Obstacles Hindering Product Information Management
What is industrial information management? In the fast-paced world of industrial manufacturing, efficient industrial information management is crucial. It ensures that your suppliers, distributors, partners, and customers receive accurate and up-to-date product data, ultimately leading to a seamless operational workflow. However, five unexpected pitfalls of product information management in this industry can hinder the smooth and efficient functioning.
1. Weak Channel Support
Efficient product information management in industrial manufacturing relies on effectively reaching various channels. When your PIM system focuses on only a few primary channels and leaves the rest to be handled manually, it can disrupt your entire workflow. This reactive approach often results in content inconsistency. Variations in image sizes, writing styles, and product options can jeopardize your brand messaging and potentially lead to lost sales.
Tip 1: When evaluating a PIM system for e-commerce in industrial manufacturing, ensure it supports various channels. During the demo, inquire about compatibility with different marketplaces and channels. Ask about the system’s flexibility for exporting data to meet specific channel requirements.
2. Unorganized Spreadsheets
Relying solely on spreadsheets for product information management and manufacturing is common in industrial manufacturing. However, this manual approach can introduce many problems, especially when dealing with complex data sets. Multiple versions of spreadsheets can lead to errors in product descriptions and pricing. Moreover, the constant need for manual updates consumes valuable employee time.
Tip 2: While spreadsheets are essential in industrial manufacturing, maintaining an organized structure is key. Establish consistent categories within spreadsheets and utilize scripts to eliminate formatting issues such as extra spacing and inconsistent capitalization.
3. Unorganized or Lack of Access
Decentralized product data management can lead to critical information being stuck in individual inboxes, particularly when employees are on vacation or unavailable. Relying on a single team lead for access to crucial data can result in workflow disruptions during their absence. Technical issues like hard drive crashes can further exacerbate the problem.
Tip 3: A robust product information management system with role-based access and security features is essential in industrial manufacturing. Systems with historical tracking capabilities allow you to monitor changes and identify responsible parties.
4. Too Much Content
Industrial manufacturing organizations often accumulate vast content, especially when lacking a structured PIM solution. Teams and employees may work with their copies of product data, leading to increased effort when consolidating information. Valuable digital assets can also be lost in forgotten network drives or personal thumb drives.
Tip 4: Addressing content overload requires a structured approach. Utilize spreadsheets to maintain data organization by establishing consistent categories. Implement scripts to clean up data by removing extra spacing and standardizing formatting.
5. File Names
Inconsistent file naming conventions can create chaos in industrial product information management for manufacturing. When everyone adopts their unique naming structure, efficient search tools become ineffective. Instead, employees are forced to manually sift through lists, hoping to find the right product information in the correct folder.
Tip 5: Implementing standardized file naming conventions is crucial in the industrial manufacturing sector. This ensures easy accessibility and retrieval of product information. Establish clear guidelines and encourage adherence to these conventions.
Removing Concealed Issues in the Process of Industrial Product Information Management
In industrial manufacturing, companies closely monitor operations to identify and eliminate inefficiencies. However, some factors quietly get in the way of effective product information management (PIM) that many do not notice. Addressing such blind spots is essential in creating a smooth process that supports better choices, promotes the company, and enhances customer satisfaction.
Not realizing what PIM offers.
Many teams do not see the complete product information management tools available. Enterprises without knowledge about product information management best practices won’t choose the correct tool or gain full benefits from using enterprise PIM solutions. Through a demo, decision-makers can observe how platforms can improve how and what gets managed and the accuracy of the process.
Data Does Not Match Between Different Channels in the Company
A significant issue for manufacturers is that data is not unified between their sales and distribution channels when using PIM e-commerce platforms. When data is inconsistent, the company’s staff and customers can get confused. PIM for Brands ensures that the data used across different system points is the same, which is very important for avoiding errors in data management.
The Processes the Company Uses are not Current.
Even with the best software, old ways of working can still cause problems. Many manufacturing businesses still depend on spreadsheets or separate databases. As a result, they cannot use the suggested practices in the product information management demo. Modern systems are designed for easy automation, teamwork, and increasing size, which is especially required in manufacturing.
Ignoring Strategies that Focus on Customers
Handling internal data is only one aspect; the best PIM software helps make customers happy. Based on in-depth research and managing product details, businesses adjust their strategies to suit users’ wants. Increased details about products result in a positive customer experience, resulting in better customer retention over the long term.
Conclusion
Catsy’s product information management capabilities offer a flexible solution tailored to the needs of industrial manufacturing brands. It empowers you to efficiently store and manage product specifications, images, and other vital data. With Catsy, you can effortlessly publish your product information to various marketplaces, populate your eCommerce website, and create marketing collateral. Moreover, Catsy can seamlessly integrate with your digital catalogs and online product listings through a robust API.
We invite you to schedule a demo to discover how Catsy PIM can revolutionize your product management and eliminate obstacles hindering research and product information management in the industrial manufacturing sector. Experience the flexibility and efficiency that Catsy can bring to your operations, allowing you to scale your business and deliver consistent product information to your stakeholders.
Sources:
Best Practices for Product Information Management – Bigcommerce
