who needs product master data management?

8/13/2019 Who Needs Product Master Data Management?

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Who Needs Product Master Data

Management?

Identifying the pain and meeting the

challenges of executives responsible forpurchasing Product Master DataManagement (MDM)


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Information Technology

! Are you asking your legacy system to do morethan it can? Is your ERP not giving you what

you expected from a catalog or product/

content management perspective?

Dont settle for less just because your current system hasbeen customized.

A bolted-on Product MDM system will extend the life ofyour legacy applications no need to do an expensive

and complex ERP migration just yet.

Give your merchandisers and creative group an efficienttool to produce print and online catalogs, but still utilizekey data from the ERP. Thats what Product MDM does.

And Product MDM solutions have proven to be intuitivewith installation and integration experts who make your

job easy.


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! Is your datasynchronized from

your print catalog

and the web?

Product MDM helps youeliminate duplicateentry and create pathsof the same data tomultiple publishingoutlets.

No more dropping whatyoure doing toeliminate a product onthe web becauseyoure the only who canaccess the data ithappens automaticallyas a consequence ofyour edits.


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! Will you get the personal supportyou need from your Product MDMsoftware providers?

The honeymoon is never over with ProductMDM support. First, make sure yourprovider has strategically placedgeographical locations. Or, you canchoose a Software-as-a-Service solution, ifthats more appealing.

One thing to look for is a model thatprovides customized training - for you andyour workflow.

* Print channel may have additional requirements


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! What does a proven trackrecord mean with a Product

MDM solution?

Look for a Product MDM providerthat has multichannel / catalogcustomers in your space. Theyll do itbetter. And theyll speak your

language.

Product MDM solutions providerobust content management that

can get bolted on to your existingsystems. Product MDM providers will

create smooth transitions of datafrom systems that are 30 years old.And they can do it in time frames

conducive to keeping yourmultichannel business from missing a

beat.


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Creative

! Is there a way to avoid crunch time? There are several key functions within Product

MDM that are designed to help you during

print catalog production.

Pricing, for one, becomes a non-issue. If itsavailable (whether in your legacy system or,

more importantly, wherever it is maintained),

then a Product MDM system can get pricing

to your page layout program.

The collaborative nature of Product MDM,along with statuses and workflows, help

eliminate those times when products have

to change partly because the productivity

of the software actually can push your

deadlines back. But, it can also occur when

those changes are made, sometimes as

simply as pushing the update button.


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Creative

! Is your data wired to give youaccuracy and consistency?

Once the copy is changed in thedatabase, its changed across the boardno need to enter information into

anotherdatabase (like a web

database) or to make the change again

on a Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign

page.

And, to make Product MDM even moreappealing, there are ways to give

access to your vendors, eliminating re-

entry of specifications, and in some

instances, high-quality data entry that

youve had to do yourself in the past.


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Creative

! Tired of hearing how easy it is tobuild a page?

Product MDM gives you the tools to eliminatemany of the problems associated with page

production. Without the concerns of getting theright price, the right copy and the right image,

you can focus on whats important to you

making sure the page is designed to sell your

products.

Youll end up being a hero fewer mistakesmaking it to print and the web (or mobile, or

tablet, etc.). Anxiety levels will decrease with

accountability, the end-of-cycle index

generation becomes a breeze, and square-

inch-analysis associated with page design will

drive better decisions on future page

geography, product performance, and web

usage.


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Creative

! Is your team workingtogether?

With the tools available toeach contributing group,

collaboration becomessecond nature with Product

MDM.

The flow from vendorthrough production will

streamline the process and

increase communications.


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eCommerce

! Is your data synchronized toprint, mobile and the web?

With Product MDM, synchronizing dataand eliminating data entry redundancies

is a core competency.

No more having to re-enter data from acatalog page. Youll also be able to give

access to those responsible for copy,

images, specifications, etc. which

increases accuracy and opens doors to

ideas on targeted profile information.

And speed-to-market on products willincrease significantly, as integration

between databases becomes seamless.


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eCommerce

! Are all your SEO opportunitiesclear?

With your merchandisers having access to thisintegrated data (or even your front-line sales

team), youll be able to compile the mostrelevant keywords based on their customer

exposure.

Your copywriters can take this pertinentinformation and weave it into the metadata,

and use it to create better copy for all your

channels. After all, mobile shoppers dont look a

lot like catalog shoppers.


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eCommerce

! Is your team workingtogether?

A Product MDM solution is also avaluable collaboration tool, which

incorporates workflows, statuses and

ways to create priorities for your work

environment.

Then, integrate that with your legacyapplication or ERP and connect it to

the mobile, web and the catalog

and what do you have? A team

working together and developing the

best possible information so your

customers can get where they want

to go, and buy what they need.


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eCommerce

! Are you using the rightproductivity tools?

Web masters or e-commercemanagers sometimes need to move

faster than those developing the printcatalog. Thats where a Product

MDM system really shines.

When data becomes available, youllhave access to it immediately. Then,

by executing the flow to e or m

commerce, youll quickly (and

accurately) get done in secondswhat may have taken days, weeks,

or even months in the past.


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Product Management

! Are your processes and roles makingyou do things over (and over, and

over) again?

