Alligo, a leading Nordic distributor of workwear and safety products, had no shortage of ambition - new digital services, smarter customer experiences, and faster product launches. The problem? Their product data wasn't keeping up.
The challenge: Great ideas, held back by scattered product data
One project in particular captured the challenge well: integrating product data into their smart cabinets (physical storage units equipped with RFID and weight sensors that automatically reorder products when items are removed), placed at workplaces all around the Nordics. The data structures didn't match.
But it wasn't just the cabinets. Integrating product data across systems was slow and full of workarounds. Updating large sets of products and attributes in their e-commerce platform could take days.
"If you've ever tried to force data into a model it doesn't belong in, you know how quickly things can get messy," says Clint Fischerström, Head of Digital Solutions at Alligo.
The team knew something had to change, not just a patch, but a smarter foundation to build on.
The solution: One place for all product data, ready for anything
Through their partner Avensia, who knew Alligo's business well, they were introduced to Occtoo.
Alligo built a new approach: Occtoo became one of two core systems in "Alligo Integration Services" and the engine powering the entire architecture. What that means in practice: data that used to take weeks or months to make available for a new system or use-case can now be ready in minutes or hours.
"With Occtoo, we can deliver data to the web in a clean and structured way, even data that never really had a natural home in our e-commerce model before", Clint explains.
No more days-long import cycles. No more rigid structures forcing the business to adapt to the system. Instead, Alligo can move fast and give their customers better experiences in the process.
"It's easy to add data, easy to change things, and the solution can be used by people who aren't technical. That matters a lot when you want the whole organisation to move faster," says Clint Fischerström.
Beyond the original integration case, Alligo is also using, or planning to use, Occtoo’s Product Orchestration Engine for:
- Large-scale catalog production with EasyCatalog
- Real-time delivery of data for the eCom site
- Attribute management and data onboarding
- Tailored data delivery for several other consuming systems
- Internal cleanup and data quality checks
The results: From weeks to hours, and just getting started
The impact wasn't just technical. Avensia and Occtoo changed how quickly Alligo could bring new ideas to life.
- Product data that used to take days to update is now live in minutes or hours
- New use cases and systems that previously required months of work can now be enabled in days
- Data is reused across channels — web, smart service cabinets, print catalogs — without duplication or extra effort
- The whole team, not just IT, can work with and trust the data
"We've solved several challenges, but we feel like we've only scratched the surface. Occtoo and Avensia have helped us create solutions that add real value for our customers, and we have high expectations for what comes next,” Clint explains.
Today, Occtoo sits at the heart of Alligo's data setup, not as a tool that solved one problem, but as a platform that keeps unlocking new ones.
“We’re happy with the collaboration, and with the inspiration and support we get from both Avensia and Occtoo. This is the kind of partnership that solves problems and helps you build smarter for what's coming," Clint Fischerström says.