How a global premium outdoor gear brand turned product information chaos into a governed PIM ecosystem — reducing avoidable returns, accelerating product launches and giving customers the technical detail they needed to buy with confidence.
This case story illustrates a common challenge for premium ecommerce and outdoor gear brands. The client name is fictionalized, while the scenario, architecture and business metrics are based on realistic industry benchmarks. Is product data quietly inflating your return rate? Let’s map your PIM opportunity →
NordPeak Outdoor, a global premium outdoor gear brand and distributor, had the kind of growth story every ecommerce team wants: 25–35k active SKUs, strong D2C sales on Magento / Adobe Commerce, and increasing marketplace presence across Europe and North America.
But the growth hid a profitability problem. Online returns hovered around 20% of ecommerce orders. Apparel and footwear were worse, often approaching 30%. Each returned order cost roughly $27 in handling, reverse logistics and write-offs — before counting lost margin, customer service time or inventory devaluation.
The return labels looked operational. The root cause was informational. Customers were returning products because size charts differed by channel, product descriptions were incomplete, waterproof ratings were inconsistent, and key compatibility details were buried in spreadsheets.
The wake-up call came after a flagship shell jacket launch. Marketing, ecommerce and marketplace teams all used slightly different product data. The Magento page listed one breathability value. A marketplace feed listed another. The size chart was updated in one spreadsheet but not in the localized feed.
Within weeks, support tickets spiked: “size L fits like M,” “jacket heavier than specified,” “not as breathable as described.” The product was not defective. The data was. The team realized they were not managing product information — they were managing spreadsheet archaeology.
Multishoring designed and delivered a PIM-centered architecture that made Akeneo the operational single source of truth for product content, while SAP remained responsible for commercial and operational master data.
We consolidated hundreds of ad-hoc attributes into structured product families: shell jackets, base layers, footwear, backpacks, tents and accessories.
Akeneo Enterprise became the governed workspace for enrichment, translations, technical specifications, images, manuals and channel readiness.
We connected SAP ERP → Akeneo → Magento / Adobe Commerce, separating raw operational data from enriched customer-facing product stories.
Marketplace and B2B feeds were mapped from the same governed model, reducing manual copy-paste and preventing conflicting product descriptions.
The goal was not to add another tool. It was to create a controlled product data flow where every system does its job — and no one edits critical specs in random spreadsheets two hours before launch.
The biggest change was not only technical. It changed how ecommerce, product, marketing and regional teams worked together.
“We were launching premium gear with junior-level data controls. Every region had its own version of the truth.”
“The discussion changed from ‘which file is correct?’ to ‘which product family needs better customer guidance?’ That is a completely different level of control.”
Once product information became governed, teams could finally attack returns at the source: unclear, incomplete or inconsistent product expectations before purchase.
The business case was straightforward: every avoided return protected margin, reduced operational workload and improved the customer experience.
The project combined PIM consulting, integration engineering and data governance. The key was not only selecting Akeneo — it was making it usable, trusted and connected.
We map your current product data chaos, define product families, clean attribute structures and identify the highest-value governance rules.
Start with a PIM assessmentWe connect SAP, Akeneo, Magento / Adobe Commerce and downstream channel feeds so clean product data moves without manual rework.
Discuss your integration stackWe help teams link avoidable returns with product attributes, customer complaints and content completeness — turning data quality into financial ROI.
Build the business caseWe review your current ERP, ecommerce, marketplace and spreadsheet landscape to identify where product information breaks down.
We select a high-return category such as jackets, footwear or tents and prove the model with a focused Akeneo implementation pilot.
We expand product families, validation rules and connectors across Magento, marketplaces, B2B feeds and regional ecommerce teams.
“Returns are often treated as a logistics problem. In ecommerce, many of them are actually a data problem. When product information becomes accurate, complete and consistent across channels, customers make better decisions — and the business stops paying for preventable confusion.”
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