Dornbracht: The Perfion PIM system is the interface of our complete Microsoft Systems Architechture

The Aloys F. Dornbracht GmbH & Co. KG is an international manufacturer of high quality design fittings and accessories for bathrooms and kitchens. At Dornbracht, Perfion serves as an interface in a complete Microsoft systems architecture where it plays the role as a master data server for the entire company.

With 9,000 end products and 40,000 purchase and manufacturing items, Dornbracht has to manage a very wide range of product information. The seamless Microsoft integration was crucial to the company’s decision for the Perfion PIM system.

Dornbracht’s product data challenge

Before implementing the Perfion Product Information Management solution, Dornbracht managed all product data manually, i.e., in Excel lists from multiple data sources and through advertising agencies. Thereby, several challenges arose:

• Data was not consistent and versioning not possible 
• Unequal information in the printed documents 
• No flexibility of data for different output channels 
• Data had to be made accessible to the advertising agency

Perfion PIM as Master Data Server

The seamless Microsoft integration was crucial to Dornbracht’s decision for the Perfion PIM system. At Dornbracht, Perfion serves as an interface in a complete Microsoft systems architecture where it plays the role as a master data server for the entire company.

Dornbracht integrates Perfion with the following systems:

• Microsoft Dynamics AX
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Microsoft Office 365 in the Cloud (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Microsoft SharePoint CMS
• Sitecore WCMS
• DAM
• keytech PLM

Earlier, a product was created in the PLM. In the future, Perfion will be the starting point. Perfion is also data provider to the Dynamics AX ERP system and manages the data in 19 different languages.

Matthias Dornbracht, Managing Partner, Aloys F. Dornbracht GmbH & Co. KG, explains: 

“With Perfion as the interface of our complete Microsoft systems architechture, we have been able to regain our data sovereignty throughout and make the extra step through an advertising agency superfluous. This has given us a savings of 70,000 EUR right away. With only one data source, we will achieve even more savings that cannot be calculated in money alone. The PIM system helps the whole company grow."

Perfion’s user-friendliness is an extra plus 

Another plus for Dornbracht is Perfion’s user-friendliness. Since the PIM system is constructed on the basis of Outlook, almost no training is required. Consequently, the employees at Dornbracht have - within only 4 months - been able to build everything themselves in order to produce ready-to-print price lists of up to one thousand pages.

Plenty of savings with PIM 

With Perfion, Dornbracht has saved the extra step of cooperating with an advertising agency and is now working directly with the print manufacturing facility. This alone has given the company a savings of 70,000 EUR.

Because there is now only one data source, Dornbracht will also save a number of additional costs, and other elements are important too:

• Improved data quality in all output channels
• Time savings in the marketing department 
• More inexpensive translations because they are stored in the PIM system 
• Reduced data maintenance effort due to the similar Microsoft technology 
• The user-friendliness allows Dornbracht to model everything themselves without having to resort to external service providers

Because no advertising agency has to be interposed anymore, Dornbracht has sped up the process significantly. With Perfion as a central exchange point for product information, Dornbracht’s employees can now work together, in a literal sense, instead of having to perform their tasks sequentially.

Dornbracht in details

The Aloys F. Dornbracht GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Iserlohn, Germany, is an international premium manufacturer of award-winning fittings for bathrooms and kitchens. The company regularly wins international design awards for its product designs and since 1996 it is also distinguished through a sustainable cultural engagement.