Therma-Tru: How to create a 5,000-page catalog in record time with Pagination

Date:21 November 2024Author: marketing@pagination.com

Therma-Tru Corp. is a leading innovator in the US market specializing in fiberglass and steel exterior door systems. Founded in 1962, they’ve built a solid reputation for exceptional, diverse goods that go beyond the typical entry and patio doors, offering a wide range of decorative elements.

This dedication to providing a complete door solution has allowed them to cater to a wide range of customer needs and preferences, spanning from classic designs to contemporary styles, while also meeting specific regional requirements across the United States. In fact, Therma-Tru products can be found in homes across all 50 states, with a significant presence in key markets like California, Texas, and Florida.

What truly sets Therma-Tru apart is their commitment to pushing the boundaries of door technology and design. They are well-known  for their pioneering use of materials such as fiberglass, which results in doors that provide exceptional durability, energy efficiency, and aesthetic appeal. This focus on innovation has allowed them to adapt to the evolving demands of homeowners, builders, and architects, solidifying their position as a trusted and reliable partner in the industry. 

Therma-Tru: A leading door manufacturer with a catalog challenge

As Therma-Tru expanded its product lines and targeted a wider range of market segments, it faced a significant challenge in managing and effectively presenting its extensive and intricate product information. 

Their comprehensive product catalog, exceeding 5,000 pages with multiple variations, required a robust solution for streamlining data from various sources, such as Salsify database, Excel sheets, and image libraries. 

Furthermore, the need to tailor product information for specific customer segments and regional needs added another layer of complexity. They sought a flexible and efficient system for producing and updating their catalog that could keep pace with their growth and commitment to customer satisfaction.

5,700 Door styles, 5,000 pages: the catalog that needed automation

In 2020, Therma-Tru approached Pagination with a significant challenge: managing their extensive and complex product catalog. The company was looking for a way to streamline the creation and updating of their catalogs, which varied by region and contained a massive number of product configurations. Manually creating these catalogs was becoming increasingly resource-intensive, and Therma-Tru was seeking a solution to automate this process using catalog software.

Their existing system relied on Salsify for product data management and a separate DAM (Digital Asset Management) system for storing product images. However, the process of compiling this information into regional catalogs was cumbersome and inefficient. With over 5,700 door style options to manage, Therma-Tru needed a catalog maker that could automate the creation of these catalogs while ensuring accuracy and consistency across different regional versions.

This initial request revealed that Therma-Tru was facing several key challenges: 

• Data silos hampered their efficiency, as the systems for managing product data and assets were disconnected from their catalog production process, leading to potential errors and a lack of streamlined workflow.
• Manual processes dominated catalog creation, making it time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to inconsistencies, especially given the vast array of product variations and regional customizations. 
• Limited customization capabilities meant that adapting catalogs to specific regional needs and preferences was a complex and resource-intensive task.
• Scalability issues loomed large, as the manual catalog production process was becoming increasingly unsustainable as Therma-Tru continued to grow and expand its product offerings.

These challenges highlighted the need for a catalog creator that could automate catalog production, seamlessly integrate with Therma-Tru’s existing data systems, and offer the flexibility to create customized catalogs for different regions.

How Pagination’s catalog software transformed Therma-Tru’s workflow

Pagination carefully analyzed Therma-Tru’s data and existing catalog layout to develop a solution that maximized both speed and cost-efficiency. We delivered a comprehensive catalog software solution that streamlined their catalog production process and improved data management.

To address Therma-Tru’s specific needs for their primary product catalog, Pagination developed a solution boasting these key figures:

• High-capacity data handling: The solution was built to handle Therma-Tru’s extensive product data, with the capacity to manage up to 20,000 SKUs and 5,000 images, ensuring scalable throughput.
• Dynamic grid layouts: Pagination introduced 4×4 dynamic grid layouts to accommodate different product categories and presentation needs. These grids allowed for flexible product placement and image arrangements, optimizing the visual hierarchy and making it easier for customers to compare and contrast products.
• Color-coded categories: To improve readability and organization, Pagination implemented unlimited color changes for different product categories, improving the user experience.

This initial project demonstrated the power and flexibility of Pagination’s catalog automation solution, providing Therma-Tru with a streamlined and efficient way to manage and present their extensive product information. 

Pagination’s solution for Therma-Tru focused on creating a solid foundation that could be further refined and polished by their in-house graphics team. This approach allowed Therma-Tru to ensure data accuracy and consistency while maintaining the flexibility to create visually stunning and engaging pages. By automating the data-heavy aspects of catalog production, Pagination empowered Therma-Tru’s graphic designers to focus on the creative elements, ensuring the final catalogs are both informative and visually captivating.

To achieve these results, Pagination leveraged a range of powerful features designed to address the common pain points of manual catalog creation. These features empower businesses like Therma-Tru to automate their workflows, improve accuracy, and enhance the overall quality of their catalogs. You can explore the full range of Pagination’s features here.

