Electrolux Group Unlocks the Power of Product Information with Centric PXM

The integration capability of Centric PXM is a big plus. We can integrate it with 15 different systems and thus benefit from the advantages of the flexible configuration and user-friendliness of the product experience hub module. At Electrolux Group, we want to rely on a holistic and future-proof solution worldwide to create a central basis for our product information for all organizational units.”

— Aline de Faccio, IT Project Portfolio Manager, Electrolux AB

As part of a global reorganization and harmonization process around IT, the management of product information at Electrolux Group was put to the test. The system landscape used in Europe was very fragmented and relied on isolated components, including an outdated third-party product information management (PIM) system that was no longer supported and countless spreadsheets to manage and provide product information for marketing and sales. It was clear that a change needed to take place.

Over 100 Years of Innovative Products

With its three core brands, Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, and around 60 million products sold each year, the Swedish company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of household appliances.

Its portfolio ranges from large appliances like stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers to small devices such as vacuum cleaners, coffee makers and irons. The company also supplies private-label appliances to IKEA.

Due to the outdated PIM software, a system upgrade was required to ensure that the company could effectively handle product information and set up future-proof processes.  Many of these processes were based on the use of spreadsheets and email before data entry actually took place, making errors and delays inevitable.

What’s more, there was no uniform or coordinated data quality assurance across all systems, resulting in incorrect entries that often have serious and cost-intensive consequences (including supply chain blockages).

Need for Centralized Product Information

William McLaughlin, Digital Content Operations Manager at Electrolux North America, explains that the company was on its third iteration of a PIM system that started out as a homegrown solution, which became difficult to scale. Then, it adopted a large enterprise solution, but there was no flexibility in that option and since it wasn’t very agile, making changes took months and was labor-intensive. From a training and usability perspective, it was a tough application to support.

Electrolux sought out a PIM solution that could manipulate complex product information management, including digital assets, could easily and seamlessly integrate into more than 15 different systems and would be easy to use across teams.

The appliance manufacturer chose the AI-powered Product Information Management (PIM) solution which is part of Centric PXM™ (Product Experience Management) from Centric Software. Centric PXM—formerly known as Contentserv—encompasses not just PIM but also Data Asset Management (DAM), content syndication and Digital Shelf Analytics (DSA) to optimize the product commercialization lifecycle, resulting in a transformed consumer brand experience, increased sales channels and sell throughs as well as higher margins for retailers and brands.

The partner and solution choice was clear and unanimous across a large cross-functional team.

“The SaaS model from Centric PXM fits perfectly with our IT strategy of relying on scalable, maintenance-free and risk-free, cloud-based solutions,” McLaughlin says. “We knew we had to set the foundation to be able to roll out new channels like DTC.”

Driving New Channels and Revenue with PIM

Since implementation McLaughlin and his teams have spent less time managing product data and instead have focused on driving growth, especially with the launch and support of its direct-to-consumer business.

“I have been able to build out our DTC business in our PIM without impacting anything else, which is really unique and a great added value,” says McLaughlin. “In 2027, I hope to build a half-million-dollar channel.”

As the backbone of the catalog, relationships and how visual assets are hosted, there are close to 80 team members who are editing and enriching product information.

Introducing a future-proof PIM solution with flexible integration ensures a seamless standardized data exchange that also securely connects legacy or custom systems until the time of replacement.

“One of our goals was to achieve a 20% reduction of the effort (and thus also the costs) associated with product data management, while increasing the data quality through centralized and automated control mechanisms,” explains McLaughlin.

“We used to have huge teams to accomplish what I am able to do now with just myself and a couple of people on my team. Centric PXM has freed up time with automation and accuracy,” McLaughlin explains.

Selecting a Great Partner for Development

Electrolux initially evaluated five vendors, narrowing the list to three before quickly choosing Centric PXM.

“The annual running cost savings alone in selecting Centric PXM were enough of a value proposition to get quick approvals because it is 71% less expensive than our former PIM system. Also, the implementation time took less than 6 months,” notes McLaughlin.

Electrolux assessed four criteria—presentation quality, data asset management, integrations and usability—where “Centric PXM not only had the best presentation, but they excelled in data asset management, ease of integrations and usability,” McLaughlin adds.

Even before finalizing the decision, Electrolux tested its own data in Centric PXM’s demo environment, experimenting with use cases without affecting development.

“We have thrown some crazy use cases at Centric PXM and so far they have worked,” says McLaughlin. “We still haven’t outgrown it and I don’t think we ever will.”

Another key advantage is the integration tool, enabling Electrolux to build APIs for customers and internal systems. “It saves us on extra costs and makes us autonomous,” McLaughlin notes.

The team also realized resource and cost savings from built-in capabilities. “We used to have an agency build spec sheets for years, costing us $500,000 annually. On top of that, we had to pay a one-time $50,000 fee so they could make the spec sheet template configurable. However, within Centric PXM, my team is able to generate those spec sheets without any extra costs or anyone needing to work on them.”

This process is automated: one click to generate, another to refresh, ensuring compatibility even through upgrades.

Centric PIM adoption is widespread across Electrolux. McLaughlin highlights a unique use by the safety engineering team to manage non-marketing product data. “They can then layer on things like energy attributes, packaging attributes … things that aren’t necessarily marketing specific. It’s a great solution and we can scale and add on to fit any new requirements.”

Best Practices for Product Information Success

When starting a journey to centralize product information, McLaughlin advises to initially design with the ability to scale in mind, because once the company is able to meet the requirements of complex product information, there are new requirements right behind them.

“So, as long as you take that initial approach of designing with scale into consideration, then you can grow and go anywhere you want to go.”

McLaughlin and his team have been using the platform for almost three years and are still excited to see where it can go globally, where it can evolve and where it will fit new requirements (and new needs) in the future.

Future Product Information Plans

After first starting its DTC journey in 2021 with the Electrolux site, in 2022 it launched its own channel and in 2023 it launched the Frigidaire DTC site. McLaughlin notes that Electrolux also works through third parties directly within the PIM to its commerce engine as well in the US, although the company is also working on Canada next.

McLaughlin adds that the team is currently wrapping up the launch of its content syndication process and everything is going smoothly.

“The amount of change and speed of what we were able to accomplish is mind-boggling. The solution has been able to adapt quickly and make changes to support new requirements. It has agility, flexibility and speed to market,” McLaughlin says.

He explains that Electrolux is able to take advantage of Centric PXM updates without going through a full upgrade project. Moving to SaaS has opened the door to being able to take advantage of new functionality immediately. The single sign-on experience is smooth and user account management is easier in SaaS.

“Just the capabilities of what they have already shown us now have opened our eyes to possibilities in the future that we never thought were even imaginable,” McLaughlin says.

“We wanted to be able to drive product launches quickly and accurately with fewer resources—and we have been able to accomplish that.”