the company, headquartered in Germany with branches in Hong Kong and China, has been growing steadily.
www.wentronic.com