Precise and up-to-date product information to serve both professionals and the end-users of products
Vallox (formerly the Valmet factory in Loimaa) is a well-known brand in Finland. Vallox is the market leader in ventilation systems thanks to its technological expertise, especially in cold climates. On the international market, currently almost half of its turnover comes from exports to Central and Eastern European countries.
Akeneo PIM and Cloudinary as a source of product information
Vallox wanted to redesign the website and the CMS system as a whole. At Mediasignal, we designed and implemented the WordPress website and its integration with Akeneo PIM and Cloudinary.
– The website project got off to an impressive start after the selection of the partner, and proceeded at a fast pace right up to the end. Despite a strict schedule, the new website was launched on time,” says Anneli Ojala, Marketing Planner at Vallox.
The website redesign was aimed at changing the content, structure and visuals, as well as the automatic publication of product information and related attachments from the backend systems.
– One of the main goals was to make it easier to maintain the website. Perhaps the most significant step towards this was the interface to the product information management system. Defining and creating such an interface was very easy and it was a pleasure to work with people with whom we had a common language, says Anneli Ojala.
We designed a multi-dimensional web service for Vallox, where all product information is searched from the Akeneo PIM and imported with selected attributes into three different language versions, a Global site and different search logics for the Finnish market. Product information will be enriched with product images, downloadable files, instructions and design support documents managed from Cloudinary.
In connection with the website redesign, Vallox also made the transition to Akeneo PIM for product information management and to Cloudinary for image and attachment management. Close project team collaboration and definition work was critical to the success of the project, as additional product data was defined and exported to PIM until the final stages of the project.
– I highly recommend, sums up Ojala our cooperation.
Search applications help users get to the information they need
The professional product search allows users to search for product information by product name, product number, HVAC number or category level.
The search returns the most relevant links for professionals by product and lists product equivalents or substitutions. Products can be filtered using category-level filters.
The product search automatically retrieves all product information from Akeneo PIM.
The user manual search allows the user to search the user manuals for both on-sale and discontinued products from a single interface.
The user manual search can be used to search by category for products with a history of user manuals and language versions going back decades.
The user manual search automatically retrieves PDF files from Cloudinary and generates cover images for the search results.
The new website also meets future needs
Vallox’s new website is adaptable and expandable. Technically, the site was implemented in such a way that the platform can be used extensively to meet new needs that may arise in the future.
The cooperation between Mediasignal and Vallox will continue in the form of close further development. During the redesign project, needs for additional features were already identified and will be developed for the site.