CLAAS coordinates global print production using CHILI publisher

CLAAS, the agricultural engineering expert, is now using CHILI publisher for its web-to-print solution. CHILI publisher has been integrated in LaudertPrintBase®, an enterprise solution provided by the company’s media and IT partner Laudert, to enable consistent marketing and print management.

Aalst (Belgium), 17 October 2018 – CLAAS, a family business founded in 1913, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural engineering equipment, providing combines, forage harvesters, tractors, balers and green harvesting machinery. Agricultural information technology rounds off the portfolio. CLAAS employs around 10,900 staff worldwide and in 2017 the company reported a turnover of 3.7 billion euros.

Its international footprint was making the consistent application of the corporate design extremely difficult, so the company introduced web-to-print some time ago. However, numerous country-specific templates and inflexible designs meant that the solution could not be implemented globally. So the central marketing team at CLAAS kept looking for the right, future-proof solution to better support, and enhance the possibilities of its international distribution companies and partner network, spanning no less than 50 countries.

**Easy integration **
Together with Laudert, their media and IT service provider, CLAAS analyzed the situation, looking for and finding a sustainable, company-wide solution. This is how Laudert, in close collaboration with CLAAS, developed the new Print Manager – an enterprise solution based on LaudertPrintBase®. CHILI publisher was easily integrated into this sophisticated web-to-print solution, using standard interfaces. Following an intensive six-month test phase, the implementation was rolled out globally. The comprehensive and universal functionalities of the online editor helped streamline and optimize the distributors’ marketing efforts. Intelligent templates, generated at the back end, are directly accessible to users.

Laudert’s solution, powered by CHILI publisher, virtually guarantees a consistent graphical and visual presence worldwide, while leaving a great deal of scope for individualization. Connection to a CELUM image database ensures standardized and timely utilization of images, graphics and logos, while centralized, theme-specific management of text blocks is handled by the OXID eShop platform. As a last step, users can choose whether to initiate a job directly in the web-to-print system or download a print-ready PDF file to be printed by a local provider. “Thanks to the connection to our CELUM image database and the use of intelligent templates, print media production for us and for our partners became even simpler, more intuitive and faster using LaudertPrintBase® and CHILI publisher”, comments Andrea Wilke, Group Marketing, CLAAS KGaA mbH.

**Open for creative solutions **
By introducing CHILI publisher, CLAAS has drastically reduced the need for basic design templates. This has enhanced usability and significantly expanded options in terms of designs, themes and text elements. Content subject to CI guidelines remains protected, while creative ideas in line with corporate branding can be fully applied. This combination of technologies has given CLAAS the ideal platform to fully express its brand essence – time and time again.

The solution supports responsive design based on HTML5, so print jobs can be designed and ordered even on mobile devices such as tablets. Tailored designs created by individual users can be stored and re-used. Use of the SAML login standard allows the Print Manager to be opened directly from the CLAAS intranet, without requiring a separate login. This helps ensure lean, intuitive and above all transparent processes while providing CLAAS and its worldwide teams with customized marketing materials in the shortest time. CHILI publisher proved the missing link for CLAAS to create a unified marketing and print management strategy, driving a globally consistent brand identity.

Kevin Goeminne, CEO of CHILI publish, concludes: “CLAAS provides an excellent example of how easily the CHILI publisher online editor integrates with existing web-to-print- solutions, expanding their scope significantly.”