CIBO unlocks marketing content with DAM

With the expansion of its e-commerce business, CIBO chose Akeneo PIM (Product Information Management), which necessitated a link to their old DAM system. By adopting a new DAM, integration became much easier, enabling CIBO to leverage the latest technology while significantly reducing costs.

CIBO supports companies in the aerospace, pharma, and food industries, helping them achieve the highest quality finish when machining stainless steel. Each of these industries has unique finishing requirements, which CIBO meets with its years of sanding expertise and extensive product range.

Managing such a wide product portfolio and a diverse customer base requires significant effort at CIBO. To streamline this, all data used in catalogues and product leaflets for various customer segments is efficiently managed through a DAM (Digital Asset Management) system.

With the expansion of its e-commerce business, CIBO chose Akeneo PIM (Product Information Management). This is when the need arose to link with the old DAM. By working with Bynder, an integration was much easier to make, CIBO enjoyed the latest technology and costs went down significantly.

CIBO sanding disc in action

DAM platform

Catena Company proposed a brand new DAM platform, which includes both a PIM integration as well as a state-of-the-art DAM. With this, CIBO resolved several issues at once.

With Bynder, CIBO chose a modern technology, with a focus on the integration with other marcom stacks. Exchanging data between the various systems such as DAM, PIM and, for example, CMS but also the Adobe Creative Cloud, is now effortless, resulting in a fully integrated digital experience.

For an organisation like CIBO, with many salespeople in the field, the DAM platform’s integration of sales support features is a major advantage. Sales teams can access and share product information directly from their tablets or laptops using the same application as the marketing team. This eliminated the need for an additional sales platform, saving CIBO significant licensing costs.

Equally important is the DAM platform’s intuitive user interface and delightful user experience. This was a game-changer for CIBO, especially for younger team members who had questioned the efficiency of the previous system. The migration to the new DAM solution also provided the opportunity to overhaul and merge the PIM/DAM taxonomy, resulting in a more logical and accessible data structure. With better organisation, the data has become far more valuable and is now utilised to its full potential. And here’s the best part – no data was lost during the migration!

CIBO employee searches through the DAM system

Welcomed by all employees

With their modern DAM, CIBO has implemented a marketing technology stack that garnered broad employee support from day one.

For marketing teams, the once-tedious process of searching for digital assets in the old DAM has been replaced with a practical user interface, making their work more enjoyable.
Sales teams, on the other hand, benefit from a seamless user experience, with quick access to accurate and up-to-date product information. This not only allows them to serve customers more effectively but also improves the overall customer experience.

“I see the young wolves in our marketing team perking up. It has also greatly improved collaboration with sales. Everyone is just in a better mood, and that makes the job much easier.” – Bart Strouven, Marketing Manager @ CIBO

The benefits of integration are no secret. The growing overlap between sales and marketing functions is becoming a reality for many organisations. However, when unlocking data from their DAM to other platforms, CIBO took an approach that was less conventional but highly efficient and organisation-wide. In essence, CIBO didn’t just integrate its systems where their data circulated – they integrated their entire organisation.

These DAM and PIM integration projects, starting from the (often underused) wealth of available digital assets, are Catena Company’s absolute expertise.

The importance of taxonomy

In the initial phase of setting up the DAM portal, Bart Strouven (Marketing Manager at CIBO) and Jan Van Sprengel (Workflow Specialist at Catena Company) worked together to define the roadmap for implementation. A key focus was on establishing a correct taxonomy that was 100% aligned with the predefined specifications. Training began early, ensuring the DAM manager was equipped to independently manage the portal.

During the migration, all assets and their associated metadata from the old solution were transferred into the new DAM portal, including the metadata hierarchy. This process revealed old, legacy file formats as well as missing assets. Affected customers were promptly informed, allowing them to take the necessary steps to complete and update the database.