Industry: Bathware Manufacturing | Founded: 1993 | Headquarters: Savannah, Tennessee | Employees: 3,600+
Challenge: Producing catalogs, SKU books and bilingual technical sheets for 21 brands and thousands of SKUs through a complex in-house system, where any change to layouts, product structures or data rules meant time-consuming manual work.
Solution: Pagination document automation connected by API to ABG’s Salsify PXM and to its DAM, generating catalogs, SKU books and technical sheets in English and French, with the finished files pushed back to the DAM.
The Challenge of Managing Complex Catalogs and Technical Sheets
ABG’s product range is extensive, spanning showers, integrated tub/showers, bathtubs, shower bases, whirlpools, spas, vanities, and sinks. These products are sold through wholesale, retail, and e-commerce channels, reaching builders, plumbers, contractors, and end users across North America.
Managing a portfolio this broad demands a rock-solid product data foundation. ABG governs its product content in Salsify, a best-in-class PXM platform, as its single source of truth, and connected it to Pagination to build a more efficient, automated publishing process for catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets across multiple brands and languages.
Before working with Pagination, ABG relied on a highly complex in-house system to compile its documents. The system aggregated data from multiple sources, and changes to layouts, product structures, or data rules often required time-consuming interventions.
The product data itself was in good hands: Salsify kept it structured, complete, and governed. What was missing was an automated bridge from that trusted content to the printed page. ABG needed a solution capable of handling thousands of SKUs, multiple document types, and bilingual editions in English and French, drawing directly from Salsify while reducing costs and manual dependencies.
Pagination’s Solution: Automating Catalogs and Technical Document
Pagination addressed ABG’s challenges with a robust document automation solution connected directly to Salsify and designed to handle thousands of SKUs, multiple brands, and bilingual output. The platform replaced a rigid and unstable process with an efficient, scalable workflow, while ensuring full control over layout design and product presentation. Because the content coming out of Salsify was already clean, well-structured, and governed, the documents generated from it were accurate by default, exactly the advantage a best-in-class PXM brings to automated publishing.
Connected to Salsify by Design
The integration runs on the Salsify API, so Pagination reads ABG’s governed product content directly, respecting Salsify’s data model, its product hierarchy, attributes, categories, and asset references. The workflow has since matured into an automated, webhook-driven pipeline: when ABG publishes updated products from Salsify, the publication automatically triggers document generation in Pagination, no manual handoffs, no re-exporting by hand. Salsify stays the authoritative system of record, and the catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets always reflect it.
Multi-Document Workflow
American Bath Group initially adopted Pagination to automate its catalogs. Over time, the collaboration expanded, and the platform is now used to create three main types of documents, all fed from Salsify:
- Catalogs: full-line catalogs including technical tables, engineering drawings, and detailed product features. Each catalog is structured into product categories, with the system automatically inserting the correct branded cover at the start of each section.
- Technical Sheets: from a single Salsify-driven data file, Pagination generates hundreds of product sheets in PDF. Each file contains specifications, dimensions, and color options.
- SKU Books: compact reference documents summarizing product ranges with icons and key features. These are particularly valuable for sales teams and distributors who need quick but accurate overviews.
Structured Data from Salsify and Automated Templates
ABG’s publishing workflow is powered by product data from Salsify. Whether published through the automated Salsify pipeline or prepared as a dedicated data file per document type, the content always originates in Salsify, keeping the process clear, reliable, and consistent with the digital shelf. The most recent product information flows from Salsify, and Pagination automatically generates the required outputs.
The company also provided its own InDesign templates, especially for catalog covers. Pagination adapted these into dynamic layouts capable of supporting different product layouts. The system also applies merge catalog cover rules to introduce the correct cover for each category and brand, ensuring professional results across thousands of pages.
Key features of this setup include:
- Salsify as the source of truth: product content flows from Salsify into every document, so catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets stay aligned with the governed data.
- API-based, automated pipeline: Salsify publications trigger document generation directly, without manual exports.
- Dynamic layouts: automated integration of both technical tables and illustrated product pages.
- Automatic cover merging: each product category begins with the correct branded cover, in the right language.
DAM Integration
ABG connected not only its PIM (Salsify) but also its Digital Asset Management (DAM) system to Pagination via API. All product images used in catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets are sourced directly from the DAM, so every document always contains the latest approved visuals, avoiding duplication and eliminating the risk of outdated or inconsistent images.
In addition, the technical sheets generated with Pagination are automatically uploaded back to the DAM. Pagination also attaches the correct metadata to each file, ensuring proper classification, easier indexing, and faster retrieval. Together with Salsify governing the product content, this closes the loop from PIM to print to digital asset distribution.
This seamless integration guarantees that distributors, contractors, and end users can quickly find and download accurate product information, while reducing the workload for internal teams and keeping the document library constantly up to date.
Multilingual Publishing
With Pagination’s multilingual functionality, ABG produces all documents in English and French from the same Salsify content. By naming input files according to brand and language, the platform generates the appropriate version without duplicating work. All static text elements, such as titles, headers, and footers, adapt automatically, guaranteeing consistency across regional editions.
Results and Tangible Benefits
Streamlined Catalog Creation
By pairing catalog automation with Salsify, ABG achieved a significant acceleration in its publishing workflow. Complex catalogs and thousands of technical sheets are now generated in hours instead of weeks. Updates can be released more frequently, reducing costs and allowing the company to react quickly to product changes or market needs, straight from the source of truth.
Brand Consistency and Accuracy
With Salsify governing the data and Pagination’s catalog software automating the layout, ABG maintains strict control over design and brand identity across 21 brands. Layouts, fonts, and imagery remain consistent, regardless of the document type. Errors caused by manual formatting were eliminated, while metadata integration improved DAM organization and searchability.
Scalability Across Brands From a Single Salsify Source
Because every document is driven by Salsify as the single source of truth, ABG can easily extend automation to new product lines or brands. The same workflow now supports thousands of SKUs, multiple languages, and a growing portfolio of catalogs and technical sheets without redesigning the process.
One Source of Truth, Print and Digital in Sync
All technical sheets and images are automatically synchronized with the company’s DAM, while Salsify remains the authoritative record for product content. Files are uploaded with the correct metadata and linked to approved images, ensuring that contractors, distributors, and end users always access up-to-date and reliable product information. The digital shelf and the printed page never diverge.
Key Takeaways: the Value of a Best-in-class PXM and Catalog Automation
American Bath Group’s collaboration with Pagination shows how a best-in-class PXM and automated publishing work better together. By governing its product data in Salsify and connecting it to Pagination via API, ABG automated the creation of catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets across multiple brands and languages, improving speed, accuracy, and consistency while reducing manual workload.
With Salsify as the source of truth and Pagination as the InDesign engine, the company now produces thousands of pages in English and French, all aligned with brand guidelines and integrated with its DAM system. What once required weeks of effort can now be completed in hours. It’s a clear example of how the two platforms fit together: Salsify governs the product experience, Pagination extends it to print.
This case study highlights the benefits for any business that manages extensive product data across multiple brands: with Salsify keeping the content governed and Pagination automating the documents, ABG has built a future-proof publishing process that combines efficiency, flexibility, and long-term reliability.
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