B. Braun: Scoring Internationally with a PIM

B. Braun SE, a leading global medical technology company, uses a sophisticated product information management system (PIM) for thousands of product information items, global playout and different media formats.

Global product communication: A question of data

At B. Braun, the PIM system is at the center of product communication. Their ultimate goal is to provide customers and distributors with precise, consistent and product-relevant information. Product management is responsible for data maintenance and provision, supported by the Center of Excellence (CoE), which manages the entire process from the product idea to market readiness.

With over 5,000 products and 120,000 variants, product complexity is enormous. To successfully operate the PIM system, various existing systems were linked together, including global master data, classifications, product lifecycle management, master data governance, and operational SAP systems. These systems provide essential information, such as minimum order quantities or country-specific requirements. In addition, four document management systems were integrated to create a central and comprehensive data source.
The result is a powerful network that seamlessly supplies touchpoints and channels with consistent product data – a foundation that is essential for B. Braun's transformation and omnichannel strategy.

Smart networking: How data orchestrates all channels

The medical technology industry is subject to strict, country-specific legal requirements that also have a significant influence on communication and the content of publications. Institutions such as the FDA, the Medical Device Regulation in Europe and other regulatory authorities define these requirements. To ensure that these requirements are met, B. Braun has developed two central strategies in the area of Product Information Management (PIM).

As part of the omnichannel customer experience, which includes channels such as websites, online shops and catalogs, all relevant data is obtained directly from the PIM system. For other so-called endpoints such as apps, CRM systems, GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network) and others, data is provided via APIs, since each of the approximately 20 endpoints requires the data in different formats. By using interface technologies, the endpoints can retrieve the data in the form they need. The fact that 10 million product data records were accessed in just 30 days confirms the success of this strategy. These are not only internal applications; customers also increasingly want direct access to B. Braun data.

Optimizing the customer experience

Harmonizing the customer experience was a major challenge for B. Braun for many years. Different stakeholders, numerous channels and touchpoints, all designed slightly differently, made consistent communication difficult. The goal was to change this by providing unified product communication across all touchpoints and channels that B. Braun can control and manage itself. To achieve this, SAP Commerce Hybris, which is now part of the PIM landscape, was transferred to a headless approach, APIs were developed and supplemented with additional tools. This architecture was linked to the Adobe Experience Manager and a unified user experience (UX) was added.

This is how B. Braun ensures that its own touchpoints are consistent and that customers and users always find their way around easily. The reasons for this decision are clear and well known.

PIM in action – The future of product communication, today a reality

• Approximately 400 catalogs are created with the data from the PIM
• Approximately 5,000 products or 120,000 product variants
• Around 1,000 content contributors from marketing and sales are active worldwide
• The relevant product and article data is managed in the global CRM & CPQ (Configure Price Quote) systems, as well as in the approximately 90 B2B shops and over 60 website product catalogs.

Centralized data service: B. Braun supports countries with customer-specific product communication

B. Braun has decided to take on centralized responsibility for managing and controlling product data in order to relieve the burden on the national subsidiaries. In close coordination with the countries, for example, the product class of scissors is used to jointly define which of the 300 attributes are relevant for the respective customers and which are placed in the publication accordingly.

The texts are automatically created from the jointly defined attributes and then translated into the required languages. This significantly reduces the workload, since it is more efficient to translate attributes instead of creating texts individually for each item with the correspondingly selected attributes.

Additionally, B. Braun supports the national subsidiaries in creating filters for digital touchpoints such as websites or e-shops. This enables customers to quickly and easily find the right products based on the desired attributes. This service strengthens the collaboration with the national subsidiaries and ensures consistent and efficient product communication.

When creating additional documents such as brochures or catalogs, B. Braun also works with these attributes, which can vary depending on the requirements.

Pediatric catalog with strict medical legal requirements. The selection of items is based on defined parameters.

Despite increasing digitalization, the printed catalog remains indispensable for many customers. A prominent example of this is B. Braun's so-called “bible”- a comprehensive catalog with around 6,300 instruments that is valued by surgeons worldwide.

Thanks to efficient data maintenance, this catalog can now be generated at the push of a button and for different target groups or medical disciplines, and made available in different languages and formats. The digital version has been optimized for optimal display on devices in 4:3 format.

Aesculap Catalog

The Aesculap catalog shown above comprises approximately 1,700 pages in 33 chapters, and takes about three hours to generate or render, with the product pages coming directly from the PIM system, without any manual finishing.