Custom PIM System with ERP Connectivity.
Initial Situation
As an internationally active manufacturer of professional drill bits, Heller Tools manages an extensive and technically demanding product range. Product information is required in various contexts – for the company website, printed catalogues, agencies, specialist dealers and standardised exchange formats such as BMEcat (eCl@ss). The existing ERP data covered master data, but was not sufficiently structured for marketing and sales-relevant content. Media, additional information and channel-specific expressions had to be maintained manually. A central system for the consistent management, enrichment and automated distribution of all product information was required.
Objective
The aim was to develop a custom PIM system that functions as an extension of the existing ERP data and manages all product-related information in a structured manner. The solution should:
- centrally and consistently map all products
- automatically import ERP master data
- supplement marketing-relevant content
- manage media in a structured manner
- enable channel-specific output structures
- automate BMEcat and XML exports
- be flexibly customisable and extensible The focus was a lean, individually developed solution – without the unnecessary complexity of typical standard PIM systems.
Implementation
In close coordination with Heller Tools, Convario designed a bespoke PIM architecture based on a MySQL database with a PHP backend and an HTML/JavaScript frontend.
ERP Interface
Via a direct connection to the ERP system, master data is automatically imported and synchronised. The PIM extends this data with marketing and sales-relevant content.
Hierarchical Product Structure
Products are organised in a clear tree structure of categories, groups and individual items. This keeps navigation clear even with extensive product ranges.
Media Management
Images, documents and other assets are centrally managed in libraries and contextually assigned to products. Duplicate uploads and inconsistent media usage are avoided.
Multichannel Output
The system enables the structured distribution of data to:
- Company website
- Product catalogues
- Specialist dealers
- BMEcat and XML interfaces Product data is automatically synchronised and therefore always up to date. The software was developed entirely individually to ensure maximum flexibility for future extensions.
Result and Strategic Positioning
With the custom PIM system, Heller Tools now has a central, consistent data basis for the entire product range. Product information can be maintained, updated and distributed across channels more quickly. The manual sending of large files is eliminated, exports are automated and changes are transmitted to connected systems in seconds. This increases the currency of product data and significantly reduces internal maintenance overhead. The project demonstrates how individually developed PIM systems can meaningfully extend ERP data and serve as a strategic management instrument for marketing and sales.
Convario develops bespoke PIM solutions and data management systems for industrial companies with complex product structures. The focus lies on:
- Development of custom PIM systems
- ERP integration and interface architecture
- Automated multichannel data distribution
- BMEcat and XML export solutions
- Scalable software architecture When standard PIM systems are too complex or inflexible, individual software development enables a precisely tailored solution with long-term extensibility.