Intergamma

Intergamma is a leading hardware store chain operating nearly 400 outlets in the Netherlands and Belgium. As a dominant player in the hardware market for years, they aimed to link their products with related items, comparable options, product families, and accessories. However, manually defining these product associations would be highly labor-intensive, prompting Squadra Machine Learning Company to automate part of this process.

The Request  

Intergamma sought Squadra MLC’s expertise to enhance product connections, thereby improving the customer experience. Often, the attributes of related products are nearly identical, differing typically in just one area, such as the color, gloss level, or size of a paint can. To optimize these product variants in their sales channels, Intergamma decided to partner with Squadra.

Intergamma had previously explored the possibility of deriving significant product relationships from available data. They discovered that whenever a feature was added to the product pages, it would often need to be removed again due to various challenges. They recognized two core issues from these experiences: first, the product data lacked consistent quality, with some fields improperly completed or left blank, resulting in weak product associations. Secondly, there was a clear need for solid business insight to identify which attributes would yield effective product variations, a task complicated by the diverse product portfolio.

Thus, Squadra was engaged to leverage their machine learning capabilities to identify relevant product variants, subsequently validated through manual checks. This approach allowed for the generation of high-quality product associations with minimal effort.

The Solution  

Squadra’s project unfolded in two phases. For the initial phase, Intergamma provided an extensive dataset in Excel format. Using this information, along with their Powerrelate.ai  platform, Squadra successfully captured product relationships. These associations were verified by Intergamma’s employees, who possess the necessary business expertise. The proof-of-concept phase yielded improved product relationships across four distinct product categories. The effectiveness was assessed via an A/B test, leading to a 4.6% increase in sales, which Anouk Renaud, Product Owner at Intergamma, described as an “exceptional result.”

After completing the A/B testing, a business case was created based on the collaboration’s success, prompting Intergamma’s interest in integrating the Squadra platform within their data ecosystem. Throughout the proof-of-concept, numerous Intergamma employees utilized Powerrelate.ai  , resulting in suggestions to enhance processes while minimizing time and errors. As it stands, there are 19,000 live product associations for Gamma in the Netherlands, 16,000 for Gamma in Belgium, and 15,000 for Karwei, estimated to cover around 75% of all potential product relationships.

The Challenge  

Before working with Squadra, Intergamma had utilized Google’s recommendation algorithm, which provided fully automated product suggestions. However, this system fell short in delivering the desired quality in product recommendations, particularly due to the specificity of hardware items, which often require more tailored suggestions. For instance, purchasing a garden shed necessitates compatible flooring recommendations, as opposed to buying a t-shirt where mismatch is less consequential.

Thus, Intergamma and other hardware stores have stricter product relationships, necessitating input from individuals with specific business expertise to validate the generated associations. This validated the need for a proof-of-concept to assess both the time savings and the quality of product relationships and their validations. The results of this project surpassed those from Intergamma’s trial with Google.

The Collaboration  

Squadra and Intergamma have successfully completed the initial phase of professionalizing Intergamma’s sales channels. Anouk notes, however, that their journey of improvement is just beginning. Discussions are underway to explore Squadra’s potential role in developing line-functionalities, paving the way for further projects.

According to Intergamma, the collaboration during the first phase was exceptionally positive. Anouk remarked: “Squadra has continuously engaged with us, frequently proposing new solutions and posing insightful questions to deepen their understanding of our goals and needs. Their proactive approach and leadership in establishing the platform were commendable. Overall, I found this experience to be a successful and harmonious alignment."

Squadra has continuously engaged with us, frequently proposing new solutions and posing insightful questions to deepen their understanding of our goals and needs.