Migration from Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) to Storyblok at Klöckner & Co
Find out how Klöckner & Co is reducing costs, optimizing processes, and creating a scalable multi-site setup by migrating from AEM to Storyblok.
Management Summary: Successful Migration from AEM to Storyblok
Klöckner & Co SE successfully completed the migration from Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) to Storyblok in collaboration with synaigy. The migration was largely automated and supported by a flexible mapping system and AI-assisted validation of content structures. The iterative migration process enabled a rapid initial migration and incremental optimization. Klöckner & Co was solely responsible for developing the new front end, while synaigy provided consulting support for setup and performance. Complex permission, role, and workflow systems ensure compliance with regulatory and security requirements. The intuitive Storyblok interface and targeted training ensure efficient editorial processes.
Klöckner & Co SE – An International Player with High Digital Standards
Klöckner & Co is one of the world’s largest producer-independent metal processors and one of the leading service center companies.
With a distribution and service network of approximately 110 warehousing and processing locations, primarily in North America and the DACH region, Klöckner & Co serves over 60,000 customers. Klöckner & Co offers customers an optimized end-to-end solution ranging from procurement and logistics to processing, including customized delivery with 24-hour service. In doing so, the company is increasingly relying on the digitization and automation of these processes. Various digital applications and tools enable customers and partners to access a broader range of steel and metal products as well as services. This digital offering is continuously being further developed in collaboration with customers.
The Group currently employs more than 6,000 people. In fiscal year 2025, Klöckner & Co generated revenue of approximately €6.4 billion.
Starting point: why the switch from AEM to Storyblok was necessary
Until now, Klöckner & Co used Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) to manage its international corporate and country websites. As the digital presence evolved, the existing system landscape was reassessed along with cost, usability and scalability aspects. The goal was to migrate to Storyblok, a modern headless CMS, in order to reduce costs, improve usability for editors and ensure scalability and flexibility for future digital requirements.
Project goals: headless CMS for international multi-site setups with Storyblok
The decision in favour of Storyblok as the central CMS replaced Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). The newly introduced headless architecture gives Klöckner & Co maximum flexibility. At the same time, multi-site capability had to be ensured so that several country and brand websites can be operated efficiently from one central structure. The project therefore focused on the CMS setup and the migration, while frontend development was carried out entirely by Klöckner & Co. We provided additional advisory support on the frontend setup and on performance topics, without taking on any implementation ourselves. To make sure the switch from AEM to Storyblok did not turn into busywork and could be implemented quickly, cleanly and with minimal manual effort, the migration of content and assets ran automatically. So that the system would deliver value in day-to-day work right away, editors and administrators received hands-on training and were made confident in using Storyblok.
With the migration to Storyblok, we have consistently modernised our CMS landscape. The largely automated migration approach allowed us to transfer our complex international multi-site setup to the new system efficiently and cleanly. At the same time, our editors now benefit from clear processes and much simpler handling in their daily work.
Storyblok reibungslos einführen: Migration, Setup, Schulungen und Performance-Boost
Technische CMS-Migration: Entwicklung eines Proof of Concept (PoC) zur automatisierten Migration, Aufbau eines Migrations-Frameworks mit AEM-Connector, Content-Transformer und Storyblok-Uploader, automatisierte Übertragung von über 1.000 Seiten und mehr als 4.500 Dateien aus AEM nach Storyblok.
Setup & Konfiguration: Einrichtung von Storyblok-Spaces, Content-Modellen und User-Rollen, Integration von SSO und Nuxt.
Beratung & Enablement: Strategische Beratung zu Content-Modelling und Redaktionsprozessen, Durchführung von CMS-Schulungen (Admin, Editor Basic & Advanced).
Frontend-Beratung: Unterstützung bei Infrastruktur-Setup, komponentenbasierter Entwicklung und Performanceoptimierung, Beratung zu CI/CD, Cloud-Betrieb und Security-Hardening.
What made this project special
Complex content structures
Migration of seven AEM sites with different content models.
Automation
Development of a flexible mapping system for components.
Multi-site support
Support for seven international websites.
Cyber security
Consideration of heightened security requirements in the setup.
The results: added value for editorial work, operations and scaling
The migration to Storyblok significantly reduced ongoing operating and system costs. At the same time, editorial processes are now considerably more efficient and flexible. The Storyblok interface offers better usability than AEM. That means faster coordination and content maintenance, fewer sources of error and more efficient content management overall. Technologically, the solution is based on an API-first headless platform and is therefore future-proof. The architecture is deliberately designed for growth, so that further country and brand websites can be rolled out easily.
Key learnings from the AEM-to-Storyblok migration
The migration showed that a complex multi-site setup can be implemented cleanly and scalably even under time pressure – provided that automation, governance and an iterative approach work hand in hand. The most important learnings at a glance:
Automation
The transfer of more than 1,000 pages and over 4,500 files was automated. A flexible mapping system was developed to efficiently migrate the differing content structures of the seven AEM sites.
AI support
Model optimisation was carried out partly with AI support, in particular for validating and optimising the content structures.
Iterative migration
The process was designed iteratively: first a fast initial migration, then incremental optimisation and validation of the content. This enabled rapid delivery and continuous improvement.
Frontend development
The new frontend was developed entirely by kloeckner.i (the digital hub of Klöckner & Co). synaigy provided advisory support on setup, performance and CI/CD, without any implementation of its own.
Security & compliance
Implementing complex permission, role and workflow systems was essential in order to meet the compliance requirements of a listed company.
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