GDW Towbars
Easycatalog
For companies with complex and extensive product ranges, an up-to-date catalog is a critical sales tool. For GDW Towbars, a leading manufacturer of towbars, managing and designing their product data had become a time-consuming and error-prone process. To accelerate and professionalize this workflow, we implemented a complete automation of their catalog production using EasyCatalog, a powerful plug-in for Adobe InDesign.
The challenge
Until recently, GDW Towbars managed all their product information in a traditional Excel spreadsheet. The translation from data to design was entirely manual: page by page, product by product, directly in Adobe InDesign. Given the massive volume of data and a catalog spanning hundreds of pages, this was a monumental task. This process presented two major drawbacks: an extremely high margin for error (as manual data entry inevitably leads to mistakes) and an enormous investment in time and labor. Furthermore, any last-minute data changes created a domino effect of manual corrections.
Aanpak
The key to the solution lay in data centralization and automation:
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Migration to the Cloud: We successfully imported the existing Excel data into a dynamic Google Sheet without any data loss. This placed their data securely in the cloud, making it accessible and editable in real time.
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EasyCatalog Integration: We linked this Google Sheet directly to the EasyCatalog panel within Adobe InDesign. As a result, updates in the spreadsheet can now be synchronized with the layout in just one click.
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Bilingual Setup: Since GDW Towbars operates internationally, we structured the system to allow the catalog to be generated seamlessly in two languages.
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Knowledge Transfer: Following the technical setup, we provided the GDW Towbars team with a brief, hands-on training session, enabling them to take full and independent control of the tool.
Result
The project delivered a dramatic boost in efficiency. Instead of spending weeks on manual layouts, GDW Towbars can now automatically generate hundreds of pages in just a few clicks. The computer does the heavy lifting, freeing up valuable time for the team to focus on other core tasks.
The catalog is ready for the printer in a fraction of the time it used to take. Because the layout is linked one-to-one with the Google Sheet, human layout errors are a thing of the past; the only thing GDW Towbars needs to manage is the source data. Thanks to the short training session, the team is now completely self-sufficient and ready for the future.
Laat het zware tilwerk over aan de slimste automatiseringstool voor InDesign. Neem een kijkje op easycatalog.be voor alle details, live demo’s en slimme toepassingen.
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