Case Study: Managing Around 15,000 Auction Objects With 50,000 Images Centrally via PIM/DAM

Since the implementation of PIM and DAM, objects in the collection at Hermann Historica can be managed centrally ranging from the delivery up to the publication as auction lots. The quite complex process through various enrichment phases can be easily mapped with the workflow management of Pimcore.

Business Challenge

To pave the way for further growth of the company, Hermann Historica was faced with the challenge of enabling higher throughput of auction objects. In the process steps from the delivered asset to the expertly described and high-quality presented auction lot, more efficiency was revealed - the basis for enabling more auctions per year. Another new management endeavor was the introduction of a more straightforward, purely online auction, which requires publication as automated as possible.

Pimcore Solution

Meanwhile, 15,000 objects are managed in the PIM and classified by historians and enriched with product descriptions in a very customer-specific workflow with up to 16 states. The entire collaboration and communication between photo and video production and external service providers such as a translation agency occurs within Pimcore. For this purpose, the interface has been adapted accordingly for 15 user groups with different authorizations (custom views). The data is stored via the DAM, which is now home to around 50,000 files. Via interfaces with integrated error logging, object data is forwarded to the ERP, the bidding software for the floor auction and the pure online auctions, external bidding platforms, partly to the Shopware B2C shop but also to the layout software for producing print catalogs.

Business Results

This digitization level with process optimization and the implementation of PIM/DAM, the frequency of auctions could be more than doubled. Also, the first online auction with up to 1,000 bidders at the same time took place successfully. Hermann Historica has come a big step closer to the vision of the "auction house of the future".