Ecommerce Tip of the Week: Centralize Product Information Management

A major challenge that leading brands and retailers face is product content management. More specifically, how do you control how your brand is presented on various online shopping sites? How do you ensure that your listings, wherever they are online are optimized and in-line with brand expectations?

Product Information Management

Also known as Product Content Management and Catalog Management. If you do it well, you're set up for success. If you do it poorly...

You may be wondering, what type of product content are we talking about?

• High definition images
• Marketing copy
• Titles
• Variation themes (product groups that vary based on one or more attribute)
• Descriptions
• Bullet points
• Category specific attributes
• Technical specifications
• Product identifiers (i.e. MPN, Model Number, UPC, GTIN, ASIN)
• Custom

Let's take a quick look at how brands, distributors and retailers manage their product information:

1. ERP - Most ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems - think SAP, Oracle, NetSuite - are not designed to be a central hub of rich product data.
2. Enterprise PIMs - unable to keep up with the fast-changing ecommerce landscape and facilitate intelligent, efficient and optimized direct-to-consumer listings.
3. Spreadsheets - Some of the largest brands and distributors are primarily managing product information in spreadsheets.
4. PDFs - yes, this is not a joke.
5. Custom, in-house software - buggy, limited functionality, not designed for multichannel, omnichannel distribution.

Failures In Traditional Product Information Management

We see this all the time. Like a game of popcorn, the ACME Brand Co. provides Reseller Co. with product information and ABC Reseller Co. lists these products to Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, Jet.com and their Shopify site, etc. Jane Smith from ABC Reseller Co. accidentally uploads an internal product name instead of the optimized title along with low resolution images to Amazon.

XYZ Reseller Co. buys stock of ACME Brand Co.'s products from an authorized reseller and lists the products on Walmart.com using the less-than-optimal product data on Amazon originally uploaded by Jane Smith. Larry Jones, shops Walmart.com and buys a product that doesn't meet his expectations, citing poor image quality. ACME Brand Co. now has an image problem.

Central Repository For Product Data

If you use a central, fundamentally collaborative and intelligent repository for product data that makes it simple and efficient to create high-quality listings on major online channels, you've regained control.

How do you manage your product data?

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Zentail is a multichannel product content management platform that makes it easy to centrally manage product information and publish listings on Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, Jet.com, Google, Shopify, Bigcommerce and a growing selection of channels. Let Zentail be your product content management repository and take back control of your product information.