Protec: Launching E-commerce with 30 Years of Product Data

🔍 The Problem

Protec has been the UK's leading manufacturer of temporary protection materials for over 30 years — flame-retardant boards, translucent sheeting, tapes, sustainable site signage. They're a key partner for Tier One contractors, subcontractors, and major housebuilders.

For decades, they sold through traditional channels. Now they wanted to sell direct to the construction industry through e-commerce. Launch date: March 21, 2025. The site: protection.co.uk.

The challenge: getting 30 years of product data ready for online retail.

📊 Complex product variants. Proplex boards come in 2m, 3m, 4m lengths. Tapes come in multiple widths and thicknesses. Each variant needs clear, customer-friendly descriptions so buyers know exactly what they're getting.

🛒 WooCommerce integration. Product data needed to flow from a central source into their new online store — not be manually entered and maintained in two places.

🎬 Digital assets. Videos, datasheets, product images. All needed to be organised and linked to the right products.

⏱️ Tight deadline. A fixed launch date with no room for "we'll sort the data out later."

Protec's project lead was clear about the stakes:

"We needed a system that could handle our wide range of products and let us make changes quickly. Without it, updating each product one by one would be so time-consuming that we'd never get it done."

🛠️ What We Did

✓ WooCommerce connector. We mapped Protec's product attributes — SKUs, minimum order quantities, variant descriptions — directly to their WooCommerce store. Changes in the PIM appear on the website automatically.

Their web agency partner on the integration:

"The system connects everything together smoothly and quickly. It creates descriptions for each product variant."

✓ Centralised data management. OneTimePIM became the single source of truth for all product information. No more scattered spreadsheets, no more conflicting data between systems.

✓ Real-time problem solving. During a pre-launch meeting, we spotted an issue — datasheets were showing only key features, not full descriptions. Our team implemented a fallback attribute fix in minutes, not days.

The reaction from Protec:

"That looks so much better. It's amazing how easy it is to instantly change the site by just making a change to the PIM."

✓ Digital asset management. Videos, datasheets, product images — all stored in OneTimePIM and linked to the relevant products, ready for the website to pull through.

✓ AI-assisted descriptions. We used OneTimePIM's AI tools to help enrich product descriptions, particularly the "ideal for" statements that help customers understand which variant suits their needs.

📈 The Results

🎉 Launched on time. March 21, 2025 — protection.co.uk went live with accurate, complete product data across the catalogue.

🔍 Reduced customer confusion. Clear variant descriptions ("2 meters ideal for...") mean customers can self-serve. Fewer support calls, faster purchasing decisions.

⏱️ Bulk updates in minutes. On the efficiency gains:

"In just a couple of minutes, it was fixed for every single product in our catalog."

What would have taken days of manual work happened in a single meeting.

🔄 Foundation for ongoing improvement. The launch was the starting point, not the finish line:

"It's an ongoing process. We've done our best for now, but we'll keep making improvements as we go."

💬 What Protec Said

"OneTimePIM saved us again. It's not just about launching the site — it's about being able to make quick fixes and keep everything running smoothly. It's been a real game-changer for us."

— Protec

🔁 The Pattern

Protec's situation is common for established manufacturers moving into e-commerce:

• Decades of product knowledge, but not in a format ready for online retail
• Complex product variants that need clear, customer-friendly descriptions
• A launch deadline that forces the data question to be answered properly
• Ongoing need to update and improve, not just "set and forget"

The manufacturers who get this right treat their PIM as the foundation of their e-commerce operation — not an afterthought.

Planning an e-commerce launch? Book a demo — we'll tell you honestly what's involved and whether we can help.