An international building materials manufacturer with several brands put the renewal of its ERP and webshop system out to tender – including several subsidiary brands that were to run on the same foundation, but with their own look and their own product range. A requirements specification like this is a textbook example of what manufacturers with multiple brands expect from a platform.
The final round: what was still open at this stage
After the first bidding phase came the detailed clarification: concrete requirements for product categories, volume discounts, batch management and customer-specific price lists. In the building materials trade in particular, batch and tiered-discount logic is not an optional extra but a must – without a clean implementation in the system, incorrect invoices and complaints are inevitable.
One platform, several brands
The particular challenge: one subsidiary brand was to get a standalone webshop with its own look, without product data having to be maintained twice. This requires a clear separation between central product management and brand-specific presentation in the shop front end – technically more demanding than it first appears.
What the specification actually required
- Central product management with brand-specific assignment of product ranges
- Tiered discounts and customer-specific price lists
- Batch management for traceability
- Connection to an existing shop system without data loss during migration
What we take from this for other building materials manufacturers and multi-brand companies
Anyone who wants to map several brands or sales lines in one system should check from the outset whether product management supports brand-specific range logic – without it, you end up either maintaining data twice or making awkward compromises in the shop front end.
Frequently asked questions
Is a central system for several brands really worth it?
In most cases, yes – the effort of maintaining product data drops significantly as soon as more than one brand or sales channel has to be served.
How important is batch management really?
In the building materials trade it is practically indispensable as soon as traceability or warranty issues come into play.
Are you planning an ERP/webshop renewal for several brands or sales lines? We would be happy to show you how this can be mapped in a single system without maintaining data twice.
Are you currently drawing up a specification yourself? Download our free specification checklist (PDF) – 7 topic areas that no tender should be without.
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