How can PIM be used to streamline collaboration? The AdVini example
12 July 2022
AdVini is an international group, operating in over a hundred countries, with 430 wine brands and a catalogue of 10,000 products, making it one of the market leaders. With 12 wine estates, 2,200 hectares of vineyards and 1,000 employees working in offices and branches around the world (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, China, Sweden, South Africa and Hong Kong), collaboration between the various business teams within this international context has become a key challenge for the group, which generates over 50 per cent of its turnover from exports.
The AdVini Group before the implementation of the PIM
The company was experiencing productivity issues because data entry and processing cycles were extremely lengthy, whilst the availability of data and the shortest possible time-to-market are key elements in AdVini’s commercial operations. The company’s teams and departments often found themselves out of sync between the moment a product was launched and the moment product information became available to sales staff and customers.
The complexity of the business and the various distribution channels (B2B, B2C, mass retail, marketplaces, etc.) required a high-performance product and solution from AdVini, one that would unlock new features and opportunities. Another point not to be overlooked is the complexity of the product itself: it requires constant data enrichment to attract customers, and must comply with numerous legal requirements relating to food and drink, logistical challenges, branding issues… all of which are now significant factors for AdVini’s business and that of many other e-retailers.
Finally, interaction and integration with various systems were key to the group’s business success: collaboration with SAP, Salesforce… where synchronisation and speed of execution were key reasons for implementing a PIM.
A complex product repository linked to the core business
During the pre-project phase, Quable had identified the need to establish the group’s data model. The data model was a unique and specific element for the AdVini teams and the company’s strategy, playing a vital role in the growth of the business.
AdVini Group data model
In the past, this data model posed certain challenges for the group because the inheritance process is essential. A very large number of items can be created each year, and vintages and harvest years are updated annually; therefore, the systematic updating of data is a crucial aspect in the group’s case. Furthermore, the data model must be consistent across all subsidiaries, which requires harmonisation work by AdVini’s IT department as part of this PIM project management.
Unified collaboration between teams
Enriching and updating product data requires the implementation of clear, tailored collaborative processes and workflows to involve the various business teams and departments at every stage of product creation, enrichment and marketing.
In the case of the AdVini project, these processes were broken down into several phases and organised around several objectives:
- Data initialisation: data will be imported from SAP by creating product records in Quable.
- Team-led enrichment: the collection of information and media, the development of marketing content, translation and the validation of content at group level require collaboration between cellar masters (or winemakers), oenologists, and the production, marketing and sales teams… During this phase, Quable provides significant added value by enabling AdVini to sort the information and direct it to the right places, whilst maintaining a high standard of quality.
- Automated omnichannel distribution: the marketing phase involves the automated distribution of product data to e-commerce sites, the Salesforce CRM, print media (for generating catalogues) and the brand portal.
Accelerating business across all sales channels
The Quable PIM has enabled the AdVini group to unify the product experience across all its sales channels:
- in B2C: customers visiting the estate, mail order, e-commerce sites (5 Magento sites for AdVini), and wine-related marketplaces.
- in B2B: sales force, sales agent networks, supermarkets and hypermarkets (GMS), cafés, hotels and restaurants (CHR).
- Internationally: wholesale trade, 7 international offices, sales in over 50 countries, multiple resellers.
The centralised database via Quable is shared across all channels through which the products are distributed.
Furthermore, the implementation of the PIM has delivered immediate operational benefits (simplified collaboration, reduced workload, improved productivity, fewer errors) and a better ROI in the medium term: rapid expansion into new sales channels, accelerated international growth, etc.
Conclusion
The Quable solution has successfully met the AdVini Group’s stringent requirements, which are closely linked to the group’s core business, the complexity of the highly specialised data model for wines and spirits, and the involvement of numerous and diverse teams, all within an international context. The objectives of enhancing the quality of AdVini’s network, improving relations between departments and business teams, and ensuring the reliability and security of data management have successfully met the group’s requirements. Quable was very attentive and responsive in taking on board the requirements, modifications and customisation elements deemed necessary by the group, which represent significant added value for our client AdVini – and perhaps for you in the near future?