Schöck:
Condensed Product Data for Expanding Markets

Schöck Bauteile GmbH, headquartered in Baden-Baden, is a leading company within the internationally active Schöck Group. As a specialist in ready-to-install components, such as the Schöck Isokorb® and Schöck Dorn®, this family-owned company develops innovative solutions that significantly contribute to improving building performance—for example, by preventing thermal bridges and impact sound in buildings. Engineers, architects, and construction professionals worldwide rely on Schöck products, which stand for quality, technical precision, and progress.
Guided by the founding philosophy, “To be successful, one must improve existing things or invent new ones,” Schöck fosters a corporate culture characterized by clear visions, innovative strength, and sustainable values. As a pioneer in construction technology, Schöck combines many years of experience with forward-looking developments and operates in 29 countries around the globe.

Schöck’s history is marked by inventiveness and the determination to always stay one step ahead. But innovation and international growth also brought new challenges: With thousands of products, countless variants, and country-specific price lists, how do you keep track of everything? How can we ensure that complex technical details and design values are consistently and currently made available to architects, structural engineers, and construction professionals worldwide?

 

At first, the reality was a classic “Gordian node”: Product data came from various sources, including SAP, but lacked a central, unified foundation. Teams in different countries—including graphic designers using Apple systems—struggled with fragmented data streams. There was a risk that this complexity could hinder the company’s international success.

 

This is exactly where crossbase came into play in 2012. In collaboration with Schöck, the crossbase standard software was transformed into a customized solution tailored precisely to the company’s requirements. A crucial step was the integration into the existing SAP system: Today, product listings—including technical features and prices—are automatically imported into the PIM and enriched there with additional design data such as standards, country, and concrete grade.

 

The true masterstroke was handling the enormous variety of data. Several thousand design attributes were systematically defined and parameterized. A custom-developed matrix dialog enables the efficient maintenance of more than half a million design values—a task that previously seemed nearly impossible. Furthermore, within a sophisticated editorial structure, images, formulas, documents, and texts are managed on a country-specific basis, ensuring that the appropriate information is always available for various target groups in each country—from structural engineers to architects.

 

Particularly impressive is the automation of these complex publications: “Three-dimensional” design tables, which illustrate various parameters such as concrete cover, strength, and height, are now generated at the push of a button. Intelligent displacement rules ensure that the content is presented precisely and clearly—a technical masterpiece that reflects Schöck’s engineering expertise. Automated production, supported by Adobe InDesign, enables rapid time-to-market, consistent presentations, and the highest quality—all in 40 languages and 29 countries.