Klingspor Woodworking Shop Sands Down Feed Complexity with Feedonomics Surface
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13,000
products updated through automated feed rules
2
hours to complete what would have been a month's worth of manual work
100%
of products restored to Google Ads visibility
Key highlights:
CHALLENGE.
Google Merchant Center shipping label requirements caused thousands of products to lose visibility across Google Ads.
Applying shipping labels manually would have required reviewing and updating thousands of individual SKUs.
Klingspor's Woodworking Shop needed a faster, more scalable way to keep product data accurate and compliant.
SOLUTION.
Used Feedonomics Surface rules to automatically assign shipping labels based on product attributes.
Gained greater control over feed data using SKU, product title, and custom field-based rules.
Quickly implemented and deployed the solution without extensive onboarding or technical resources.
RESULTS.
Restored product visibility across Google Shopping and Google Ads.
Replaced thousands of manual product updates with a small set of automated rules.
Resolved an issue affecting 13,000 products in approximately two hours instead of a month's worth of manual work.
Keeping product data sharp
For more than 35 years, Klingspor Woodworking Shop (KWS) has helped woodworkers find the tools, abrasives, and supplies they need through its ecommerce store, print catalog, and retail locations across North Carolina.
As its ecommerce operation expanded, managing product data became increasingly complex. When a Google Merchant Center issue put the visibility of thousands of products at risk, the team needed a faster, more efficient way to keep product information accurate and compliant.
Thanks to Feedonomics Surface, KWS not only resolved the issue quickly, but also uncovered a simpler, more scalable way to manage product feeds moving forward.
CHALLENGE
Product visibility disappeared in days.
For Klingspor Woodworking Shop, Google visibility is a critical driver of ecommerce traffic. But managing product data became more challenging as the business grew and supported multiple shipping scenarios, including flat-rate shipping, hazardous materials fees, and manufacturer drop shipments.
When Google Merchant Center began enforcing shipping label requirements, KWS's existing feed management process couldn't easily apply the necessary labels across its catalog.
As a result:
Products were missing required shipping labels
Manual updates would have required individually reviewing thousands of SKUs
Product visibility across Google Ads was impacted
"Within the course of three days, 100% of all of our products dropped off Google Ads completely. All of them were completely limited and they were banned from being used in Google Ads," shared Mike Ziegler, Marketing and Technical Specialist at Klingspor Woodworking Shop.
With product visibility disappearing and no efficient way to update thousands of products manually, the team needed a solution — fast.
“Within the course of three days, 100% of all of our products dropped off Google Ads completely. All of them were completely limited and they were banned from being used in Google Ads.”
MIKE ZIEGLER, MARKETING AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST, KLINGSPOR WOODWORKING SHOP
SOLUTION
One rule solved a catalog-wide problem.
As KWS evaluated its options, Feedonomics Surface stood out for one key reason: its ability to quickly transform product data using rules.
To address Google's shipping label requirements, the team first created custom shipping fields in Acumatica to identify products as flat-rate, hazmat, or drop ship items. From there, Feedonomics Surface allowed KWS to build rules that automatically assigned the correct shipping labels before product data was sent to Google Merchant Center.
Instead of manually updating products one at a time, the team could apply changes across the catalog through a single rule.
"Instead of doing that individually with every single item through Acumatica, I could change the feed coming from Acumatica through Feedonomics and BigCommerce, and then send those updates to Google by just making one rule," said Ziegler.
By automating shipping label management, KWS was able to resolve the issue quickly while eliminating the need for thousands of manual product updates.
Greater control over product data.
Beyond resolving the shipping label issue, Feedonomics Surface gave KWS greater control over how product data was structured and delivered across channels.
Rather than making changes directly within Acumatica, the team could update feed data based on attributes such as SKU, product title, or custom fields. This made it easier to adapt product information to channel requirements without changing source data.
"The ability to change rules based on a SKU, product title, or custom field gave us a lot more control. I could get much more granular with the information I was trying to manage instead of relying on broad, bulk changes," explained Ziegler.
From setup to solution in hours.
Feed management tools are often associated with lengthy implementations and technical complexity. For KWS, the experience was the opposite.
Surface's documentation and query language resources helped the team get up to speed quickly, allowing them to build and deploy the rules needed to resolve the issue without extensive onboarding or technical support.
"It took longer to get approval to buy Feedonomics Surface than it did to implement it," said Ziegler. "Once we had it connected, there was really nothing else to it."
By removing the complexity often associated with feed management tools, Feedonomics Surface enabled KWS to focus on solving the problem instead of managing the technology behind it.
“The ability to change rules based on a SKU, product title, or custom field gave us a lot more control. I could get much more granular with the information I was trying to manage instead of relying on broad, bulk changes.”
MIKE ZIEGLER, MARKETING AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST, KLINGSPOR WOODWORKING SHOP
“The ability to change rules based on a SKU, product title, or custom field gave us a lot more control. I could get much more granular with the information I was trying to manage instead of relying on broad, bulk changes.”
MIKE ZIEGLER, MARKETING AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST, KLINGSPOR WOODWORKING SHOP
RESULTS
Turning a feed crisis into a fast recovery.
Once the new rules were implemented in Feedonomics Surface, KWS quickly resolved the shipping label issues that had caused products to disappear from Google Ads. Product visibility was restored, and the team no longer faced the prospect of manually updating thousands of products within Acumatica.
The biggest impact was operational efficiency. That meant their team:
Eliminated the need to manually review and update thousands of products
Replaced repetitive catalog updates with a single automated rule
Restored product visibility across Google Shopping and Google Ads
Simplified ongoing feed management
"As soon as Feedonomics Surface was implemented, all the shipping problems were fixed, and all the products came back on board," said Ziegler.
What could have required weeks of manual effort was completed in a matter of hours.
"It literally took me probably two hours to do what would have been a month's worth of people touching products individually. There are 13,000 products, and each one would have had to be fixed individually," said Ziegler.
Beyond the immediate fix, KWS also observed stronger organic and direct traffic from Google, helping the team maintain visibility while reducing the amount spent driving traffic through paid channels.
“As soon as Feedonomics Surface was implemented, all the shipping problems were fixed, and all the products came back on board.”
MIKE ZIEGLER, MARKETING AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST, KLINGSPOR WOODWORKING SHOP
LOOKING AHEAD
More control. Less complexity.
With the immediate issue resolved, KWS is focused on expanding its use of Feedonomics Surface with more channel feeds opportunities than they had before.
By reducing reliance on outside resources and simplifying how product data is managed across channels, the team expects to gain greater control over its advertising operations while creating a more scalable foundation for future growth.
"With Feedonomics Surface and BigCommerce, we're able to bring our feed management under our control. Instead of spending hours manually updating products, we can make changes quickly, save thousands of dollars, and focus on growing the business," explained Ziegler.
As KWS continues to grow its ecommerce business, Feedonomics Surface is helping the team manage product data more efficiently while supporting future expansion across new channels and opportunities.
“With Feedonomics Surface and BigCommerce, we're able to bring our feed management under our control. Instead of spending hours manually updating products, we can make changes quickly, save thousands of dollars, and focus on growing the business.”
MIKE ZIEGLER, MARKETING AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST, KLINGSPOR WOODWORKING SHOP