Beyond doors: automating Fypon’s catalog with Pagination

After successfully automating their primary door catalog, Therma-Tru aimed to extend the benefits of Pagination’s solution to another area of their business: Fypon, a leading manufacturer of polyurethane and PVC millwork products. This presented a new set of challenges, as Fypon’s product catalog had its own distinct structure and requirements.

Pagination’s flexibility and collaborative spirit were once again crucial in addressing these challenges. By working closely with Therma-Tru’s Fypon team, Pagination developed a tailored solution for their catalog automation needs. This project showcased the following features:

• Multiple product layouts: The Fypon catalog required four distinct product layouts to effectively showcase the diverse range of millwork products. Pagination’s software met this requirement, providing the flexibility to design and automate various layouts within a single catalog.
• Automatic color change: Similar to the main Therma-Tru catalog, the Fypon catalog used color coding to differentiate product categories, improving navigation and readability. Pagination’s software automated this process, ensuring consistency and visual appeal.
• 24/7 Availability: As with all Pagination projects, the Fypon team enjoyed the advantage of 24/7 availability, giving them complete control and flexibility to create and publish catalogs whenever they needed.

This project demonstrated the adaptability of Pagination’s solution, showcasing its ability to cater to different product types, catalog structures, and business requirements. By expanding the partnership to include Fypon, Therma-Tru further further enhanced the benefits of catalog automation, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency across multiple areas of their business.

From catalogs to price lists: Expanding automation with Pagination

The following year, building on the success of the automated catalog, Therma-Tru returned to Pagination with a new challenge: automating their price list. 

Leveraging our price list software, Pagination once again gathered the necessary requirements and delivered a solution that met Therma-Tru’s needs, further solidifying our partnership. This demonstrated the versatility of our platform to act as a price list maker, adapting to different document types and formats.

Key features of the “TT List Price Guide” project included:

• Automated chapter separators: To improve the organization and readability of the price list, Pagination’s software automated the insertion of chapter separators, ensuring clear divisions between different product sections. 
• Multi-source data integration: This project involved integrating data from three different sources: one file exported from Therma-Tru’s data management system and two files created by Pagination to manage footnotes and product hierarchy and ordering. This ensured that the categories, subcategories, products, and even individual SKUs were displayed in the correct order, such as by dimensions or finish/material, as specified by Therma-Tru.

This project highlighted Pagination’s ability to handle complex data integration and layout requirements, showcasing the adaptability of the software to different document types and business needs. 

Mastering the Style Manual: Complex layouts and data integration 

Therma-Tru’s ongoing partnership with Pagination extended beyond their catalog and price list to include the automation of their comprehensive “Style Manual.” This project presented unique challenges due to the complexity and volume of information involved. In fact, this was the most demanding project in terms of page count, with documents exceeding 5,000 pages. 

Key features of the “Style Manual” project included:

• Complex product layouts: Instead of simply listing features, the Style Manual required two complex product layouts to effectively present detailed information and specifications. Pagination’s software rose to this challenge, providing the flexibility to design and automate sophisticated layouts, including a product layout and a matrix table for easy comparison of features and options.
• Simultaneous data file usage: This project involved using two different data files simultaneously to populate the Style Manual with comprehensive product information. Pagination’s software seamlessly integrated data from both sources, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
• InDesign Book Feature: This feature allowed Therma-Tru to merge static pages, such as the cover, introductory pages, endnotes, and back cover, with the dynamically generated product information, resulting in a cohesive and professional final document. 

The “Style Manual” project further solidified the value and versatility of Pagination’s software by demonstrating its ability to handle complex automation requirements, including sophisticated layouts, multi-source data integration, and high-volume data processing.

Measuring success: The impact of Pagination on Therma-Tru

The implementation of Pagination’s solution brought significant benefits for Therma-Tru across different areas:

• Increased efficiency: Therma-Tru significantly reduced the time and resources required to produce and update their catalogs, price lists, and style manual. They reported a considerable decrease in production time, freeing up their team to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Improved accuracy: The automated process minimized errors and ensured data consistency across all documents. This resulted in more reliable and professional documents, boosting Therma-Tru’s brand image.
• Enhanced customer experience: Customized catalogs and price lists provided customers with targeted and relevant product information. This improved customer engagement and satisfaction, potentially leading to increased sales and brand loyalty.
• Improved collaboration: By streamlining and automating the catalog production process, Pagination’s solution fostered better collaboration among Therma-Tru’s product, sales, and marketing teams.

Key takeaways: The benefits of catalog automation for B2B

Therma-Tru’s success with Pagination highlights the transformative potential of catalog automation and efficient data management. By partnering with Pagination, Therma-Tru optimized their processes, improved accuracy, and enhanced customer satisfaction. 

This case study serves as a testament to the value of adopting innovative solutions to address the challenges of complex product information management in the B2B landscape.

Ready to streamline your catalog production and unlock new levels of efficiency? Contact us today for a free consultation or visit our website to learn more.

 

By Chiara Marigliano