How Essem Design uses Norce to give architects accurate sustainability data for every configuration they specify.

Essem Design is a Swedish design company manufacturing hallway furnishing with a strong focus on Scandinavian design and sustainability. The company sells directly to consumers, through retailers, and via project sales to architects and builders.

Challenge

Essem hall

For years, Essem Design sold primarily through retailers. While effective for distribution, this model created distance from end customers.

"Previously, we sold to a retailer who sold to the end customer. You rarely get that closeness to the person who will actually use the product," explains Robert Bladh, CEO at Essem Design.

At the same time, Essem Design has already invested heavily in detailed sustainability data: CO2 footprint, manufacturing origin, and recycled material percentage. This type of data is critical for architects and project buyers when specifying products. The company had done the difficult work of calculating it. Now they needed a way to present it and make it usable.

They needed a platform that could handle complex product configurations, deliver accurate sustainability data per configuration, serve this data to multiple audiences, and act as both a direct sales channel and a brand platform while supporting international expansion.

"Previously, we sold to a retailer who sold to the end customer. You rarely get that closeness to the person who will actually use the product."

Robert Bladh, CEO at Essem Design

Essem citat 1 (3)

Action

Essem hatthylla

Essem Design implemented Norce Commerce with Norce PIM, together with solution partner Toxic, creating a platform that functions both as a sales channel and a structured product data library.

The ecommerce stack includes:

  • Pyramid ERP

  • LogTrade for logistics

  • Kustom/Klarna for checkout.

  • Umbraco as CMS

Norce PIM manages 2,230 product variants with 125 attributes per product, including dimensions, weight, sustainability data, and country of manufacture. For configurable products like Nostalgi (their trademark shelf), customers can choose between 3,162 combinations with 3D/AR visualisation via Viscircle. This allows them to see how products would actually fit in their homes before purchase.

 

Essem Design mobil

Behind each combination, Norce manages the full data model in real time. As customers configure their product – selecting size, colour and material – pricing, stock availability, and sustainability data update in real time to reflect the exact variant. CO2 footprint, manufacturing origin, and recycled material percentage change dynamically with each selection. Managing this level of complexity with 2,230 variants and 125 attributes per product requires a structured data model combined with a commerce engine capable of executing logic at scale.

"In project sales, detailed sustainability data is needed, especially when transparency around manufacturing countries and materials is required," says Robert.

 

"We can now sell directly to end customers. It brings us closer to them and helps us understand what works and what doesn't. Which improves both our business and our products." 

Robert Bladh, CEO at Essem Design

Essem citat 2

Impact

With Norce, Essem Design could sell directly to consumers for the first time, adding a new channel alongside their established retailer network.

"We can now sell directly to end customers. It brings us closer to them and helps us understand what works and what doesn't. Which improves both our business and our products," says Robert.

The platform also serves as a brand experience where customers find inspiration and discover products. Sales teams working with architects use it to present Essem Design and provide technical documentation for projects.

By structuring sustainability data at product level, Essem Design meets construction industry standards for technical documentation and sustainability reporting. With sustainability metrics tied directly to each product configuration, architects can pull accurate sustainability data for the exact specification they intend to use.

 

Case bilder - Essem Design - Norce
Essem hylla

With the recent launch of its US site, Essem Design now serves 10 markets in four languages and three currencies, driving new international growth. The marketing done for ecommerce strengthens retailer sales as well. "It's a win-win in a way," notes Robert.

By combining detailed sustainability data with advanced product configuration, Essem Design gives both architects and consumers the transparency they need to make informed decisions. It's the depth of the product data model, and Norce's ability to manage it at scale, that makes this possible.