Ten years entering companiesto bring order to their product information.

Context

CAME introduced a CMS to bring catalogues, product data and eventually technical documentation for several business areas under a common information model.

My contribution

• Coordinated collaboration across IT, Product Management, R&D and Marketing.
• Structured and integrated product information into the EKR-Orchestra Information Warehouse.
• Migrated catalogues and technical documentation from traditional InDesign workflows to CMS-based publishing.
• Trained Marketing teams and 6 Technical Documentation specialists.
• Set up the production of manuals across different formats, languages, configurations and digital versions.

Outcome

• →Eight catalogue families managed through the structured publishing environment.
• →Catalogues published in up to 22 languages.
• →Instruction manuals configurable in up to 26 languages and 12 configurations.
• →Greater internal autonomy in publishing and localisation.

Context

Information from different product families had to be brought into a coherent common model before the publishing process could be industrialised.

My contribution

• Led 6 working sessions involving 14 Product Managers.
• Defined the common data model for catalogue product information.
• Reconstructed the 2016 Automation Catalogue using a CMS.
• Supported 2 Marketing specialists during the transition from traditional InDesign publishing to structured publishing.

Outcome

• →Within two years, catalogue publishing expanded from 2 to 36 languages.
• →Dedicated publications could be produced for specific local markets.
• →The website and printed catalogue shared the same product-information repository.
• →The structured approach was subsequently extended to technical documentation.

Context

Information from AS400 and existing documentation had to be transformed into a sufficiently granular model to support PIM, catalogues, web content and manuals.

My contribution

• Worked directly with the IT Manager and Marketing Manager.
• Analysed and granularised information from AS400 and the existing catalogue.
• Defined the hierarchy Company, Range, Line, Family, Model, Product and Item.
• Populated the newly introduced PIM environment.
• Reconstructed the 2016 Product Catalogue.
• Supported Technical Documentation in transforming Word manuals into structured documents connected to a supporting database.

Outcome

• →ICI became autonomous in publishing catalogues and technical manuals through EKR-Orchestra.
• →Documentation could be produced in 12 languages.
• →The same information assets could be reused across catalogues, documentation and digital channels.

Context

The objective was to create a single central product-information repository while preserving layout freedom for the Marketing team.

My contribution

• Worked on the integration between SAP Hybris and publishing systems.
• Supported the Single Source of Truth architecture.
• Delivered on-the-job training to 8 Marketing specialists across Riello and Beretta.
• Separated graphical layout control from ownership of information originating in SAP.

Outcome

• →Marketing teams became autonomous in managing multibrand catalogues.
• →SAP information could be freely positioned and styled without allowing users to alter the source data.
• →Greater consistency across central repository, catalogue and website.

Context

Different plants were assembled from recurring modules, causing large numbers of almost identical sentences to proliferate across manuals and translation memories.

My contribution

• Analysed and rationalised the existing technical documentation.
• Decomposed documentation into reusable modular content.
• Rebuilt instruction manuals using a CMS.
• Addressed requirements related to non-standard machinery.
• Delivered on-the-job training to 6 Technical Documentation specialists.

Outcome

• →Significantly increased reuse of existing translation memories.
• →Reduced translation costs from the first year.
• →Documentation became better suited to configurable machinery.

Context

The Modena production plant needed to generate the correct instructions for 24 assembly stations as each new machine entered the production line.

My contribution

• Analysed the process directly at the production facility.
• Rationalised more than 2,000 possible assembly operations.
• Associated technical drawings, tools and PPE with each operation.
• Integrated the documentation logic with AS400 and the machine bill of materials.

Outcome

• →Assembly sheets generated automatically according to serial number and BOM.
• →Instructions routed to the correct assembly station.
• →Production documentation generated as each machine entered the line.

Context

The project involved moving from traditional page layout to structured management of product data and catalogue content.

My contribution

• Analysed product information.
• Performed database modelling and migration into the EKR-Orchestra semantic database.
• Rebuilt the 2018 Boiler Catalogue and 2019 Radiator Catalogue.
• Trained 3 Marketing specialists.
• Provided ongoing support following the introduction of the CMS.

Outcome

• →Multibrand catalogues exceeding 280 pages.
• →Structured publishing across 6 languages.
• →Greater internal autonomy in product-information management.

Context

The price list had to vary according to language, market, customer and commercial conditions while maintaining thousands of items under central control.

My contribution

• Designed a new price-list layout.
• Worked directly with the IT Manager.
• Integrated thousands of items from SAP.
• Managed prices, descriptions and conditional publishing rules.
• Defined rules for customer- and market-specific configurations.

Outcome

• →Automated generation of numerous price-list configurations.
• →Variants could be created by language, market and customer.
• →Customer-specific discounts and conditions could be applied while keeping source information centralised.

Context

The catalogue contained tens of thousands of technical values that had to remain aligned with the ERP system.

