Product information has been called the “bloodstream of companies”. In the Baltic states, we are still behind the world’s leading countries in many areas – what is our position on product information?
The competitiveness of consumer goods is more and more determined by the efficiency of the supply chain. Products are distinguished by how quickly and at what cost they reach consumers. Product information is critical here – without accurate, comprehensive, and timely information, it is impossible to address products in the supply chain.
In Telema, we are pleased to see that over the last ten years, the primary information on the movement of goods (orders and invoices) in the supply chain has been highly automated through the use of EDI solutions. This has simplified the arrival of the goods to stores. Unfortunately, it is not always enough to sell the goods successfully to the end consumer.
When choosing a product, especially in an online store, consumers no longer simply look at the name and price. Consumers demand more and more substantive information about the product: what the product contains, where and how it is produced and packaged, and so on.
Confusing product information
There are still major confusion and problems with the flow of product information in the supply chain in the Baltic States. In fact, around the world. Studies indicate that approximately 30% of product data is either incorrect or incomplete.
What are the main reasons manufacturers or distributors cannot create, manage and transfer product information effectively? In world practice, four main challenges are pointed out, which by our experience also apply in the Baltic countries:
- Failure to provide and continuously update product information required by the competitive situation in e-commerce.
- Product information management inside the organization is messy – different roles are responsible for different types of product information (eg recipes, packaging, prices) and no one has a complete overview.
- It is not clear what product data is missing – usually, the product category determines what information is needed. However, often data requirements by categories are not explicitly defined.
- Different requirements by retailers – all retailers have different requirements for product data, not only in terms of what and how many data fields they require but also their rules for most fields may differ.
What is the solution?
There are many different solutions in the world for compiling, managing, and exchanging the product information described above.
As product information management is not the core business and competence of suppliers or retailers, choosing and implementing a workable solution can be quite a challenge. Telema PDS (Product Data Sync) is a service that allows wholesalers, distributors, or manufacturers to easily and efficiently create, store and administer all their product data in one database.
Contact us for more information about Telema PDS solution.