Digitalisation Q&A Richard Appleton Head of digitalisation, EDA
Why is search-friendly product data so vital for successful selling on wholesaler websites?
The big on-line platforms are expert in managing product data, making it easy to find the product you need. Without access to similar data it is hard for wholesalers to compete even though they offer a superior all round service - in a nutshell, if you can’t find it you can’t buy it. In the B2B world the requirements are subtly different from B2C. A product description needs to contain enough information for the buyer to be confident that a product matches a particular specification. Product images not only show what the product looks like but also convey vital details such as the position and nature of electrical connections.
What have been some of your milestone EDATA achievements in the past 12 months?
During the past 12 months the number of manufacturers who have joined the EDATA data pool has passed the 50 mark, while the total number of products uploaded is now well over 100,000. We have also introduced our quality standards programme where all data is measured against our Gold, Silver and Bronze standards. Manufacturers that achieve Gold standard for the majority of their products join the Gold Circle: 15 have achieved this accolade
to date with many more working hard to join them.
Why is a data pool such as EDATA such an asset to the sector as a whole? Product data is a problem shared by all companies, so it is far more efficient to agree and implement an industry solution than for every company to effectively duplicate the work. As an industry owned and managed initiative EDATA exists only to serve the needs of the industry with no, potentially conflicting, commercial pressures. In addition, EDATA has acted as a catalyst for the industry to focus on improving the quality of available product data.
What are some of the challenges that suppliers might face along their data journey? What support do you offer? The two most common problems are resource availability and know-how. The EDA’s data quality standards provide a framework for suppliers to plan their data enhancement projects and are backed up by a series of easy- to-read white papers outlining best practice. All these white papers are downloadable from
www.eda.org.uk
To help further we have, this year, launched a series of face-to-face ‘Going for Gold’ workshops. At these sessions the EDATA team works with manufacturers on their product data, offering
practical hands-on advice and help to drive up data quality.
What are your aims for the next 12 months for EDATA?
In addition to welcoming more manufacturers and adding their products to EDATA, several developments are planned to make it easier for smaller wholesalers to access and use the data with minimum additional work.
The EDATA Steering Group, made up of 25 manufacturers and wholesalers, has also identified that the rich data held in EDATA has a far wider application beyond that of driving ecommerce web sites. Great quality product data is the essential ingredient in quotations, catalogue development, at the trade counter and so on, and we’ll be working to develop and promote the full extent of its value to businesses.
end users experience much easier to find the products and services they need with confidence.
“From the start of this project, we wanted to ensure that the data provided was of a high standard. Working with the EDA helped support us on what information was required and provided useful tips and tools on how this should look. We then reviewed our own data and created an internal EDATA team to manage the project. As a team we set about gathering all the product information together into the EDATA format. The main challenge with this was the scope of data, combined with pulling together all the missing information and content (such as images and barcodes). It helped that we broke down the data – starting with our Essential products and then moving on to other product categories. It’s still an ongoing process but it’s working very well.
Elliott Rothon, UK marketing manager, Wiska: “As an industry, we are seeing more and more users using digital platforms to find out about products and services. Whether this is technical information, availability, or prices it is vital that this data is correct and accurate. Good data will help deliver good customer service and make the
ewnews.co.uk
“As a manufacturer, we are constantly being asked for data in many different ways. To have an industry-recognised data pool ensures that the information is accurate, reliable and consistent. This can only be a good thing for everyone across the supply chain as the data is rich and trustworthy – helping support customer service and driving sales.”
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