From manual catalog production to a fully automated content supply chain — how BACHMANN Group doubled its efficiency

The challenges were significant

Catalogue production completely manually in InDesign
Fragmented product data across various sources
Manual coordination of translations
Long time-to-market for new catalogs
No reuse of data for other channels
High error rate due to manual processes
No scalability for new markets or languages

The trigger: Why now?

Three factors made automation necessary:

Efficiency requirement: Catalogue production was too complex and too prone to errors
Scaling requirement: With 30 sales and partner companies worldwide, BACHMANN needed flexible catalogs
data quality: Requirements for product data quality have increased continuously

The approach: Systematic development of an automated content supply chain

Phase 1: Data construction and analysis (weeks 1—6)

First, the entire database was built up:

Data source analysis: All product data sources were analyzed
classification: Complete product classification transferred to the system
BMEcat import: Imported and revised data from various sources
Workshop phase: Intensive workshops on data structuring

upshot: Clean, structured product database in advastamedia

Phase 2: Process development and translation (weeks 7—14)

The systems were brought together:

data modeling: Structured data model for catalog production
Translation workflows: Processes for multilingual catalogues introduced
Assortment strategies: Country-specific product ranges defined
validation rules: Data quality rules stored

upshot: Standardised processes for consistent catalogs

Phase 3: Automation and go-live (weeks 15—20)

The outputs were automated:

advastamedia Print Framework: Automated catalog output
Reporting module: Automatic quality check in the layout
data validation: Rule-based review of all catalog content
Go-Live: First catalogs produced automatically (March 2021)

upshot: Fully automated catalog production

The results: Dramatic efficiency gains

Automated catalog production

Catalogs are now generated automatically from advastamedia
No more manual InDesign work
Error rate significantly reduced

Data quality improves automatically

Automation makes data quality issues immediately visible
Validation rules enforce consistency
Reporting module checks all content based on rules

Flexible editions and printing intervals

Catalogs can be reproduced at any time
Short runs are economical
Quick response to market changes is possible

Scalability for new markets

New languages and product ranges can be added quickly
Translation workflows are standardized
Country-specific catalogs are easy to produce

Data can be used for other channels

Product data is used for web editions
Dealer data can be provided automatically
Media-neutral content enables flexible spending

What made that possible? Proof Points

Service & methodology:

Comprehensive data development and structuring advice
Experience with complex product classifications
Agile approach with regular milestones

Technical integration:

advastamedia PIM for product data management
advastamedia print framework for catalog automation
Reporting module for quality testing
Integrated translation workflows

Sustainable solution:

Building for future expansions
Clear processes and documentation
Scalable for new markets and languages

The message for you

If you're also struggling with manual catalog production — if your catalogs take a long time, if errors are frequent, if you can't react flexibly to market changes — then it's time for automation.

The good thing: With a structured approach (data structure → process construction → automation), you can fully automate your catalog production in 20 weeks and immediately achieve efficiency gains.