5 Unlikely Obstacles Hindering Fluid Product Information Management in Industrial Manufacturing

In this Article

Obstacles Hindering Product Information Management

In the fast-paced world of industrial manufacturing, efficient product 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 obstacles can hinder product information management in this industry.

1. Weak Channel Support

Efficient product information management in industrial manufacturing relies on reaching various channels effectively. 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 industrial manufacturing, ensure it supports various channels. During the demo, inquire about the compatibility with different marketplaces and channels. Ask about the system’s flexibility for exporting data to meet specific channel requirements.

2. Unorganized Spreadsheets

In the industrial manufacturing sector, relying solely on spreadsheets for product information management is a common practice. 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 such as 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 manufacturing product information management. 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.

Conclusion

Catsy’s product information management system offers 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 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:

https://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/white-papers/the%20state%20of%20data%20quality.pdf

http://mspmentor.net/blog/five-ways-saas-data-lost

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/product-information-management-best-practices/

FAQs

Product information management (PIM) is a catalog software tool built to speed products to market.

Digital asset management (DAM) is a software used to organize and enrich digital assets. 

SHARE