Alko

Alko: Integrated Digital Asset Management and easy-to-understand processes

Alko’s product images are centralized in Gredi digital asset management system

The digital asset management provided by Exove serves as a centralized and shared system for images used by Alko. In addition to product images, company’s website contains abundance of photos from vineyards to grape varieties around the world.

“Photos link from Digital Asset Management directly to alko.fi. When a consumer explores a particular wine, the image of the wine bottle comes from the image bank provided by Exove and the image information is enriched with product information from Alko’s product management system. All systems work smoothly with each other.”

“We use the material bank to utilize Alko’s image material. Here you will find personal and brand images, logos and promotional videos as well as material related to product training, history and stores. It serves the needs of everyone from media to the Etiketti club,” says integration architect Markku Pekkinen of Alko Oy.

Integrated Digital Asset Management and easy-to-understand processes

The various information systems have integrated data management and they retrieve image data from the material bank always according to the usage case. Intranet and product management systems are used by Alko employees, corporate customers are served by digital order channel Alkovi and alko.fi is utilized by customers who look for product information or general information of drinks and food.

“Before a new product is listed in our range, it will be evaluated. The product image is part of an evaluation process involving professionals from buyers to quality observers. When the photographer has taken a picture of the product, he will save the image to the image bank. When the product has been evaluated, approved for sale, and marketing has processed the product material, it will eventually appear in alko.fi,” says Pekkinen.

An advertising agency also uses the image bank to produce, for example, a brochure about product novelties. The advertising agency is able to extract the image material directly from the same system, where the final marketing material is then stored.

Alko and Exove have worked together for more than 10 years

According to Pekkinen, it would be difficult to imagine any alternative to digital asset management. It would be impossible to arrange massive imagery and its utilization for several different purposes in a cost-effective way.

“In the retail sector, we live in interesting times in the middle of digitalization. Information is published online and in social media. In such a world, the management of digital material has to be organized.”

“We are really pleased with Exove’s operations and our customer relationship has been going on for more than 10 years. Exove’s long-term development work is reflected in the functionality of the service and the integration of the material bank into other systems, which is absolutely key factor for us,” Pekkinen sums up.