My contribution

• Worked across IT and Marketing.
• Structured the Information Warehouse.
• Integrated SAP technical data with EKR-PIM.
• Supported production of the Product Catalogue.

Outcome

• →Technical data could update automatically in the catalogue.
• →Reduced the risk of transcription errors.
• →The same information architecture was subsequently extended to online product information.

Context

User and maintenance documentation had to move from traditional authoring tools to a reusable and structured publishing environment.

My contribution

• Analysed technical manuals together with documentation specialist Docutec.
• Defined the underlying data structures.
• Migrated documentation to EKR-Orchestra.
• Trained Technical Department personnel.

Outcome

• →More efficient technical-document production.
• →Content became easier to maintain and reuse within the CMS.
• →The system was subsequently extended to spare-parts information.

Context

Documentation for residential and industrial boilers required a complete analysis before it could be transformed into modular information.

My contribution

• Analysed the full technical documentation together with R&D.
• Defined the taxonomy and resulting data structures.
• Proposed improvements to user- and maintenance-manual layouts.
• Trained 5 Technical Documentation specialists and 2 translators.

Outcome

• →Structured technical documentation introduced across the product range.
• →Improved control over content reuse and translation.
• →Internal specialists trained on the new workflow.

Context

Four product catalogues were managed directly in InDesign by the internal Marketing team and needed to move to structured publishing.

My contribution

• Managed the migration of more than 1,000 pages.
• Converted the four GATE and FRAME catalogues.
• Trained the internal Marketing team.
• Worked with Technical Department specialists on instruction manuals and product data sheets.

Outcome

• →Marketing became autonomous in catalogue management.
• →Technical documentation became structured and multilingual.
• →Reduced dependency on traditional manual page-layout workflows.

Context

Documentation was project-specific and depended on the modules actually purchased by the customer and included in each plant configuration.

My contribution

• Migrated documentation from FrameMaker to EKR-PIM.
• Preserved the structured logic inherited from the previous DITA-based approach.
• Implemented conditional publishing driven by plant configuration and bill of materials.
• Trained the Technical Documentation team.

Outcome

• →Content could be filtered according to the actual plant configuration.
• →Greater graphical flexibility without sacrificing structured-document rigour.
• →Publishing and translation became easier to govern.

Context

Product information had to be migrated and organised into a single structure supporting both printed and digital channels.

My contribution

• Catalogued and hierarchically organised product data.
• Designed the product database structure in EKR-Orchestra.
• Supported content migration.
• Completely redesigned the product-catalogue layout.
• Trained Marketing specialists.

Outcome

• →Approximately 300 catalogue pages manageable internally.
• →Marketing became autonomous in maintenance and translation.
• →Structured product data could support both catalogue and website.
• →The project also included a solution for dynamically comparing product construction characteristics.

Context

Marketing was moving away from a resource-intensive traditional workflow after introducing EKR-Orchestra for central product-data management.

My contribution

• Migrated content from the previous catalogue.
• Reimplemented the image archive.
• Supported construction of the new product catalogue.
• Delivered classroom training to the Marketing team.

Outcome

• →The internal team became autonomous in publishing.
• →Translation and updating became more efficient.
• →The workflow moved from page-centric layout to structured product content.

Context

A rapidly growing number of products and variants by colour, material and dimension made annual traditional catalogue production increasingly demanding.

My contribution

• Supported product-data structuring.
• Contributed to the 2015 Product Catalogue using EKR-Orchestra.
• Worked on a catalogue exceeding 2,000 pages.
• Participated in the creation of an iPad version of the catalogue.

Outcome

• →Structured catalogue publishing across 3 languages.
• →The same information assets could also feed an occasionally-online digital catalogue application.

Context

The project began with the existing Aria Nuova catalogue and required transforming page-based content into structured information.

My contribution

• Inserted and organised product data inside the repository.
• Worked directly with 2 Marketing specialists.
• Reconstructed the catalogue in Italian and English.
• Rationalised the image archive.
• Defined a naming convention for digital assets.

Outcome

• →Catalogue reconstructed through CMS publishing.
• →Image assets became easier to organise and maintain.
• →Greater consistency in asset governance.

Context

The 2014 catalogue was analysed to identify the information structures required by the new publishing environment.

My contribution

• Performed detailed analysis of the existing catalogue.
• Collaborated on definition of the data structures.
• Reconstructed the 2015 Alfagomma HOSE Catalogue using EKR-PIM.

Outcome

• →A catalogue of approximately 220 pages rebuilt from structured information.
• →Product information became easier to update and reuse.

Context

Technical and Marketing departments jointly analysed a catalogue of more than 200 pages before designing the database that would contain its product information.

My contribution

• Analysed catalogue content with Technical and Marketing teams.
• Designed the supporting database structure.
• Coordinated product-data entry into EKR-Orchestra.
• Delivered several weeks of on-site training.

