Centralise Your Product Data

(Excel is NOT on your side!)

If you’re managing thousands of products, you’re likely all too familiar with the frustrations of hunting for product data hidden across your business. Pricing. Inventory. Names. Descriptions, images, video…bringing it all together can be maddening. Especially if you keep any of your data in spreadsheets. Data errors and inconsistencies, and agonising amounts of time spent manually updating, maintaining and publishing your data has made that fact painfully obvious.

It’s time to let go of the spreadsheets. If not for your own sanity, then for the benefit of your customers. Because consumers have spoken; 64% expect to be able to buy everything through one retailer. But in order for your customers to be able to buy everything in one place, your data must be in one place. That’s where Product Information Management (PIM) systems come into play.

Consolidating all of your product data into one clean system is critical. And PIM software does just that.

Order Management System for Ecommerce

Focus on the root causes, not symptoms

Returns, complaints and bad reviews kill your reputation, brand and bottom line. But they’re the symptoms, not the cause.

Do any of these questions ring true? Then the root cause is likely messy or poorly stored data.

Do your customers return products?

Either because they’re not what they’re looking for, and that wasn’t clear during the buying journey, or because you are missing product data.

Is it a constant headache launching new products?

Whether one product, campaign or whole ranges adding new products to your catalogue is a lengthy process.

Is it frustrating and time-consuming to manage your products?

Having complex products with multiple variants makes everything ten times more difficult.

Addressing the issue

The manual tweaks and distribution required from data kept in spreadsheets will inevitably result in human error. According to Gartner research, this kind of poor data quality is responsible for an average of ​​$15 million a year in losses.

Those errors can then start to snowball. Incorrect data gets added to your channels and is swiftly noticed by customers, resulting in a poor experience and yet more returns and complaints. In fact, it’s reported that 46% of returns are due to the size, fit or colour being wrong; a further 12% are because the product wasn’t what the consumer was expecting based on the photos and description.

Fortunately, modern PIM software helps reduce errors in your data. And the best PIM solutions also help to consolidate your platforms and streamline your marketplace strategy.

Consolidate your data with PIM software

Typically, brands with over 1,000 SKUs rely on Product Information Management systems. It says what it does on the tin; creates an efficient, logical way to structure and manage your information from multiple systems.

The benefits of PIM for ecommerce are immense. At its core, it makes your products more discoverable and more relevant to customers. How? By creating a single source of truth for your data and giving you complete control over all of it. PIM software brings all of your data from multiple systems into one place, letting you enrich and tailor it for all websites, ecommerce, marketplaces and dropship programs.

The best PIM for ecommerce stores your product data in a logical, structured format, making updates and automation easy. Your product data is stored intuitively, so you can easily add new products, export products and sell more. With next to no manual processes.

In context, it means you won’t have to manually type in the colour, size and material of an item ten times apiece, then do it all again when something changes for every product. Instead, PIM software means you only have to update it once and it’s pushed out across all your sales and marketing channels.

Like to learn more about PIM Software? Download our free eBook: An Introduction to PIM

An introduction to Product Information Management

‘PIMish’ functionality isn’t enough

You may now be thinking “but I could do most of this in my ecommerce platform”. And you would be right. Some platforms, like Magento, often offer PIMish functionality out of the box to get you started. But that’s rarely a great option long-term.

One common use case some brands choose is using their ERP for the basic information like name, SKU, price and inventory, and their platform for the majority of attributes (like images). However, asking a system to perform functions it isn’t designed for means that after a while, it starts to become a burden. You end up back at square one – poor lead time, rising costs, annoying maintenance and poor ease of use.

Each detail counts and most ecommerce platforms like Magento don’t have the capabilities to support robust product information. Nor the data structure required for discoverability. Fact is, to deliver a unified, streamlined buying experience for your customers, you need a PIM integration with Magento, or whichever platform you use.

PIM software makes ecommerce easy

PIMs help brands to scale product catalogues into new markets, create unique and rich product experiences for each region and roll out new products and collections faster.

Picking the right PIM is the more resilient option for businesses in the long run, and establishes a foundation for simpler scalability. Above all, it gives you your time back.

Are you still using spreadsheets for your product data? Schedule a demo and we can show you the easier way to manage your product data.

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