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Check out what Southeast Asians are buying online during Covid-19 lockdown

Southeast Asians covid 19 feature
Southeast Asians covid 19

Source: iPrice Group

COVID-19 is causing major changes in lifestyles of people across Southeast Asia. As countries came under partial lockdown, e-commerce platforms became many people’s main points of purchase, and there are product categories that see huge increases in demands.

E-commerce aggregator iPrice Group recently dug into their data on search activities of online shoppers in Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. We discovered 5 product categories that are suddenly selling like hot cakes thanks to COVID-19.

Southeast Asians covid 19 1
Southeast Asians covid 19 2

1. Gym equipment

Since the first day COVID-19 appeared in Southeast Asia, people have started to do more exercises in hope of improving their immune system.

However, it soon became apparent that it was not the safest thing to do your exercise in a gym full of strangers. In Vietnam, the governments have suspended operations of all gyms in major cities since late March to prevent transmissions.

This led people to start doing their exercise at home and as the result, demands for gym equipment such as dumbbells, treadmills, exercise bikes, etc. soared. In Vietnam, iPrice saw an average increase of 116% in March compared to February. Similarly, in the Philippines, search activities for dumbbells also increased 80% within only the second half of March.

2. Computer equipment

Many companies across the region now allow their employees to work remotely. That means many office workers will have to shop for computer equipment to ensure their efficiency during this tim

The most in-demand equipment looks to be webcam. Demand for this item increased by a whopping 624% in Vietnam and by 82% in Singapore this March.

Similarly, keyboards were also found to be 264% and 137% more searched for in Vietnam and Singapore respectively.

In the Philippines, probably due to poor internet connection in many parts of the country, the most searched for equipment turned out to be WIFI adapter and LAN cable, which increased by 595% and 150% respectively within the second half of March.

This trend will probably last as long as the lockdowns are in effect.

3. Condoms

Online demand for condoms has always been quite high, but in the context that couples now have to restrict travel and stay at home with each other 24/7, demand for this product category has increased across the board.

Specifically, in March and February, number of searches for condoms has increased by 401% and 67% in Vietnam and Singapore respectively, according to iPrice’s latest research.

4. Vitamins

Healthcare product group obviously will be favored in the current context. Besides the two obvious candidates, facemasks and hand sanitizers, vitamin supplement is also a popular item.

Specifically, iPrice noted that within this March, demand for vitamin C supplements increased by 351% in Singapore, 123% in the Philippines, and 42% in Vietnam.

These products all claim to help increase immunity, and to alleviate flu symptoms, and thus have received widespread attention from consumers

5. Gaming consoles

Being forced to stay indoor all day is leading people to look for new forms of entertainment. Gaming is one of the obvious choices.

Vietnamese consumers are currently paying special attention to Nintendo Switch and XBOX when searches for these two consoles on iPrice.vn increased by 59% and 40% respectively in March.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, the top choice is PlayStation 4 as number of searches for the gaming system has increased by 713% since start of February.

Top Master data management strategies for 2020

improve product data quality feature
improve product data quality feature

Now that you have made a compilation of all your master data, the next move is to work around a management plan. One that will help you leverage the pros of master data management in the administration of your e-commerce business.

In this wise, below are some master data management strategies that top the list and should get incorporated in your management plan.

Top Master data
Data_management1

Master Data Management Strategy Roadmap

  • Draft out concise and unique taxonomy or metadata for each stored data.

Ensuring that the metadata for each data is unique to the data it got created for is very important. Once metadata is well-drafted, it makes searching easy. Hence, this strategy aims at aiding your search for data whenever needed. It is particularly useful for e-commerce companies who have not adopted the use of automated DAM tools in the management of their master data.

Using spreadsheets and other less technological Data management solutions is so much stress and work. It gets challenging to find intended search results with several loads of similar data all around. Thus, reduce the stressors with this strategy. This tip advocates for metadata to be specific and unique to each data to cut out the frustration of searching.

  • Use automatic approaches and divorce manual Master Data Management methods

This is 2020, desist from using ERPs and spreadsheets to collect, save, and analyze your Master data.

There is so much more that you can get from managing your Master data via automated systems, than you are now with your manual methods.

