Realization.
I’ve been focused on sharing the impact great product data can have in B2B ecommerce and how it can help suppliers gain an edge with their distributors.
For those that are building and syndicating rich, complete product data to grow eCommerce with their distributors, the impact of their effort is visible as it can be seen directly on the distributors website.
What doesn’t receive enough attention and yet is equally as important, is all of the other places that supplier product data is used in the operations of a distributor.
When asked:
“What other distributor systems rely upon my product data?”
The first answer most give is the ERP. It is difficult to plan, purchase, stock, sell, ship or invoice a product without product information being in the ERP.
But where else does high-quality product information from a supplier make a difference?
Customer Relationship Management - used in the creation of opportunities or quotes
Marketing Automation - product attribute based campaign rely upon good data for inclusion
Digital Marketing (PPC) - can allow products to qualify for promotion in paid marketing campaigns
PIM (other uses in marketing) - used to build print collateral, sell sheets, or catalogs
Configure, Price, Quoting (CPQ) - CPQ engines require complete, accurate data from the products included
Warehouse Management Systems - accurate dimensional, weight, quantity and safety data is critical to be included in the list of A or B items that are always stocked.
Logistics - accurate shipping costs from complete product data allow distributors to bill freight appropriately
CX & Tech Support - great product data for support and service improve end customer satisfaction and reduce calls in to the supplier for expertise
BI - products are included in additional analysis and modeling when there is more data available to model and report against
Budgeting and FP&A - Finance often produces a product category view of the budget which turns into goals for your product for product management
Financial Reporting - As there will be a product specific plan, there will also be product specific reporting. Unclassified or hard to classify products due to incomplete information will often be overlooked
Quality Management Systems - incomplete product data can cause issues for the quality team and problem products or suppliers will be asked for remediation plans
EHS - inaccurate product data can also draw the attention of the EH&S team which could limit the distributors ability to stock, ship or support your products.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few. I share this list to stress the importance of getting accurate, up to date, rich product data to your distributors as it can have a positive or negative impact on just about every part of their operation.
While it isn’t often as visible as the product information on the web, it is just as critical.