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Do you want to learn more about the topic of Product Information Management and the benefits that the implementation of a PIM system provides to your company? Then make contact with us as early as today.
Eric Dreyer
07 / 11 / 23·9 Min read
Product Communication
An unwieldy word that holds great meaning: product data feed – or product data flow – refers to a well-structured data record that contains all essential information about your product. That is to say, the product data feed bundles all product data in a centralized manner: This includes article identifiers, colors, descriptions, prices, availability, image URLs, and shipping information. Such a product data feed, however, is more than just a mere list of data: If used efficiently, it enables you to transfer data to all target sales channels in a quick and secure way without any errors – while, at the same time, also guaranteeing that this data pool is always up to date across all marketing and sales platforms. This is because the product data feed draws directly from your database and can, with the help of a management system, be utilized flexibly in all sorts of manners. How exactly does this work? That’s what we’ll discuss in a moment.
We can already take notice of the following at the very least: You can’t imagine today’s e-commerce and multichannel marketing anymore without a product data feed. There are, in fact, even more benefits which speak for creating and maintaining your own product data feed:
Product data feeds are usually stored as a .csv or .xml files on a server. Your sales partners are granted access with a URL. Be it .csv or .xml, both formats allow you to structure a large quantity of data, distribute it, and import it into other systems. When setting up your own data feed, pay special attention to the following aspects:
You can already see: Even if your product data feed is well set up, occasional updates are indispensable. Whenever you increase prices, make adjustments to the product availability, add new products to your assortment, or launch promotions, you’re required to update your data.
Also, a complete and well-maintained product data feed can only come to be when all data from all sorts of sources are unified in a clean, clear-cut manner without any redundancies. The to-be-managed data, however, rarely comes from a single source; the following domains may contribute to generating a complete set of all your product data:
Further data may come from:
How, then, can you bring together all this data in the best possible manner so as to form a single, well-manageable, and flexible data record? How can you make updates in a quick and easy fashion? How can you make sure to prevent duplicate data records so that you team can rely on complete and correct data records that convince with high data quality at any given time?
In a PIM system (Product Information Management system), you can manage all your product information efficiently and smoothly distribute it to all sales channels – be it online shops, B2B or B2C marketplaces, apps, comparison portals, or online catalogs. A PIM takes your product data feed and elevates it to the next level of efficiency and applicability.
Think of PIM as your well-assorted shop next door that you would recommend to your friends: All products are neatly organized in intuitive categories so that you always have the full overview; you can search and sort relevant data according to your individual use case or, in the customer’s case, the current purchase decision; and you can easily compare products and articles. All this is established by a PIM – with the difference that PIM is like a digital rather than a physical store. With a PIM, you organize all your product data and media assets in user-defined hierarchies – e.g., by brands, types, or specific attributes –, you create relations between products, and you create the optimal basis for your product presentation on the web.
The product data model created hereby facilitates the management of your product data – and renders your data all the more flexible. Use your PIM system to personalize your product information, for example to strategically address your target groups – allowing you to appeal to a diverse range of regional markets. How is this possible, you may ask. You can do so, for example, by also maintaining your complete data records in relevant translation languages together with corresponding digital assets. This way, even a multi-lingual customer experience can be achieved in a smooth manner – while everything stays consistent even across multiple languages.
By providing further technical data (such as measurements, compatibilities, energy efficiency, operation requirements, and further specifications) as well as images and other kinds of media (optionally with the connection to a Digital Asset Management system), you perfect your product data. Accordingly, you can now look forward to…
In order to make sure that your products can be searched, found, ranked, and accessed in the most optimal manner possible, you should keep the following in mind:
We wish you a good run with your new, well-organized visibility in digital sale!
Author:
Eric Dreyer
Head of Product Management and Quality
ATAMYA
Looking Forward to an Exchange?
Do you want to learn more about the topic of Product Information Management and the benefits that the implementation of a PIM system provides to your company? Then make contact with us as early as today.
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