Boosting the Profitability Through Automating PIM and Supplier Selection

Chemical Manufacturing
MDM, PIM, System Integration
On-Premise PIM, Data Integration, Complex Data Model, ERP Integration, Shopware, Excel, Price Calculation, Automated Workflows, Supplier Selection

Activate Scientific is a European company that supplies specialized chemical building blocks and complex molecules used in drug research and development. The company operates from offices in Prien, Germany, and Ely, United Kingdom, serving customers across Europe and globally.

Its catalogue includes over 140,000 rare heterocyclic synthons available for immediate delivery through a direct-to-customer online platform. Customers can browse products, request quotations, and access technical documentation such as MSDS and COAs via self-service tools. Activate Scientific also provides custom synthesis services for complex heterocyclic molecules to meet specialized research needs.

With nearly two decades in operation, the company supports academic and pharmaceutical research through its extensive catalogue, tailored chemical manufacturing, and fast international distribution.

Boosting the Profitability Through Automating PIM and Supplier Selection

Challenges

Activate Scientific faced several key challenges in managing and synchronizing its extensive product data ecosystem:

  • Inefficient Data Management: The company managed over 150,000 SKUs, but slow and inconsistent data handling made tracking changes and extracting information difficult.

  • Manual Synchronization with E-Commerce Platform: Product data such as prices and stock needed daily manual updates in Shopware, often causing delays and outdated information.

  • Manual Supplier Selection: Frequent price fluctuations across many suppliers required manual evaluation to find the most cost-effective source, consuming significant time and resources.

  • Error-Prone Pricing Management: Sales prices were manually calculated based on supplier costs and product categories. Constant price changes made it difficult to maintain accurate and profitable pricing structures.

  • Limited Data Visibility and Reporting: Lack of dashboards and analytics made it hard to track product performance, supplier efficiency, and pricing trends, forcing reliance on manual reports.

Goals

To overcome these challenges, Activate Scientific aimed to:

  • Implement an On-Premise PIM and MDM Solution: Replace the ERP system with a flexible, scalable, and user-friendly product data management platform hosted on-premise.

  • Automate Data Import from ERP: Enable automatic import of complete product information, including pricing and supplier data, into the PIM for better consistency and control.

  • Automate Data Export to Shopware: Ensure daily automated export of up-to-date product data to the e-commerce platform without manual intervention.

  • Develop a Supplier Selection Algorithm: Introduce an automated mechanism to identify the most cost-effective supplier based on purchase price, stock availability, and supplier rating.

  • Enable Automatic Supplier Reassignment and Price Recalculation: Automatically replace primary suppliers with optimal ones and recalculate selling prices accordingly.

  • Provide Comparative Product Tables: Generate side-by-side product comparisons to analyze current and recommended suppliers, supporting informed, data-driven decisions.

Solution

To achieve these objectives, an on-premise Data Management (PIM and MDM) and System Integration Platform was implemented.

Key solution features included:

  • Highly Customized Data Model: A flexible, user-friendly data model manages multiple data types, pricing, supplier info, and stock levels. All data is accessible directly from the product page.

  • Configurable Export Feeds: Users can quickly extract and download detailed product datasets with custom export feeds, simplifying reporting and data sharing.

  • Automated Data Synchronization: Daily imports from the ERP system and automatic exports to Shopware ensure product data stays current. Data can be edited or enriched within the PIM before export.

  • Optimized Supplier Suggestion: A real-time algorithm flags non-optimal suppliers and automatically generates a comparison table with recommended suppliers and updated prices.

  • Automated Supplier Reassignment: The system updates suppliers and recalculates prices automatically or allows manual review via a modified Excel file, giving flexibility and control over supplier management.

Results

  • Optimized Product Data Management: The PIM and MDM platform centralizes all product information on a single page, streamlining catalogue maintenance and consolidating data operations.

  • Automated Data Synchronization: Data transfer between the ERP system and Shopware is fully automated. PIM logging enables instant alerts, fast root-cause analysis, and quick issue resolution.

  • Increased Profitability Through Supplier Optimization: The supplier selection algorithm improved sales profitability by over 20% by sourcing each product from the most cost-effective supplier.

  • Reduced Manual Workload: Automation of data updates and supplier selection reduced repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on strategic decisions.

  • Improved Data Accuracy and Reporting: Centralized product data ensures consistency across systems. Export tools provide quick analysis of product performance, supplier efficiency, and pricing trends.

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