Outcome

• →Internal teams became autonomous in data management and publishing.
• →Catalogues and technical documentation could be produced in Italian and translated variants.
• →Project documentation records Italian, English and Russian editions.

Context

Terminology used in printed manuals and terminology used by the machine interface needed to become consistent.

My contribution

• Performed detailed analysis of technical documentation at the customer site.
• Reconstructed the documentation database.
• Rationalised existing content.
• Built a multilingual terminology glossary.

Outcome

• →The same terminology could be shared between manuals and machine-control software.
• →Greater consistency between the machine interface and technical documentation.

Context

The role developed around the need to govern a complex international portfolio of welding machines and systems for manual, semi-automatic and robotic welding, connecting product data, price lists, catalogues, manuals, spare parts, SAP, R&D and Marketing.

My contribution

• Acted as a key reference for the evolution of the product catalogue and its information processes, working continuously with R&D and Marketing.
• Managed portfolio updates through the introduction and removal of items and product families, new sections and revisions of existing content.
• Standardised item master data, naming and coding conventions, data ownership and documentation workflows.
• Integrated SAP data for automatic updating of prices, descriptions and spare-parts lists.
• Coordinated localisation of catalogues and price lists across 8 languages.
• Supported the transition from traditional documentation to structured CMS-based documentation, including database structures, image archives and redesigned InDesign layouts.
• Redesigned and modularised technical manuals so that a significant portion of their content could be driven by the bill of materials.
• Trained and supported colleagues involved in documentation and product-information processes.

Outcome

• →A more structured and governable documentation and product-information process connected to company source systems.
• →A historical price list of approximately 240 pages managed in 14 configurations and updated several times per year.
• →Technical documentation for around 80 models currently managed in 27 languages.
• →Spare-parts lists automatically fed by SAP and greater reuse of information originating from the bill of materials.
• →Greater consistency between the product portfolio, catalogues, price lists, technical data and commercial strategy.

Context

Whenever regulations or component specifications changed, the Technical Department had to manually identify and edit every affected document.

My contribution

• Implemented the component database.
• Designed a modular-document approach.
• Connected component information with technical documents.
• Trained the Technical Department.

Outcome

• →Shared information could be updated centrally.
• →Reduced repeated edits across multiple manuals.
• →The internal Technical Department became autonomous with the new environment.

Context

Complex documents needed to change according to customer specifications and vehicle construction data.

My contribution

• Provided two weeks of on-site support.
• Converted 5 manuals from Word into InDesign connected to a CMS.
• Implemented conditional-content logic.
• Configured content according to construction specifications.

Outcome

• →Manuals became modular and configurable.
• →Reduced duplicated content across different vehicle configurations.

Context

Manuals had to describe an entire machine family while producing configuration-specific versions by filtering content through the machine bill of materials.

My contribution

• Provided continuous consultancy and operational support to Studio Ve.Ga.
• Trained 4 technical specialists.
• Supported content analysis and migration.
• Contributed to 28 multilingual user and maintenance manuals for Soilmec machinery.
• Provided ongoing training on the evolution of the EKR platform.

Outcome

• →Manuals could be configured according to the bill of materials.
• →The documentation service became autonomous in advanced CMS use.

Context

Technical compatibility between lighting products and light sources was stored in SAP and needed to be published correctly in printed catalogues.

My contribution

• Implemented communication between SAP and EKR-Orchestra.
• Created graphical catalogue templates.
• Configured the publishing and translation workflow.

Outcome

• →SAP technical data could feed the catalogue directly.
• →The resulting catalogue could be published in 6 languages through the integrated translation workflow.

Context

The same content needed to support both the printed user manual and the digital customer portal.

My contribution

• Collaborated on construction of the user manual.
• Managed content through PIM technology.
• Migrated and reused information in the online customer portal.
• Supported multilingual delivery.

Outcome

• →The same content could be reused across print and online channels.
• →Information was made available in multiple languages.

Context

The engagement was not tied to one publication, but to continuous knowledge transfer that could be applied across Docutec customer projects.

My contribution

• Trained the company owner and employees.
• Provided updates on new platform functionality.
• Shared taxonomy-analysis techniques.
• Developed methods for information structuring and reuse.
• Provided project-level consultancy when required.

Outcome

• →Continuous improvement of the internal team’s structured-documentation expertise.
• →Greater ability to apply PIM methods to both print and online publishing.

Context

A specialist training assignment carried out during my consulting years rather than a PIM implementation.

My contribution

• Delivered a five-day full-immersion training programme.
• Trained 4 Marketing specialists.
• Covered advanced Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator techniques.
• Applied the training directly to timetable production.

Outcome

• →Transferred practical Adobe expertise to the internal team.
• →Improved autonomy in editorial production.