What happens when the person in charge of a brand catalog has a pile of products, a stack of technical data sheets and a computer?
If he were to look at us, we would see a cro-magnon man. And a very tired one.
It's a typical image: a human from prehistoric times trying to solve a complex problem with antiquated and inefficient tools. Killing flies with a cannon or, as Matthias Knoll, CEO of Powerslide, puts it, "hitting a rock with a hammer".
How many companies are still living this way, in the prehistory of product information and sales channel management? Picking up on the cave myth, many are not even aware of the time they are wasting every day.
Others, such as Powerslide, are beginning to follow a ray of light and are peering outward, into a reality where e-commerce is advancing in more sophisticated ways than transcribing data in stone (or typing them manually on an Excel spreadsheet).
What did Powerslide find in Sales Layer, and why has it become their key ally to boost the business, and improve customer experience and teamwork? Here, we tell you their success story.
Catalog management in Powerslide: from stumbling to professional skating
Powerslide is a Dutch company whose origins date back to 1994, when the inline skating craze began in the United States.
Since then, they have turned their passion for skating into several brands of specialized products for all ages, equipped with their own Triskate technology.
Powerslide is a Dutch company whose origins date back to 1994, when the inline skating craze began in the United States.
Since then they have turned their passion for skating into several brands of specialized products for all ages, equipped with their own Triskate technology.
Skates are much more than child's play: the products are composed of many interchangeable and customizable parts. This greatly expands the range of products available in the catalog, along with all the spare parts and variants that the customer can find for each skate model.
Using Excel to manage data is a common but very limited alternative. Cloud-based SaaS software such as Sales Layer provides the agility and accuracy that manufacturers need.
"Before, we used to use one Excel file for the main products, and another for the variants. Now, in Sales Layer PIM, we can have everything in one place and show changes and options for the same product. For example, different boot sizes, wheels and fasteners. It was not easy to see all this in Excel, and now the information is much more accurate for us and our customers." Jurgen Pfitzner of Powerslide
The key to inline skating (and managing product data): a team of interconnected parts
Since using Sales Layer's PIM to collect, edit and share product information from their entire catalog, Powerslide has seen huge time savings that can now be turned into quality.
"With Sales Layer we save a lot of time that we can spend on adding and taking better care of the information. And that's the most important thing in the long run for the company." Pascal Briand of Powerslide
To sum up the positive impact that incorporating a PIM into the company has had for them, Powerslide highlights how it has improved the product experience:
A collaborative platform: PIM allows data to be shared between people, departments and channels more easily, while avoiding mistakes and misunderstandings. Powerslide has a team spread around the world, and PIM has solved the problem of collaborating on catalogs in one place.
A tool to improve customer experience: Product data is more homogeneous and easier to consult. By having greater control over all models and variants, information is always up-to-date across all sales channels and customers can make their queries quickly.
An ally to drive business: And in the directions needed for the future. The current scenario requires manufacturers and retailers to offer complete and transparent information to buyers, adapt to e-commerce and digital sales quickly, and keep an eye on sustainability.
"With Sales Layer's Instant Catalogs feature, we can create a new catalog quickly and publish it online. We don't have to print it or waste paper, so it's more environmentally friendly. It has really helped us to remain a flexible company and to grow as a sustainable business." Matthias Knoll, CEO of Powerslide
Want to know more about the Powerslide and Sales Layer success story?
We invite you to watch the full video from the Powerslide team below, or read their story in our free downloadable, if you prefer to have a version with the key facts at hand.
Nothing better than listening to the protagonists to discover why Sales Layer PIM transforms the work and customer experience of companies with the best support service, the fastest and most flexible onboarding, and the most cutting-edge features in the market for catalog management and product experiences.
Request a free trial now or a personalized demo with one of our specialists if you also want to try the adrenaline rush of managing catalogs with the speed of inline skates.