  • Save data on the Cloud

Whatever you do, always ensure that you save on the cloud. Do not rely on the provisions of hard disks or device storage systems. To prevent loss of data or illegal access, improve your security game with cloud storage.

  • Adopt an effective data cleansing system

Cleansing is essential and should be regular and accurate. You cannot run inadequate data cleansing and expect to have high-quality master data. So this means that once cleansing goes wrong, the purpose of data management can get defeated.

For all correction of errors, and enhancement of data. Check in with a trusted data cleaning service tool.

  • Run a performance analysis

Before starting, make sure to run a review on your e-commerce business, and understand your need for a Master Data Management system. There are a thousand and one different MDM systems, each having functional strengths in various features. So once you discover your need for an MDM system, it becomes easy to choose the right one.

A great choice of an MDM system is the first right step to getting it all right. Now, run through with the system, and have your business need as the intended goal during the management period. Have frequent performance analysis on the system to see how effective it has been in meeting the need for which it was intended. Weigh up the advantages of introducing the new system against its cost, and then it becomes easy to track the ROI on investing in the MDM system. With this, it becomes easy to convince your business stakeholders on the benefits of the system.

  • Invest in data governance systems

First and foremost, you must understand that the beauty of running any Master data management system is in the level of centralization that the system advocates. A highly centralized body of Master data means that only a few people are allowed to make corrections, effect changes and improve the data. What this does is that like in the quote, “too many cooks spoil the broth” it limits control to a few people in order to ensure the ‘single truth’ policy and cut out the errors that come with duplicated data.

With that said, your Master data management system should have an active data governance plan to optimize the availability, usability, security, and integrity of data.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

Walmart Grocery app sees record downloads after Coronavirus lockdown

Walmart app
Walmart app

Walmart is one of the biggest retailers in the US and it is the biggest when it comes to having a physical presence in the country and we have seen that people love to shop at the stores. However, it is known that the world is going through COVID-19 pandemic which means everyone is told to stay indoors as well as lockdown has been enabled in most parts of the world. Due to that reason, people can’t go out and buy things such as groceries or essential items since non-essential items are out of the question at this point.

For that, we know people have been shopping groceries on Walmart’s stores and even doing so with Amazon. But it is seen that Walmart’s Grocery app was not seeing a significant number of downloads meaning that the people were not taking advantage of the same. However, that has changed now as Walmart says they are seeing a record number of downloads for the Walmart Grocery app in recent days and it has everything to do with the Coronavirus pandemic that is forcing everyone to shop online.

App Annie’s report says that The Walmart Grocery application retained that No. 1 position for at least two days and adds that it grabbed the No. 1 ranking position across all Shopping apps in the U.S. on April 5, 2020, and surpassing Amazon by 20%. On the other hand, we are still seeing the Walmart Grocery app being number 1 on the Google Play Store where it is number 2 on the Apple App Store.

Interestingly, this leads us to the fact that Walmart was looking to discontinue its Grocery app but seeing this surge in interest, Walmart will have to think about its strategy once again. As per reports, Walmart was going to merge its Grocery section inside the main app prior to these reports.

COVID-19 may force auto makers like Tesla to have online sales as well

Online Car Sales
Online Car Sales

We have seen how the e-commerce industry is fledging due to the Coronavirus situation and while we can say that they are doing the best they can to help people in these times, we also know that the industry is hurting since the sales are for essential products only and the deliveries will probably cost them much more. Anyways, they are currently absorbing a lot of costs in order to gain momentum in the market and the first priority for them is to help people get what they need.

Also, it looks like the COVID-19 situation is not going to go anywhere anytime soon and there is still a lot of time before the vaccines will be found and people will be immune to the virus. So it is understood that we will see a lot of e-commerce activity in the next 12 months and it will affect every industry that we have traditionally not seen doing online sales. A new report reveals that online e-commerce stores will start to pop-up for the automakers as well. Tesla is one of the best automakers taking advantage of the technology as we can see from their cars as well.

On the other hand, there are others such as Carvana as well who is looking to embrace the online sales of their cars. CNBC also says that “Online sales is one of the last chances for salvation for some dealers that have had to close showrooms due to the pandemic and state orders”. Also known is that one dealership owner says “We’re doing very well with the appointment side of it,”. “People are more looking to see what we have online and then are giving us a call. It is working.” It is known that the owner has dealerships for Fiat and Chevrolet right now.

