Tarkett

With tens of thousands of product lines, including current and discontinued products, Tarkett must maintain technical and marketing descriptions, product certifications and images for each one. In the past this task had been handled on multiple systems, using many methods, at a regional level. This led to difficulty in locating assets with poor search capabilities due to a lack of asset metadata. Handling multiple variations for a product was time consuming and prone to error and many duplicates existed. This led to uncertainty as to which was the correct version and some products require 30 or more different language versions.

Certain products must also be tested for compliance to strict standards required in the construction sector. Retaining and publishing accurate certificates is key, for example in medical applications at hospitals and for educational uses.

To meet its exacting standards for customer service and to reduce the time to bring a product to market, Tarkett began the search for the best DAM solution to meet its needs.

OpenText—beyond technical capability

Tarkett selected six solutions to evaluate, including OpenSource offerings. OpenSource was discounted at an early stage, due to the high demand that would be placed on internal resources to implement and adapt the solutions to the company’s needs.

Richard Burbaud, IT front office solutions director at Tarkett said, “We evaluated two leading DAM solutions and selected OpenText™ Media Management as it met our technical requirements and did not require any custom development. We also felt there was a greater depth of understanding and a lot of experience within OpenText that we could learn and benefit from.”

Having selected OpenText, the next step was to plan the implementation. Tarkett set an aggressive timetable, focusing on laying a solid foundation upon which it could build in the future. Internal stakeholders from key functional areas of the business were involved from day one to ensure their needs were met. These included IT, marketing, product management and a new role of Data Manager, one for each of the three main regions.

“We decided not to go for a ‘Big Bang’ approach, trying to implement everything in one go. Instead we opted to work very closely with the experienced OpenText Professional Services team to ensure we got things right, the first time. The approach worked and we were live in less than three months,” added Burbaud.

Faster asset access, global consistency and copyright control

One of the biggest problems that Tarkett previously faced was quickly locating digital assets. Even when employees found a piece of content, there was no way they could be 100 percent confident it was the current, approved version. Tarkett decided to take time to carefully index each asset, with up to 27 metadata items.

“One of the most welcome features of the new OpenText solution is the faceted search. Users can quickly narrow down their asset selection by filtering on any combination of the metadata items we capture. In the past, locating an asset could take days, now it is minutes at most. Plus, with OpenText being the only place that our assets will be stored, they can be confident they have the latest, approved version,” stated Burbaud.

OpenText is eliminating the risk of duplication too, relieving the demand on storage, which in turn drives down cost. Cost however was not the primary driver for the solution, improving the customer experience was at the top of the priority list.

“We’re now developing a website that will better serve our customers. OpenText Media Management will be the only place where our datasheets, images in multiple resolutions, certifications and more will be stored. Customers will benefit from the improved reliability this will provide too,” added Burbaud.

Expanding usage, driving a greater return on investment

The first phase of the project is seen as foundational to the future of digital asset management at Tarkett. The solid base has been built, assets are being loaded at a rapid rate and are actively being used. The next phases will see other departments using the system to manage their assets too. This will include internal documentation and communications, ensuring as many as 6,000 staff can access content and know they have the correct version.

“We’re delighted with what has been achieved in such a short timeframe with OpenText. We have the confidence now to proceed with a much broader set of plans. Other content types will also be considered, such as video and managing renditions of assets,” said Burbaud.

The complex process of launching a new product is today managed outside of the OpenText solution. However, plans are being considered to use the solution to streamline and manage the creative stages of product photography, interior image simulations and the preparation of all assets related to a product.

Burbaud said, “We firmly believe that the best is yet to come, that the great ideas will flow as we grow in our understanding of OpenText Media Management.”