Hillewaere Group manages a content explosion with DAM
Hillewaere faced a content explosion. Managing and sharing property photos became increasingly time-consuming, and accidental file deletions were a frequent issue. They found their solution in workflow automation.
Beautiful living begins here
The Hillewaere Group specialises in mediating the sale and rental of residential properties, apartments, and commercial buildings in the medium and upper market segment. Their tagline, “Beautiful living begins here,” reflects the values they bring to the real estate market.
Hillewaere’s commitment to delivering a unique buying experience has earned them multiple accolades at the prestigious Real Estate Awards. Additionally, they have proudly claimed the title of Best Employer in their sector.
The group operates from 10 real estate offices across Antwerp, Limburg, and East Flanders. In addition to real estate, they offer services in mortgages, insurance, and interior consultancy.
Hillewaere headquarters
Content explosion
Like many other brand owners, Hillewaere faced challenges caused by a content explosion. Managing and sharing property photos became increasingly time-consuming, and accidental file deletions were a frequent issue. Ellen Spooren, Marketing Director at Hillewaere, turned to Catena Company for a solution to better manage their digital assets.
Jan Van Sprengel, Workflow Consultant at Catena Company, conducted a thorough analysis of Hillewaere’s workflow alongside Ellen and other stakeholders, quickly identifying key pain points.
The virtual reality zone at Hillewaere’s headquarters
Managing digital assets takes too much time
The process of managing property images – from uploading them to OneDrive, copying them to the CRM system and file server, to distributing them to various offices and departments – was taking at least half a day each week.
In addition, tasks like searching for stock photos, logos, and design images, as well as downloading images for Facebook ads, consumed another hour per day for one employee.
Manual process leading to errors
Manual workflows also introduced errors, resulting in misplaced files that had to be retrieved. The file server was accessible only via the internal network. Communication of large files was done via mail, which had a significant impact on the mail server. The file server was running out of storage space.
Digital Asset Management
A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system simplifies the management of digital assets such as photos, videos and many other file forms. A DAM solution offers a wide range of possibilities, both in terms of functionalities and licensing models, allowing you to tailor it to your specific needs.
The analysis revealed that Hillewaere had very clear requirements for their DAM solution.
- Assets (initially photos and videos) must be accessible to a much larger audience
- Internal and external photographers need an easy way to upload images
- Assets should be easily searchable and downloadable in the desired formats
- Management of assets should be more automated
Accessibility and automation
To meet these needs, Catena Company implemented a scalable SaaS solution for Hillewaere. The scalability lies in the easy addition of new users, as well as the possible expansion with additional functionalities. This SaaS solution also relieves Hillewaere of the burden of maintaining hardware and software. Backup and fail-over is also provided by the software vendor.
Photographers now upload their images directly to the DAM system. Copying files from OneDrive to CRM system and file server is outdated. The extensive API capabilities allow integration with the CRM system and all other marketing stacks and technologies (PIM, ERP, etc.). An automatic approval system ensures that all assets are available in the right formats.
Employees in property shops and various departments now have direct access to the assets they need. Behind the scenes, an intelligent system automatically assigns the appropriate permissions to each user.
Using metadata and AI, the DAM system links assets to their respective projects, making retrieval simple and allowing for further automating of workflows. For example, the sale date of a property is linked to its associated photos, allowing the system to automatically archive the images once the property is sold.
Win-win
Not all DAM solutions are the same. Customisation is always required to some extent. However, when the DAM system is tailored correctly to meet specific needs, the benefits are typically the same: time savings, cost reductions, fewer frustrations, and more efficient use of available assets. In the end, the Hillewaere Group saves tens of thousands of euros annually.
“The set-up ran smoothly, for every problem there was a solution.” – Jolien Krijnen, Graphic Designer @ Hillewaere Groep
This success was largely thanks to Catena Company’s project-based and transparent approach. Since a DAM system is always customised, maintaining a short feedback loop with users during configuration is crucial. To facilitate this, Catena Company used a central project management tool that was easily accessible to all parties involved. With a weekly one-hour meeting for alignment, the DAM solution for Hillewaere Group was fully optimised within 10 weeks.
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