PIM vs. MRM: Differences, Features, Best Practices

PIM vs. MRM feature
PIM vs. MRM feature

PIM and MRM are both modern data management systems. They fall into the category of new generation systems. Previous times featured systems like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system or just the use of spreadsheets. But unlike the ERP, PIM and MRM are variants of the same kind. This is in the sense that although generally, they are known to organize and manage data, they work and operate along different lines of business needs.

Below is a detailed explanation of what each of both data management system entails.

PIM vs. MRM 1
PIM vs. MRM 2

MRM- Marketing Resource Management

Marketing Resource Management is a technological data management system that deals with the management of marketing and communication projects. It is more about managing the visual identity that a company puts out than anything else. So it is safe to say that the MRM system aims at ensuring excellent branding solutions.

MRM paints the big-picture view of all your marketing efforts, helps you with the analysis of your marketing cost and ROI. Tracks workflow in every of your marketing projects to unveil points of workflow bottlenecks.

PIM- Product Information Management

Product Information management is also a technological data management solution. Still, unlike the MRM, it caters to the need to source, manage, enrich, and distribute product information across multiple marketing channels. It is particularly useful for keeping a single truth about the complex variety of products to maintain clear and effective communication.

With PIM, the chances of running accurate and high-quality information are higher. Asides communication, product information management also helps with the categorization of products according to their specific characteristics. For E-commerce businesses, this is a powerful resource as product categorization is key to helping customers and visitors locate their requested wares (and even complementary ones) easily.

MRM vs. PIM

  • Goal

So while MRM provides you with ways on how to efficiently run the processes, people, and backend operations, that serve as engines to your marketing programs and campaigns, PIM aids the collection, management, and the enriching of your product information. PIM helps to create a single view of product data and distributes it to your sales and e-commerce channels.

  • Features

MRM works within the following capacity:

  • Planning: the data management system aids planning by giving you a prior overview of marketing activities.
  • Workflows: The workflow feature ensures that projects are progressive, and human resources are well maximized.
  • Collaboration: it centralizes marketing content and processes. This way, team members are aware of the required deliverables, resources, and tasks involved in each project.
  • Measurement: This feature aids the analysis of marketing activities in such a way that the effectiveness of marketing campaigns can be measured, ROI can be determined, and areas where undue investment is made, can be identified.

The following are features of the PIM solution

  • Collect: PIM sources for product-related information from different online platforms. It operates like Data asset management (DAM) systems, just that its features get restricted to product-related data.
  • Enrich: The tool enhances marketing content via improved product descriptions, customer-centered product catalogs, and a long list of others. It aims at increasing data quality to improve time to market.
  • Distribute: It distributes accurate product information in the form of updated product catalogs across multiple channels.

Both management systems differ on all of the grounds, as mentioned above. Although both data management methods get geared towards effective communication and marketing, PIM is more useful as a tool for managing dispersing differences in product variants. At the same time, MRM is more focused on the brand perception that business data creates.

Determining the right data management solution for your E-commerce business requires that you first know the unique goals, needs, and priorities of your organization and why you need a data management tool. This will help you make better choices between both options.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

5 things Product Information Management is NOT

Product Information Management feature
Product Information Management feature

The management of product information has been around for a very long time and has existed in several different forms. And now, we have it as Product information management PIM.

So although PIM is a relatively recent trend, a number of its core features are not. And due to the brevity of its existence around here, there have been more than a couple of misconceptions about the idea of PIM.

Product Information Management 1
Product Information Management 2

Below, I’ll be making a list of five myths that top the list of popular myths about the Product Information Management system.

PIM Myths

  • Myth 1: PIM is not a business-user tool; it is more for IT personnel.

Often, people say that PIM systems have a techie outlook and seem too complicated for business managers. Whereas, it is in the real sense, an initiative driven by business needs. It got modeled for trained marketing, sales, and merchandising personnel.

Users who do not fall into this category might find it challenging to run. It is more of a marketing tool than an IT tool. So only little technical knowledge is required to run the tool.

