Customer Story
Fender rocks product content with Precisely EnterWorks
30 days
to cloud deployment
20 countries
included in global rollout
100,000+
digital assets managed with EnterWorks
Overview
From modest beginnings in the 1940’s to the cultural icon it is today, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation reaches music lovers all around the globe−from beginners and hobbyists to acclaimed artists and performers. Fender serves its customers through a worldwide dealer network, thousands of products, and over 100,000 digital assets that help bring its instruments and musical memorabilia to life. Fender realized that consistently providing high-quality product content was paramount in supporting their customers’ evolving purchase journey.
Business challenge
Fender faced a myriad of challenges based on one core issue: The company’s fundamental source of information came from an outdated product information database that carried a long list of limitations. With so many products and unique attributes scattered across channels, the lack of consistent and quality data was an ongoing source of frustration. But the challenge didn’t stop there. Historically, Fender displayed only current products in its catalogs and websites. Consequently, non-Fender sources began gathering data, which was often incorrect, on discontinued “legacy” products. The result? Fender was no longer the product information author for its own legacy items, distancing the company from its goal to foster long-term brand affinity.
A shift was needed. Fender set its sights on elevating a “customer centric” experience, including extending its ecommerce presence.” To accomplish this goal, they needed a flexible, user-friendly system to effectively master and govern information and assets for their breadth of products, brands, and customers. Additional variables added to the complexity, including differing needs across catalogs, price lists, websites, and product release announcements. In addition, the system would need to handle global requirements including countryexclusive products, translations, and back office systems. To add to the urgency, Fender faced a short implementation timeframe. Though a tall order, the Fender team was ready to amp up their global reach with PIM
Solution
Fender needed to rock some new product content, so they implemented the Precisely EnterWorks PIM and Master Data Management (MDM) solution. With a fast deployment, Fender had a live solution in just weeks. The EnterWorks PIM/MDM system provides Fender with a “single view” to manage core product data, imagery, service/warranty documents, product display rules, product release packages, price lists, product compliance information and syndicates this content to global B2B and B2C e-commerce platforms.
Fender found that EnterWorks rose above the competition with the most flexible and easy-to-use user interface, with no technical issues. EnterWorks was hands on, listening carefully and seeking input to make prompt adjustments where needed. The result was a flexible, powerful solution that provides the exact data quality Fender needs, and an implementation that was quickly adopted by hundreds of users.
Industry
Manufacturing
Results
- PIM key status indicators help automate and speed product launches.
- Centralized image and data delivery design shortens time-to-market.
- Flexibility in design allows Fender to continually enrich data and content, while approved product managers can add to the data model themselves.
- Automated flags allow legacy products to be archived, search terms and redirect functionality guides consumers to active products and increases direct sales.
- Creative team uses the core product data from PIM to build out consistent marketing campaigns, ads, etc.
Solution
“Fender wanted to play to an even larger audience, so we picked EnterWorks.”
Michael Spandau CIO and SVP Global IT, Fender
A New Content Strategy
Key to Fender’s implementation was EnterWorks’ ability to integrate PIM with the retailer’s existing Demandware framework and e-commerce site. EnterWorks PIM with Demandware provides Fender’s marketing and merchandising teams with flexibility in delivering targeted messaging over the life of their products.
Through PIM, Fender is able to configure set-up to control launch dates, sellable flags, and other key status indicators for products to help automate Fender’s product launches. New capabilities with centralized image and data delivery help shorten time to market, which allows Fender to provide more data to consumers in a timely manner.
Furthermore, flexibility in design for specs and other features across EnterWorks PIM and Demandware allow Fender to continually enrich the data and content without affecting the core design of either system. Merchandisers are empowered to create category grids/feature pages without the need to develop complex IT coding solutions. Combined knowledge of common search terms with redirect functionality in Demandware also helps Fender guide consumers to active products and increases direct sales.
In addition, as a way to effectively address legacy products, EnterWorks PIM includes an automated feature that removes the “sellable” flag on a product when it reaches the end of its life. This allows the product to continue to be displayed on the consumer site for a set time before moving to an “archived” status.
Overall, Fender is gaining benefits from combining Demandware functionality and best practices for Data Governance and delivery via EnterWorks PIM to speed time to market and provide detailed, enriched information about core products. Ultimately, the integration creates a robust solution to support Fender as it creates a global structure and focuses on expansion.
The Results
With the EnterWorks PIM/MDM solution, Fender provides musicians across the globe with the most accurate and complete product information no matter how or where they access it.
The PIM solution allows Fender to focus all content to enrich the consumer experience throughout the entire product lifecycle. Since the deployment, EnterWorks PIM has become the most comprehensive collection of product data in Fender history.
Why Choose EnterWorks PIM?
- Revolutionary Agile Data Fabric™ Technology weaves together data domains
- Business-friendly platform for high user adoption, no coding required
- Hosted Private Cloud SaaS, Your Private Cloud, On- Premise, or Hybrid
- Perpetual, Term, and SaaS Licenses
- Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
- Fastest Go-Live Times in the Industry
The Precisely EnterWorks Difference
Precisely EnterWorks is the most powerful Multi-Domain MDM and Product Information Management (PIM) solution on the market today, providing the single view that enterprises need to acquire, manage, synchronize and syndicate all their data and product information.
Integrated, best-in-class tools—including Sales Portal, Publishing with Adobe® InDesign, Automated Workflow Engine, Syndication, and Digital Asset Management—have elevated EnterWorks as an analyst-ranked, customer-acclaimed solution. We’ve captured the attention of firms including Gartner® and Forrester®, who recognize our advanced functionality and report some of the highest customer satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry.
EnterWorks is backed by a team of industry experts providing unparalleled support and innovation such as cloud deployment. As a market innovator, EnterWorks is also leading the way in emerging technology enablement for artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning, and more.
“The EnterWorks PIM design, coupled with Demandware framework and integration, has allowed us the opportunity to centralize our messaging, focus on SEO data, and better understand the habits of our consumers across the globe.”
Precisely EnterWorks
An enterprise-grade PIM, DAM, and MDM data hub that enables you to compete and thrive in today’s digital economy—across all your channels.