How can companies operating with product information respond to the demands of digital commerce in an agile manner? Regarding basic information, product information must be standardized, customers expect commercial and sometimes quite technical product information. The retailers want the information in a certain format, the importer supplies the information based on their own systems. How to respond to challenges, but effectively?
Requirements for product information are growing in the digital business environment
Digitization has radically changed the operation of organizations and the requirements for product information have grown even more. In a modern business environment, product information must be widely available and in a standardized format. Customers seek information from many different channels and expect to receive consistent, accurate and comprehensive product information easily and quickly.
However, the company must "speak its own language" and differentiate itself from its competitors. It is not recommended to use the manufacturer's descriptions directly, because then you will not distinguish yourself from a competitor selling the same product. Google also penalizes the use of the same text, which tends to reduce search engine visibility.
PIM systems: efficiency and consistency
Many companies in the trade sector have adopted the use of PIM (Product Information Management) systems with the aim of facilitating the management of product information and standardizing the information structure. Organizing and enriching product information is thus easier and more efficient: work time is saved significantly and, above all, the quality also improves. PIM enables the seamless integration of manufacturers' and importers' product information into online stores and other sales channels. The goal is to shorten the product launch time (time-to-market) and reduce the need for manual data collection.
Challenges in a multi-channel distribution environment
Multichannel sales still pose challenges. Different retailers require product information in a format that uses exactly the terms and product attributes they want. As manual work, filling out excel files or providing product images with different identifiers is time-consuming and prone to errors.
Efficiency and marketing: new opportunities
Organizations have to balance managing product information and increasing their own digital visibility. Instead of manual data collection, the time could be used more strategically for marketing and increasing brand visibility. With the help of the PIM system, it is easy to increase the width and depth of product information, which also improves the SEO visibility of the products. Automation can be used to produce customer-specific price lists and marketing materials, which improves the customer experience and supports sales.
Proven results: Etra Oy
Many companies have already managed to meet these challenges successfully. For example Etra Oy has utilized automation in the management of product information and created customized customer-specific price lists and materials. This has not only improved internal efficiency, but also strengthened customer relations and increased sales.
Read more: Etra's customer story
Interested in the topic more deeply?
In recent years, the PIM system has very often functioned as the master of product information. Products are opened and managed in PIM and it updates the production control system (ERP). This model has many significant benefits.
Read more on our blog: The PIM system as a master of product information