So discard the myth that PIM is a tool for tech people. It is fundamentally a business-user tool created to aid sales and marketing processes by providing relevant and high-quality content.

Hence, you do not need any form of knowledge in coding or any IT-related training to run a PIM system successfully.

  • Myth 2: PIM is an expensive software

This statement would have been correct if we backtracked time by a decade, but now, it is only a myth.

In the present time, PIM is no longer the expensive software it used to be. With numerous PIM options in the market, the chances are that you’ll find several systems that will match your budget.

There are even open-source, free options that are customizable. Although most of them do not have features that match every kind of product information management need, they will suffice for some essential.

So desist from joining the bandwagon of people that believe that securing a PIM system involves lots of cash.

  • Myth 3: PIM is for large enterprises only

Yes! I hear this a lot too, and I just wonder how people come up with such conclusions.

PIM is not just for large companies; in fact, it is advisable to start using a PIM solution when there are still few data to be sorted and managed.

The need for data management software is no longer dependent on the SKU count. Product portfolios are now more complicated than they used to be. So regardless of the SKU count, a PIM solution is required to maintain single truth and aid scalability for small and medium companies.

  • Myth 4: Although it takes so much time to fix, PIM is a one-time project.

First and foremost, the implementation of a PIM system is not a one-time thing. Being a program that continually monitors and manages changing data, it requires management itself. The efficiency of the system is dependent on technology, as much as it is on excellent human skills and excellence-driven maintenance processes. Once in the PIM, the data requires inputs like sound governance and process management.

Regarding the time taken to set up the system, this is no big deal as the newer PIM options are now modeled to incorporate more easy-to-use, and user-friendly features that aid quick implementation without requiring prior training.

Now, you can get your PIM system fully installed in a few days. You just need to check out the implementation guide, and you are good to go.

  • Myth 5: PIM is just like every other Data management software like PLM, PCM, or MDM.

There is no disputing the fact that there are quite a number of different, but same data management options in the market, but this does not reduce the fact that they are not all the same. It is safer to view them as being complementary rather than being the same.

The need to simplify data management processes and make provisions for each method is what has birthed the existence of severity in options. For instance, PLM as a management system deals in product innovation, MDM facilitates the management of corporate data put out across multiple domains, and PIM which sources data from both management systems focuses on the sourcing, management, distribution, and update of product data. And it does even much more.

PCM, another data management system, uses data gotten from PIM for the enrichment of existing data. So it is easy to tell that these management systems are different considering the dependability in their operation.

PIM is a very important variant of data management and cannot be replaced by either of the above-listed management options. It sources, aggregates, enriches, and manages product data for multiple distribution channels.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

B2B E-commerce Digital Asset Management Challenges

Digital Asset Management Challenges feature
Digital Asset Management Challenges feature

Digital assets for B2B e-commerce businesses is a lot of data with contents ranging from marketing to brand awareness and the likes. Digital assets include whitepapers, free trials and demos, e-books, videos buying guides, catalogs, coupons, samples, free consultations, and a long list of others.

These assets are usually a whole lot and require management for practical application to business processes. In recent years, digital Asset management has proven to be very useful in the running of B2B e-commerce businesses. And so, it is almost impossible to think that the management of these digital assets will come with cons. But yes, they do. Some challenges come with digital assets management, although these challenges are nothing so significant. Let’s check out some of them and see

Digital Asset Management Challenges 1
Digital Asset Management Challenges 2

Challenges of Digital Asset Management

  • Security of digital assets

Most of the time, the management of digital assets in an e-commerce business usually requires that all data get centralized in one safe space from which people can access the particular asset they need. This is for the sake of uniformity of digital assets and to cut out the possibility of errors. While this in itself is not an evil initiative, the challenge that comes with it borders on the lines of security.

Imagine that the centralized file got hacked into, and changes got effected to any of the assets. The fact that assets in the file are to be the single truth with no errors and inconsistency will prompt the uncensored release of these assets without checks, and this can have grave effects on the company image.

Another case is the outright loss of any asset from the centralized file. This is also another security challenge posed by Digital Asset management systems.

