Wilo, global player in high-tech pumps, is present in every continent, has a numerous international production sites and a worldwide network of more than 60 subsidiaries. In a scale like this, the system responsible of company product information has to function unconditionally.
Marcus Sjösten. (Foto: Jonas Ljungdahl)
In Wilo, product and logistics information is centered in Germany, in Wilo’s PIM system. That serves also a primary source for Wilo Nordic and for Marketing Manager Marcus Sjösten.The Wilo’s PIM system is functional, but still, sometimes some local manual work is necessary.
Marcus Sjöstenis also responsible of Nordic branch code arrangements. Branch codes are also one reason for extra work when dealing with product information. – To get data from our PIM-system, some manual work needs to be done in order to get branch codes in a structured manner, says Sjösten.
What actually is the point in having a unique code system in Nordic countries, especially now, when a whole new standard for technical product data – ETIM-standard – becomes more common in Europe? Could ETIM-standard replace national branch code systems?
– Nordic branch codes are quite unique – compared for instance with other European countries. But the good thing is, distinguishing a product is very reliable with a code, Sjösten says. – ETIM-standard will strengthen the reliability of production information even more, he believes. – ETIM will be very useful supplement for product information. With the Nordic branch code, a particular product can be authenticated, while with ETIM-standard it is possible to sort out technical differences between products and ensure that product data is always the same regardless of country and portal, he continues.
He, like inevitably many others, wishes that someday in the future all the branch codes for Nordic countries could be managed in the very same tool at the same time. Maybe that dream is not so far away as you might think?
Magnus Sirén from Finnish database, LVI-INFO promised to evaluate the realism for such hopes. – It is possible, of course, he says, – but it is a huge project and the most time-consuming and demanding part of the process is to unify definitions concerning basic data – how, for instance, you define product categories and how do you name the product qualities, to begin with. ETIM- standard is part of the big picture, and it forces us to determine basic data. After this tough semantical part is done, the rest is fairly basic IT-project. We need to map the differences between different Nordic databases and create a system to import data. I would say that by 2019, we’ll be done with the semantics and could start the IT-project, so by 2020 this common database could be realism, Sirén says.
When comparing product information tools – VVS-INFO in Sweden, NRF Databasen in Norway to LVI-INFO, Marcus Sjösten has noticed, that in these systems much more data are mandatory than in LVI-INFO. In LVI-INFO not all terms are translated, and therefore the LVI-INFO’s customer service plays an essential role in the process of managing the product data.
Sjösten is hoping for a new, more developed excel form which would also include an input for connected/linked documentations and links, to use in managing valuable product information.
Sirén has a good news. – We are ready to publish that excel in the beginning of autumn, he says. – Beta-version is already in use, and after some necessary testing, the excel will be in public use, he continues.