Habitat PIM: Retail and Manufacturing
link: Habitat: Expro Retail
LShift developed Expro for Habitat some years ago. We have worked closely with them ever since: developing a range of new applications, growing the functionality of the system and providing support, development and implementation.
The Brief
We were asked to develop a marketing application to improve the central management and distribution of product information. The application had to:
- Provide consistent product information across all channels e.g. website, in-store, and catalogue
- Improve marketing and merchandising information flow through integration with existing business systems and processes
- Develop a flexible and scalable solution, including the ability to work in several languages across the globe
The Solution
LShift developed Expro, a Product Information Management system, allowing Habitat to syndicate, manage and then deliver product information to the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
Expro interfaces with Habitat's supply chain systems and external data sources, extracting useful information and combining this with new nformation (such as product images, PDFs, marketing documents and care and safety instructions). This allows Habitat to create structured product information from unstructured content.
The Result
- £400,000 savings through automated production of shelfedge labels
- Increased sales due to better informed sales teams
- Reduced costs through more efficient product information management
- Eliminated the need for internal product information publications
- Reduction in product lead times
- Digital communications team use the system to provide content for the award-winning Habitat website
- HR department use Expro to generate product training documents that help get new staff up and running quickly
- Press department use Expro to provide product information when dealing with media enquiries
- Future-proofed the business in terms of potential product information usages e.g. publishing information to PDAs, mobile phones or RFID
Technologies Used
J2EE, Microsoft SQL Server