  • Storage space for assets

Digital assets can be anything from texts, to huge files, like catalogs and lengthy videos. Especially for companies that deal more in video assets, and images than a print asset, there is usually the need to acquire large storage spaces for the assets. While there is the option of using traditional storage solutions, like networks and hard drives, they can be slow and unreliable at times. So the better option is to save your digital assets in the cloud. The challenge therefore, is the fact that securing large storage spaces in the cloud is not a cheap project.

  • Red-tapism

The centralization of Digital assets and the governance policy around its management make decision making and execution a slow and stringent process. With governance rule, assets can only be managed and approved for use by a few people, and all this slows down marketing and production processes. Every department in the company has to wait for the personnel in control of the assets for approval.

Asides slow processes, it stifles the creativity of other team members where they are not at liberty to make adjustments to digital assets to suit the form in which it is needed, or even for more expression. Hence, digital assets are not allowed to truly reflect the peculiarities of each project as assets have to be uniform.

  • The flexibility of Digital Assets

Digital assets management systems stifle the fluidity of the form and usability of assets. Because Data has to stay uniformed across different distribution platforms, assets cannot get easily tweaked to suit particular projects. Then the ills of high-level rigidity begin to crop up in the use of digital assets. So, there is a challenge faced by B2B sellers.

Static digital assets like, videos are usually more rigid than the editable ones. But notwithstanding, both types still hinge on rigidity, which is not suitable for departments like sales, creative, and marketing departments. Sales pitch and marketing projects require quick data and should not get delayed by the rigidity of digital assets.

  • The ease of use for most Digital Asset Management systems.

A sound digital asset management system should create platforms for offering setup training and usage tips for seamless user experience.

Most Digital asset management systems have complicated and clogged interfaces. For most, not much ease can be promised during usage and this usually poses great difficulty to B2B e-commerce sellers every time they use it.

Although there are a few DAM systems with good UI design, they just aren’t enough. For a system that runs DAM, an easy-to-navigate interface is the least that can be provided to enhance user adoption.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

Examples of Master Data in Retail and E-commerce

Examples of Master Data feature
Examples of Master Data feature

Master data refers to the consistent and uniform set of data that serve as trend identifiers, and prospective predictors, describing the core entities of an enterprise. Master Data is essential data within the company. There are several examples of Master Data broadly categorized into different types. The following five types of Master data are core to the operating n of retail e-commerce businesses:

Examples of Master Data 1
Examples of Master Data 2

Types of Master Data

  • Customer master data.

Customer master data are data that reflect details about customers ranging from their address, preferences, buying history, payment details, and more.

Customer data is majorly useful to sales, operation, and marketing departments in a business, and all three departments always have differing data, hence the need for master data.

  • Product master data.

Product Master data is a centralized document or catalog that consists of information and specifications about each product offered by the company.

  • Asset master data.

The Asset Master data is a collection of the assets owned by the business, the status, and condition of each.

  • Employee master data.

As the name suggests, the employee master data is a record of relevant details about each employee within the company. The date of assumption, qualification, salary, next of kin, health history and a long list of others are details contained in employee master data.

  • Vendor master data.

Vendor Master data is a single reference document that enshrines the details about distribution vendors of e-commerce businesses.

Every example of Master Data falls under a type of Master data, like the ones listed above.

E-commerce Retail Business’ Master Data Examples

The following are examples of master data needed in e-commerce retail stores.

  • The details of each delivery service the business patronizes.
  • Customers’ location and account details
  • Current cost price for each product.
  • Coupon codes.

All of these data require effective management for them to enjoy optimum use. While managing these data, Master data can be project-based or entity-based. This implies that the arrangement of master data is instrumental to easy searchability of data. So taking a cue from that, each data is either arranged according to the project for which it was used or arranged on the basis of the entity that it seems to describe. (For instance, an employee, a product, or a consumer). Project-based master data are searched by location, project lead, or project number, while entity-based master data get searched with the keywords of the entity searched.

