In its web catalog, CELLPACK, a manufacturer of cable fittings for low- and medium-voltage applications, offers its customers daily updated and clearly arranged product information. Automatic synchronization between SAP ERP and SAP Master Data Management reduces the effort required for data maintenance. The product catalog was realized by the Heilbronn-based SAP consulting company IBsolution.
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“Our web product catalog sets us apart from the competition. Because with the user-friendly product search, the clear presentation and the convenient additional functions, we offer our customers significant added value.”
Pierre Londorf, Managing Director, CELLPACK GmbH
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A secure energy supply is a central lifeline for our society. However, in order for electricity to flow to where it is needed, millions of kilometers of cable must be professionally laid, branched and connected. This is done by the power and signal cable connection systems of CELLPACK Electrical Products GmbH. The company, based in Waldshut-Tiengen in southern Germany, develops and manufactures high-performance cable fittings for the low- and medium-voltage range and supplies them to customers all over the world.
Up-to-date and clear product information increases customer service
Cable connections from CELLPACK are used in a wide variety of applications: they secure the power supply in private households as well as on drilling rigs, for railroads, in mining or in industrial plants. The product range is correspondingly comprehensive. Depending on the area of application, the components have to meet a wide variety of requirements, such as being resistant to chemical substances or being so robust that they can withstand extreme mechanical loads. Comprehensive transparency about the products and their properties is therefore of central importance.
For customers - electrical wholesale, energy utility and industrial enterprises - to be able to find the fitting cable connection in the future even faster CELLPACK decided to create a well-arranged web-catalog. The goal was to facilitate the search for products and to provide additional information. Previously, the company presented its products in a printed catalog. For its production CELLPACK used the master data from SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management.
“Our established maintenance processes ensured high data quality. It therefore made sense to use the data stock for another channel, the web catalog,” says Ralf Richter, Senior Project Manager at CELLPACK. However, the print catalog has one major disadvantage: the data is not up-to-date on a daily basis, as new developments can only be included with a time delay, namely with the next print edition.
Cost-effective and low-maintenance package solution
IBsolution was commissioned to implement the web product catalog. The Heilbronn-based consulting company scored with its package solution “Web Catalog”. First, the technical requirements of the product presentation were defined in a workshop. Subsequently, the project team developed concepts and an individual design. Finally, the IBsolution consultants implemented the “Web Catalog”. This solution visualizes the data stored in SAP Data Management on the internet and also uses functions of the SAP component, for example for searching or for importing and exporting data.
In the next step, IBsolution configured the modules of the “Web Catalog”. The search variants as well as the dynamically structured individual product and results pages were set up and adapted to CELLPACK’s corporate design. In addition, the consultants established automatic synchronization between SAP ERP and SAP Master Data Management, so that CELLPACK will have less data maintenance work in the future. “The package solution reduces implementation and maintenance effort because it is modular and uses SAP Master Data Management as its foundation. We therefore didn't have to start from scratch,” explains Robert Herbert, Solution Architect at IBsolution.
Additional functions increase added value
The standard modules of the “Web Catalog” are so flexible that customer-specific requirements can also be implemented. For example, IBsolution’s consultants configured different search areas based on product groups. This allows customers to search in each area specifically using attributes that correspond to the characteristics of the respective product group. In addition, they have the option of entering search criteria in any order. The individual product pages are displayed in just as many variants – with all the properties and additional information, some of which can be downloaded. To enable product-related content to be published from external systems as well, IBsolution has extended the standard functionality mapped by SAP Master Data Management.
CELLPACK is very happy about the new web product catalog. Customers now receive daily updated product information clearly presented. With one click, technical and logistical data can be retrieved, recommended accessories can be viewed or product-related documents can be downloaded. “The ʻWeb Catalogʼ makes an important contribution to customer loyalty and supports us in our efforts to ensure the highest possible stability and security in energy supply,” says Pierre Londorf, Managing Director of CELLPACK. The company is therefore looking into expanding its new web-based product catalog into an online store – with support from IBsolution.
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“The web product catalog allows us to further leverage our master data by providing timely information about new products on the internet, thereby further enhancing customer service.”
Ralf Richter, Senior Project Manager, CELLPACK GmbH
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