Getting your products online quickly and efficiently is essential for driving revenue as a distributor. Just like building a sturdy house requires strong scaffolding, success in eCommerce demands robust product content management. However, challenges like item data setup and SKU maintenance often create significant hurdles for distributors. Even manufacturers, with their in-house expertise, can struggle to create compelling product content.
For distributors, the situation becomes even more complex. Handling thousands of products from numerous manufacturers—each using their proprietary ways of describing items—creates a maze of inconsistencies. The challenges don’t stop there. Even when you’re a category leader, you rely on overworked trading partners who may not prioritize your requests.
The Critical Role of Product Data Standards
One of the biggest challenges in eCommerce lies in defining and adhering to product data standards. How do you decide which standard to adopt? Will it align with your eCommerce taxonomy? Choosing the right specifications for your industry—whether it’s lumens for lighting or diameter measurements for O-rings—is vital for creating a seamless customer experience.
A well-organized product taxonomy impacts everything from your site navigation and search filters to product comparisons and attribute ordering. Without this foundational structure, your eCommerce site may struggle to convert visitors into customers.
Avoiding Stale and Outdated Data
Even if you manage to collect and standardize your product data, maintaining it is another story. Product specifications change frequently, and your trading partners won’t always inform you. Without a process for updating stale data, you risk losing customer trust and revenue.
Solutions to Simplify Product Content Management
Without proper product content management in place, your product data could become the silent killer of your eCommerce revenue. To combat these data challenges and streamline your product content management, there are alternative solutions:
- Industry Catalogs: Many industry groups provide vetted product catalogs with updated SKUs. These product catalogs can assist group members by supplying base product record data and suggested product category profiles.
- Expert Service Providers: Companies like Unilog specialize in collecting, cleansing, and enriching product data for you while providing taxonomy guidance tailored to your business needs.
At Unilog, we’ve been solving product content challenges for over 20 years. Our CX1 Product Content solutions offer enriched, always up-to-date product data for your market vertical that you can share across your digital sales channels and with your trading partners. By streamlining your product data, you can achieve faster speed-to-market and seamless integration with digital sales channels.
Don’t let your product data become an eCommerce revenue killer for your business. Many distributors adopt a hybrid mix of solutions using both internal and external assistance to solve their product content management problems. Consider the size of your catalog, your business case, and your timeline before deciding which is the right approach for your business. If you have questions, would like some advice, or simply want to see what access to an enriched product catalog looks like, contact a Unilog product content expert today.