The choice of which to search with is determined by your choice of Master Data management system. Examples of some MDM systems are

  • InfoSphere Master Data Management
  • TIBCO MDM
  • MasterDataOnline (MDO)
  • SAP NetWeaver MDM
  • Informatica MDM
  • IBM InfoSphere Information Server
  • Stibo STEP MDM
  • Teradata Master Data Management
  • Informatica Cloud MDM – Customer 360 for Salesforce

Available MDM solutions are either SaaS, SAP-focused, spreadsheet or ERP. The most common of modern ones are SaaS (Software as a Service). They are preferred over other options because they are cloud-based software that is accessed remotely via the internet, rather than being installed directly on a machine.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

7 steps to ensure and improve product data quality in 2020

improve product data quality feature
improve product data quality feature

Product data is an essential strand of data in business. To a large extent, it determines the success of marketing strategies and the size of your business’ market share.

A high-quality product data sets the tone right for a lot of growth to occur within the structures of an e-commerce business. But what does it mean for a business to have high-quality product data? How can you tell that product data is of high quality?

improve product data quality 1
improve product data quality 2

Data that doesn’t meet the need for which it got collected is of low quality. So, product data that does not affect needed changes in the value and life cycle of the product is not of high quality. Likewise, if it does not improve customer experience and satisfaction, it is not useful to either clients, internal decision-makers or external users, then it is not high-quality product data.

Metrics For Determining High-quality Product Data

Here are five significant parameters used to measure the quality of data.

  • Accuracy: For your product data to be high quality, it has to be accurate.
  • Relevancy: The data has to bear relevance to the particular need for which it intended.
  • Completeness: A high-quality product data has to be complete, with no missing values or records.
  • Timeliness: Product data has to be updated as frequently as there is an update for it to be considered high quality. Once data can be updated at the time of new data receipt or changes, the data quality is easy to maintain.
  • Consistency: Consistency is a big deal. Product data has to be consistent across all possible forms and platforms.

Tips for Ensuring Product Data Quality For Your E-commerce Business In 2020

Now that you know what quality data should look like, the following are product data tips to ensure and improve the quality of your product data in 2020:

1. Each Data collected must be from verified sources.

Once your body of product data consists of a few falsehoods, then the entire data cannot be said to be accurate, and this few incorrect data will stall the quality of the whole data body.

Invest time in verifying the facts, images, videos, and texts attached to each product data. To do this, check up some Free Data Quality Audit systems to run through your data and ensure that it is adequately formatted and validated, ready for public use.

2. Do Regular Data Update.

Run regular updates on your data. Data cleaning is not once-and-for-all-task. As soon as there is a change in any product detail, change in price, available promo offers, or whatever the case may be, then there is a call for an update. Stale data is low-quality data.

3. Utilize An Automated Database Management Platform.

This is one of the most effective ways of improving quality product data. Stay away from using spreadsheets for data management. Automated database management platforms keep track of several details that most likely get ignored on manual platforms.

Get advanced product categorization, data collection, update, and distribution with automated management platforms like PIM software.

4. Centralized Data Assets Management and Data Modeling.

Avoid duplication of data. Ensure that your data gets centralized into a single document that will serve as a reference document for users to refer.

Once a part of data or the entire data is created, worked on, adjusted by different people, then this gives room for inconsistencies and errors. And with time, it becomes difficult even to track the source of the variance when data issues begin to arise.

5. Effective Communication chain.

Effective communication is very relevant in the maintenance or improvement of product data quality. What it does is to help the organization understand the flow of verified data, so data do not get obtained from every available source.

In a situation where data is decentralized, each unit of a department should know where to and where not to get verified product data. It is a method of managing data duplication and aims at promoting a trackable and accountable data sharing structure within the organization.

6. Engage A Seasoned Data Quality Control Team.

Having high-quality product data will require that you have the best hands on your data quality control team. Your quality assurance team that ensures the continuity of quality by running data quality checks on new data to a considerable extent determines the quality of your product data.

7. A data governance program,

Put up a data governance program that dictates who is in charge of data management and updates. This tip will ensure that there is clear cut ownership of the product dataset within the company to avoid any department silos.

Note that every of the seven quality product data tips listed above is a necessary condition and not sufficient conditions in ensuring quality product data.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

Product Information Management Best Practices For 2020

Product Information Management feature
Product Information Management feature

Product information management is a very pertinent part of data management in the running of an e-commerce business that deals in the sales of goods. Its target is towards the centralization of product data, improvement of product experience, restriction of data control personnel, an efficient update of product data, and an increase in productivity.

