Portwest streamlines product data with new system

Portwest, a leading workwear manufacturer, has reduced catalogue production time by five months and achieved significant cost savings by centralizing product information with Akeneo’s Product Cloud. The company’s range of products spans tens of thousands of SKUs across more than 130 countries.

Previously, product data was maintained across several systems, making it time-consuming to keep translations and information consistent across markets. Catalogue production was a largely manual process that could take up to eleven months.

To address these challenges, Portwest implemented Akeneo PIM as a centralized source of truth for product data, supported by integrations with the publishing solution InBetween. This new platform consolidates technical and marketing information into a single, governed environment.

Using Akeneo’s reference entities and advanced data modeling capabilities, Portwest can now efficiently manage certifications, compliance attributes, and shared technical information across more than 46,000 SKUs. This has significantly reduced duplication and improved data accuracy.

The impact of the new platform has been immediate and measurable. Catalogue production time has been reduced from 11 months to just six, while the number of proofing cycles has dropped dramatically. The same foundation has transformed how Portwest produces sales collateral.

Previously, the design team output approximately 150 ad hoc flyer requests a year, each built by hand. Now, with product data flowing directly from Akeneo into the InBetween Publisher, that ceiling is gone: in under six months since going live in late January 2026, Portwest has delivered 3,300 bespoke flyers to customers and sales teams.

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These flyers are each localized, on-brand, and generated on demand. The transformation has also modernized the creation of technical datasheets, which are now fully automated and can be generated and distributed globally in minutes across 28 languages.

According to the report, the new platform is supporting Portwest’s continued international growth. Distributors can now generate localized, branded sales materials on demand using governed PIM data, enabling faster market entry and reducing reliance on central teams.

Since launch, Portwest’s publishing capabilities have already supported hundreds of requests while significantly reducing internal design workload. This capability is particularly valuable in markets where localized product information is essential for digital growth and commercial success.

By ensuring that accurate, translated, and compliant product data can be created and distributed quickly, Portwest is able to expand into new regions. Justin Thomas, VP Sales, EMEA North, Akeneo, noted that Portwest is a powerful example of what happens when product data is treated as a strategic asset rather than an operational burden.

Portwest has established a scalable digital foundation for managing product information. The result is faster content production, improved data quality, and a more consistent global product experience, all of which reinforce trust in a brand where accuracy and reliability are critical.

Justin Thomas, VP Sales, EMEA North, Akeneo said, “Portwest is a powerful example of what happens when product data is treated as a strategic asset rather than an operational burden. By establishing a single, governed source of truth and automating the flow of that data into catalogue production and downstream channels, they have not only accelerated time to market but also unlocked meaningful cost savings and global scalability.”