PIM system as foundation of core business

Complex product data in the food industry

Boon Food Group is active in the food industry and therefore has to deal with many legal requirements, such as listing ingredients, nutrients, and storage instructions on product labels. But also logistics-related data like 'How should a product be transported? Light, dark or chilled?' The consequences of incorrect or incomplete product data are significant for food products.

Due to these legal requirements, reliable data streams are becoming increasingly important. The large amount of complex product data must be placed in a well-functioning and reliable platform. Boon Food Group was already using inriver PIM to manage its product information. XSARUS took over Boon's existing system, optimised it, and expanded it with smart functionalities.

Pre-PIM as a prelude to true PIM

In the existing situation, Boon Food Group imported an enormous amount of product data from data pools such as GS1. All data ended up in inriver PIM, including inactive products. As a result, information was difficult to find, and performance issues arose. XSARUS implemented logic in the data streams: should certain data from a supplier be retrieved or not? Which data has a higher priority? The solution XSARUS implemented: adding a 'pre-PIM' in inriver. All data is now loaded into the prelude, so products can be filtered beforehand before they end up in the PIM system. Does someone create a SKU in the PIM platform? Then only the specific, relevant information is retrieved. Consequently, the data quality and completeness at Boon have been greatly improved and the speed of the system has increased.

Fewer manual operations

The PIM process has been further optimised. Previously, Boon Food Group created many SKUs manually, which is very labour-intensive. XSARUS has built an additional functionality that automates this. Suppose an employee of Boon creates a SKU; a roll of peppermint. This product now only needs to be created once, and subsequently, all associated SKUs (a pack of peppermint, a box of peppermint) and the product data are automatically filled.

Unique ERP linkage

XSARUS has realised a linkage with the ERP, where the PIM system now precedes the ERP. This means products are created and enriched in one place and simultaneously for all channels. With the advent of the prelude, enriched product information from data pools, such as the correct sizing of a product, is automatically sent to the ERP. This results in even less manual work and data consistency.

Once the data is enriched, it flows through the PIM system to other parties, but also applications like digital scales in the supermarket.

Addition of nutrient template

There are more than 35 nutrients that can apply to a product such as fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. XSARUS has built a nutrient template for Boon Food Group in inriver, allowing this specific data to be better managed. Thanks to compatibility with the GS1 standard, the nutrients are automatically filled when data is available from Superunie.

Within the user-friendly, modern interface, Boon Food Group can manage the nutrients of each product in the PIM system. To achieve the best result, multidisciplinary collaboration took place within XSARUS.

PIM as the foundation of core business

At Boon Food Group, the inriver PIM system has truly become part of the core business. The entire business revolves around the PIM and the associated systems. Boon Food Group is now able to digitally distribute the correct product information to its partners, such as ultrafast delivery partners, as well as the app, website, digital scales, and order app for supermarkets. It is a future-proof solution that can be further expanded.

Inriver PIM is now being utilised very effectively and by adding custom functionalities, data quality and completeness have been significantly improved. Over 10 employees at Boon Food Group work with the PIM system on a daily basis, and the content team is able to work more efficiently. The added value of the system for Boon: all product information and multiple systems combined in one place. XSARUS and Boon Food Group continue to work closely together and will further expand the PIM system.