PIM is a relatively new trend in business record-keeping practices, and there are several methods to ensure that the product information of business gets effectively managed. There is the option of using spreadsheets for documenting this information, but in 2020, this practice has grown obsolete and is no longer relevant.

Product Information Managemen1
Product Information Managemen2

For a very long time before now, spreadsheets were the default method for managing data. Still, with growth in companies, and the rise of new ways of doing business, spreadsheet became irrelevant in keeping up with the demands of product information management for E-commerce businesses. At the point where product catalogs are growing, and there is the need to expand into more channels and markets, the limitations of spreadsheets always set in.

Another method around managing product information is ERP, and just like Spreadsheet, 2020 is just not the year to rely on the functionalities that ERP has to offer. It is not enough to put your business on the front line among competitors within your industry.

Now, I am sure you are wondering what exactly you have to do to manage your product information efficiently. Considering all the good that an effective Product Information management system can do to your business, you must invest every available time and resource to its course.

PIM Tips 2020

Well, below are PIM best practices for 2020.

1. Understand and define your goal for adopting a PIM system and choose a software that offers this.

Countless different software provides product information management services. Still, each has particular features that it offers better than some others do. Hence, it is imperative that you first do a thorough study of the present condition in your business and identify your need for the software.

This is the first best thing to do so that you can have a seamless and practical data management experience. It is not uncommon to find businesses whose choice of software does not match their business structure and need, do not go down that lane, invest wisely.
It will help you set expectations rightly and help you measure the effectiveness of the PIM.
The following are some needs that inspire PIM, find yours now and research about the perfect software that will fit.

  • Enhance the customer experience.
  • Increasing the productivity of marketing strategies.
  • Expansion into new channels.
  • Improvement of team collaboration.
  • Improve time-to-market.
  • Scaling business into new geographic regions.
  • The delivery of better quality product data.

2. Always have it thorough.

Even if your business has existed for a long while before now, and you now have several lines of products, it is pertinent that you still invest in a PIM solution that will cover all your past and present products.

Most businesses in this category encounter the choice of two options. Either modeling their entire catalog, and managing all their products from scratch, or choosing the possibility of starting with some of their products and then expanding into others

You will not entirely see the good that comes with PIM if you stick to the latter. Although, it is not a wrong decision in itself, depending on whether you will eventually run the project through all products and in the fastest time possible.

The argument for starting small is that you can test and implement processes and connections to your other business applications to ensure everything works as expected, and then roll it out more broadly in subsequent phases. This approach can work well for larger enterprises that want to start with a product line or a particular region before rolling out across the entire organization.

Regardless of the approach, you choose to take up, be sure that it aligns with your goal of taking up the PIM solution.

3. Invest time in your Catalog Structure

Your Catalog will have to feature on various channels and locales, and even reflect the different peculiarities of each product. So especially if you have a long list of products that you offer, catalog structuring might not be the simple, fun task that you thought it would turn out to be.

Do not make the mistake of carrying out an overview of product profiling. PIM is not just a database interface; it does much more, and will only do as much as you allow it to. An efficient catalog structure will enable you to get the best result from PIM.

Building an efficient catalog structure is not a ‘ride in the park’ kind of task. It requires time and thorough knowledge about the profiled product. Each product belongs to a product category, then there is product family, variants, and product attributes, all of your products have to be analyzed given these properties, to have a robust catalog structure.

For result-yielding PIM 2020, your product catalog should put into consideration factors like:

  • Specific attributes for different channels.
  • Specific details needed for locale-based catalogs, for instance, currency.
  • Product enrichment requirements required.
  • Product attributes and categorizations.

Related Product Information Management (PIM), DAM and MDM Links

Pre-packaged apps launched by Builder.ai for COVID-19 hit businesses

Builder.ai
Builder.ai

It is seen that Coronavirus is one of the worst pandemics that we have ever seen on the history of mankind and it means that people have to be humans and show their humanity more than ever. This is also the reason why people are saying that this is the best time they can help others in whichever way they can.

Now, one of the best ways to help those in need is to provide food and shelter but the businesses also need to be taken care of because they are also under huge economical stress. Therefore, one startup has come forward for their rescue and it is known as Builder.ai.