Sometimes, roles and responsibilities can getmuddied from a lack of standards, workflows or

repeated statuses in the production process. And,

thats the last thing you need when youre on a tight

deadline, managing old products and trying to get

new products to market.

Product MMD has built-in functionality to helpalleviate those challenges with intuitive ProductContent Management (PCM) for multichannel

marketing. On top of that, Product MDM reduces

those steps and decreases errors with a single point

of entry standard, using an enter-once/publish-many

protocol.


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Product Management

! Are your analytics predictingyour next situation?

With data from the page captured inthe database as the designers place

them on the page, that data (square

inch analysis) can be combined withyour business system data to provideyou with the best profitability reporting

giving you accurate information,

while eliminating those tedious manual

methods. Results? Better futurecatalog product exposure and better

decision-making on your web product

selection.

And, to make it even easier, ProductMDM systems have tools to export/import files directly from spreadsheets

so learning a new spreadsheet

way for the software is not needed.


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Product Management

! Implementation, training andsupport

The support of your Product MDM systemshould include a thorough NeedsAnalysis, which will define the optimal

workflows specific to your productioncycle.

Training should be done with apersonalized approach, whichincorporates yourdata within theconfines of yourflow and yourenvironment. When youre donetraining, you should know exactly howthe product works in yourcycle and how

it looks with yourdata.

Your ongoing support people should betrained on and have thoroughknowledge of your unique data set andworkflow.


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Product Management

! Are your vendorsleaving you to carry

the load?

One of the most importantaspects of Product MDM is

shifting data entry to your

vendors (suppliers), which

eliminates multiple entry points

just entering specs alone

can be a daunting task.

But, it also streamlines thosepesky approval cycles you

have with the vendor, and

makes both parties much

more efficient.


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Marketing

! Where does yourcompetitive advantage

come from?

You need to get your products tomarket as fast as you can. Being

first, as you know, can make your

brand stand for something great.

Being able to react quickly andaccurately is what Product MDM

does by nature giving your

marketing team a collaborativeenter-once / publish-many

mentality.


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Marketing

! Are you using the rightproductivity tools?

Content proofing cycles havehistorically been a pain point

especially as the printers deadlinegets closer. First, the vendor has to be

collaborative in order for this flow to

work. Then, the Merchandising team

has to get all the data into the

system. And, finally, the Advertising/

Creative/eCommerce groups have to

assemble it all.

With Product MDM, all these groupswork together in the same package,

reducing the proofing, while

increasing accuracy and allowing

quicker, easier and timely changes at

nearly any point in the cycle.


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Marketing

! What are your analytical tools tellingyou?

Fighting green-bar reports and putting sticky dotswith numbers on catalog pages is a common

protocol for merchandisers when analyzing pageprofitability. Its an arduous task, to say the least.

Product MDM provides the tools to systematicallydeliver this critical information at any given time in

the process. You can find out square inch analysis,

information to help with vendor co-op dollar

responsibility, and even where the best places on

the page are to place your products, based onproduct performance. For an E-or-M Commerce

person, having product profiling can also help with

buying search terms through relevancy searches.


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Marketing

! How hard is it to get the right ROI? Heres where the rubber meets the road. Were not talking

soft dollars. These are real savings. Youll be able to

handle more products with the same amount of people.What are products worth to you? Thats what we thought.

And, dont forget, if you have a printed catalog, pageprofitability is king, so getting the best products and results

will be a result.

Lets not forget how quickly products get to the web or theadditional amount or products you can present. The

prospects are mind-boggling.

Youll also see fewer mistakes which have an effect on thebottom line; and, at the same time, practically eliminate

overtime. We think that will resonate with you.

Its time for an ROI analysis if you have stiff competition, apropensity for errors in a diverse product offering, and whenoverhead is growing. If thats you, Product MDM can help

you through the research and processes to get there. Its

part of the package, so dont be afraid to ask your provider.


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CXO

! Have you had trouble figuring out where to start when makingdeterminations on your companys business systems - whether

its for growth, efficiencies or managing integration?

The providers approach should be to start with a NeedsAnalysis. In order to present a customized solution that best

meets your expectations, the PIM provider will have

developed (with their current customers help) a pre-implementation, implementation, integration and post-

implementation process. Additionally, a Change

Management model should be incorporated with your core

team, including their insights, defining the current flow,

developing the optimal flow - and making sure there are as

few obstacles as possible, whether its creating enthusiasm

around the project, or helping with systems/technical

expertise.

A Product MDM support system should have a reputation ofallowing key implementation team members from the

provider to continue with customer interaction way beyond

the go-live date an ongoing feature. Its not unusual to

have the same support person who was on site for the

implementation to be solving problems years later.


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CXO

! (continued) Besides having a thorough up-front approach, a Product

MDM provider should also have experienced and highly

knowledgeable IT expertise available throughout the

implementation and support phases. Theyll make sure that

the integrationneeds between the Product MDM system

and your business applications are as seamless as can be.

The same goes with developing supplierintegration. Youshould be able to count on Product MDM technologists to

be concerned, personable and available to make this a

part of your core competencies.


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Thank You!

! Bob Lewis! [email protected]! (703) 727-8181

! Tom Marine! [email protected]! (773) 266-0685

who needs product master data management?

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