When online furniture retailer XXXLutz selected Contentserv’s Product Experience Platform in 2019, it laid the foundation for an innovative product line supporting enterprise onboarding systems. However, following the 2022 implementation, the platform faced significant performance issues. NetRom Software was brought in to resolve these challenges and quickly evolved into a strategic IT partner. This case study explores how a potential system replacement was transformed into a scalable, multi-tenant cloud solution and a long-term partnership.
Founded in 1945, XXXLutz has grown into the world’s second-largest furniture retailer, with 370 stores across 14 countries and annual revenue of approximately €6 billion. Contentserv enables over 1,600 companies in 90 countries to centrally manage their product data and distribute it across nearly all global marketplaces.
Product data originated from multiple sources, including suppliers, ERP systems, and decentralized business units. In 2019, XXXLutz selected Contentserv’s Product Experience Platform to manage hundreds of thousands of products and support the transition to a marketplace model, where thousands of international suppliers would contribute product data. However, following the 2022 implementation, significant issues emerged: slow loading times, performance bottlenecks, and architectural limitations. As structural solutions failed to materialize, a full system replacement became increasingly likely—an unfavorable scenario for both Contentserv and XXXLutz.
Through Investcorp Technology Partners, Contentserv found a new development partner: NetRom Software. XXXLutz set a two-month deadline to deliver measurable performance improvements. NetRom started with two developers who conducted an in-depth code review and proposed essential architectural enhancements. One of the first tangible results: UI synchronization times after product import dropped from several seconds to milliseconds.
Since 2023, Contentserv and NetRom Software have been working closely together. NetRom handles system integrations, optimizes the architecture, and manages the cloud environment. Gerrit Engelke, Head of Product Experience Consulting at Contentserv: “The team brings strong mathematical and algorithmic capabilities, combined with deep domain expertise. This enables customers like XXXLutz to scale their marketing operations much faster.”
The collaboration delivered measurable results: significantly faster UI synchronization, secure global scalability through a multi-tenant infrastructure, and optimized DevOps processes. Gerrit Engelke: “The onboarding process was smooth, and we were impressed by the team’s deep technical expertise from the start. Following our cloud migration, NetRom assigned a dedicated DevOps engineer to continuously monitor our cloud services—including costs. Fully handing over that process was new to us.”
‘‘The team brings strong mathematical and algorithmic capabilities, combined with deep domain expertise. This enables customers like XXXLutz to scale their marketing operations much faster.’
Gerrit Engelke, Head of Product Experience Consulting at Contentserv
Contentserv is strengthening its market position through strategic acquisitions. In 2023, the company acquired Shoppingfeed, enabling efficient product publishing across marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, and Zalando. In 2024, a connector to the XXXLutz marketplace was added within Shoppingfeed. As a result, the product portfolio is evolving into an AI-driven end-to-end solution, covering everything from product data management to multichannel distribution.
From slow load times to millisecond-level synchronization — discover how this transformation was achieved.
