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From PIM to Platform: How Alligo and Avensia Built a Smarter Data Foundation with Occtoo

Read all about how Avensia helped Alligo, a leading Nordic distributor of workwear, tools, and safety products, build a modern, scalable data foundation.

Industry

Manufacturer and distributor of workwear, tools and supplies for the construction industry


Geography

Sweden (HQ), Norway, Finland

Project scope

PIM, product orchestration


Websites

alligo.com

 

 

Solutions

inriver PIM, Occtoo

 

alligo

 

The Challenge Ideas Held Back by Scattered Data

Alligo had no shortage of ambition. They wanted to power new digital services, create smarter customer experiences, and enable faster product launches, but had something big standing in the way. Product data was scattered, difficult to manage, and time-consuming to update. Alligo’s main challenges included:

  • Slow integration of product data: Integrating product data across systems was slow and full of workarounds. Updating large sets of products and attributes in their e-commerce platform could take days, and the team knew something had to change.

  • Unmatching data structures for smart cabinets: When Alligo wanted to integrate product data into its smart cabinets (physical storage units equipped with RFID and weight sensors that automatically reorder products when items are removed), the data structures didn’t align.

  • Supplier data onboarding: With hundreds of suppliers, Alligo relied on them to provide product data, but exporting a complex model with 300,000 products to Excel made the process slow and impractical. Spreadsheets became difficult to navigate, dropdowns often didn’t fit real needs, and most suppliers lacked data expertise. Even with a modern PIM solution powered by Inriver in place, both suppliers and Alligo spent significant time correcting, enriching, and validating product data before it could be used.

The Solution:

One Place for All Product Data

To get started on solving these challenges, Avensia introduced its partner, the Product Orchestration Engine Occtoo, to Alligo, making Occtoo one of two core systems in “Alligo Integration Services” and the engine powering the entire architecture. After the implementation, data that used to take weeks or months to make available for a new system or use case could suddenly be ready in minutes or hours.

This meant that days-long import cycles were no longer a thing, nor were rigid structures forcing Alligo to adapt to the system. Their data was no longer limited to what belongs in the PIM and SEO information; web descriptions in multiple languages, keywords, and other enrichment data could suddenly be routed directly to where they were needed, without cluttering the PIM or requiring IT involvement.

Quote
It’s easy to add data, easy to change things, and the solution can be used by people who aren’t technical. That matters a lot when you want the whole organization to move faster.
Clint Fischerström, Head of Digital Solutions, Alligo

Alligo will also use Occtoo’s Product Orchestration Engine for:

Large-scale catalog production with EasyCatalog

Real-time delivery of data for the e-commerce site

Attribute management and data onboarding

Tailored data delivery for several other consuming systems

Internal cleanup and data quality checks

The Results Alligo Is Just Getting Started

What began as a PIM project grew into something far bigger and Avensia and Occtoo have changed how quickly Alligo could bring new ideas to life.

  • Product data that used to take days to update is now live in minutes or hours.

  • New use cases and systems that previously required months of work can now be enabled in days.

  • Data can be reused across channels without duplication or extra effort.

  • The whole team can now work with and trust the data.
Quote
We’ve solved several challenges, but we feel like we’ve only scratched the surface. Occtoo and Avensia have helped us create solutions that add real value for our customers, and we have high expectations for what comes next.
Clint Fischerström, Head of Digital Solutions, Alligo

Do you want to learn more about how we helped Alligo modernize PIM? Get in touch!