Projects

WDT successful with PIM system for automated catalog creation for 15 years

The Economic Cooperative of German Veterinarians is one of the leading companies in the German veterinary pharmaceutical market with over 100 years of history. With an extensive range of high-quality preparations, practice supplies, human and wholesale products, WDT is the basic supplier for the entire veterinary profession.


Intensive cooperation for 15 years

The recording, enrichment and publication of product data became increasingly important with the steady growth of the company and thus also the product range. PANTOPIX and WDT have been working together for many years since 2006 (previously with axxepta GmbH), which began with the introduction of a new product information management system.

An old database publishing component was replaced by a powerful PIM system that would enable the capture of additional images and text as well as the structuring, editing and automation of the output.

Since the introduction of the new system, two 800-page catalogs have been printed each year. The catalogs are published using an integrated Indesign interface with a very high degree of automation. This has significantly increased the quality of the data and optimized numerous processes.

Centrally managed product data for various output channels

The strength of a PIM system is that the information is stored centrally and automatically transferred to various connected systems. This ensures that all output channels use the same database if the data changes. In addition to publishing catalogs, WDT also uses the centrally managed product information for the website, the online store and an ordering system for veterinary pharmacies.

The proprietary PIM solution developed by PANTOPIX is based on standards, an XML database and an XML workflow. This means that other source or target systems can be easily connected via interfaces. Over the years, many components in the company have changed, but the PIM system has remained the same and could be quickly adapted to the changed infrastructure and increased requirements in terms of output channels.

PIM solution for WDT for automated catalog creation

Conception, introduction and support

We supported and implemented the project with the WDT team from the conception of the overall system, through the integration of interfaces, to the introduction of the PIM system and the development of the workflow. The intensive cooperation with the project managers in marketing and product management in the analysis of data and processes and their continuous supplementation and revision of the data with a view to high quality ensures the ongoing success of the new system.

Our particular strength in such a project lies in the interfaces between the systems. Information in silos brings no added value. Only when data can be automatically transferred to other systems and thus made available at the point-of-need does the use of a PIM system generate added value. The original requirement for automated catalog creation could therefore be easily supplemented with additional outputs during the course of the project.

We are proud that WDT has extensive and clean data that can be intelligently provided and further processed to support the company’s goals and growth. We look forward to continuing our cooperation!

Contact us

Maraike Heim
Head of Marketing

Team Maraike Heim