Product Data Management and Global Website System: Kittelberger for the Wirtgen Group
Background information
In January 2020, Kittelberger completed the go-live of the new Wirtgen Group websites. In addition to developing a global website system for all brands and countries of the internationally active Wirtgen Group, the project also involved setting up the corresponding product data.
Key data
- Customer: Wirtgen Group
- Live URL: https://www.wirtgen-group.com
- Launch: January 2020
Product Data Management and Website System
The WIRTGEN GROUP is an internationally active group of companies in the construction machinery industry, comprising the long-established product brands WIRTGEN, VÖGELE, HAMM, KLEEMANN, and BENNINGHOVEN.
Kittelberger media solutions was commissioned by the Wirtgen Group to implement a new website system consisting of a CMS, online catalog, and a range of additional applications designed to optimally showcase the companies' product and service portfolios.
The decision to award the contract to Kittelberger was based on their extensive experience in the areas of web, product data, and technology/hosting.
Global Website Relaunch: Product Pages, Editorial Content – and More
Even in the early planning phase, it was clear that product data would be the heart of the new website: the project therefore required a system capable of reflecting the Wirtgen Group’s assortment strategy and translation processes across all brands.
The project focused heavily on optimizing and accelerating editorial and publication workflows – from creation through structuring to output. For this, the advastamedia® suite developed by Kittelberger was used, a software platform based on ORACLE for managing and publishing product and media data.
While frontend development and infrastructure setup were underway, the complete product data structures were simultaneously built in advastamedia® – including partial revision of the technical attributes for individual product groups and the implementation of appropriate translation processes.
The result is a modern, cloud-based web presence for the Wirtgen Group, as well as a media-neutral system for managing products, attributes, translations, assortments, and media assets.
All processes related to creation, translation, and publication of product data across all brands are managed via advastamedia®. The system uses its standard formats as well as custom logic – for example, to map relationships between screeds and pavers.
The Technology: FirstSpirit and advastamedia
The website is based on the enterprise CMS FirstSpirit, which is used to manage editorial content, and the advastamedia® online catalog framework. Both systems are tightly integrated, allowing editorial content to be published in each country in line with the product assortment.
The new platform also features a form builder for editors and numerous interfaces, including integration with the Wirtgen Group’s recruiting software.
About the Wirtgen Group
The Wirtgen Group is an internationally active group of companies in the construction machinery sector. Under the Wirtgen Group umbrella brand, five German manufacturing companies are united: Wirtgen GmbH in Windhagen, Joseph Vögele AG in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Hamm AG in Tirschenreuth, Kleemann GmbH in Göppingen, and Benninghoven GmbH & Co. KG in Wittlich.
The group’s core business is the development and production of machines for road construction and road rehabilitation. In addition to its main plants in Germany, the Wirtgen Group operates local production facilities in Brazil, China, and India. Sales and service are handled by 55 of its own subsidiaries and over 150 authorized dealers.
With 8,700 employees worldwide, the company generated consolidated revenue of over €3 billion in 2019.