Builder.ai is known as Europe’s largest Series A investment generating startup which was $29.5 million last year. Now, the company is coming out to create products for companies such as BBC, DiditFor, Manscore and ZikTruck. Builder.ai is now launching The Studio Store which is their latest range of pre-packaged apps meaning that anyone and everyone who runs a business can use those apps.

It is also revealed that the app will “serve e-commerce and delivery — such as flower shops, grocery stores and clothiers — and will be fast-tracked in less than eight weeks. The first three months of live service will also be bundled in for free.”

Co-founder and CEO of Builder.ai, Sachin Dev Duggal says that “Businesses need to adapt to survive… However, while businesses recognize this, a lack of skills, coding or technical knowledge has traditionally been a barrier… We make it as easy and as affordable as possible for businesses to amplify their digital presence.”

“The e-commerce app allows retailers to showcase their goods with a scrollable carousel and offer a wide range of secure payment methods. The app includes features that will handle most e-commerce experiences. The delivery app has features including payment integration, in-app notifications and FedEx integration”

Amazon fired New York coronavirus protest organizer, now senators want details

Amazon protests
Amazon protests

It is known that Amazon and other e-commerce firms are doing their level best in order to fulfil all the orders and they are currently delivering the essential items such as groceries and other products while non-essential items will resume later. However, it is also working under a limited capacity because of the fact that COVID-19 affects each and everyone and their workers are also not immune to the same. So many have taken a leave and Amazon has also said that they will be hiring new employees for delivering the orders that are currently pending.

However, those who are currently working at Amazon are also not happy with the company because they say that the company is not doing justice to them in the working environment as well as other facilities. Also, they organized a strike in the New York Amazon facility because of the same. It was later realized that Amazon fired the worker who had become the leader of these protests. Now that everyone knows about it, the Senators are asking Amazon to reveal details of why the worker was removed.

In a letter, Five U.S. senators sent Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a series of questions Wednesday focusing on Smalls’ dismissal, which he and other politicians, as well as union leaders, have described as retaliation. Amazon’s explanation is that they fired the worker “for putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of his employment,”. Now, we can see why he put other workers’ health and safety at risk because COVID-19 precautions say that mass gatherings of more than 4 people should be avoided at all costs.

However, the senators say that “We have a zero-tolerance for retaliation against employees who raise concerns,”. They add that “The right to organize is a bedrock of our economy, responsible for many of the greatest advances achieved by workers over generations,”

Amazon Shipping, rival to UPS and FedEx, is being put on hold

Amazon Shipping
Amazon Shipping

Amazon is one of the biggest e-commerce companies and we are not saying this just for the sake of it. There is a reason behind it and one of the reasons is because Amazon is spread in almost everything of the e-commerce industry. For example, you will find Amazon in the shipping labels business as well as the packaging and box business which is the most important for e-commerce. Apart from that, the next most important thing is shipping and delivery where Amazon also has a presence. This is with the help of a company called Amazon Shipping which is a rival to companies such as UPS and FedEx.

Now, we know that Amazon Shipping is available in select cities of the US and is on a trial run. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that Amazon has had to focus on its own orders first and it can’t focus as much on its shipping business. For this reason, the company has decided to put a hold on its shipping company for the time being. “We regularly look at a variety of factors across Amazon to make sure we’re set up in the right way to best serve our customers,”

Not only does Amazon shipping handle Amazon packages but it also handles non-Amazon packages but that has been stopped for now. This has meant that UPS and FedEx are breathing a sigh of relief right now and it also means that the progress made by Amazon Shipping in the market will be delayed that much since the services have been stopped until June of this year.

Amazon says that it needs to focus on delivering orders that it has pending and needs people for that purpose so running both at the same time is not possible for them right now. An expert says that “The suspension of Amazon Shipping will allow the company to focus on its core delivery operation”

To make shipping packages easier for companies, Shippo raises $30 million

Shippo
Shippo

We have seen how the e-commerce companies have been put under a lot of stress during these times of pandemic because everyone is ordering from home and they want their orders on time. Apart from that, the companies also have to work with a limited number of employees and they have restrictions in movement due to the lockdown. Even then, it is seen that e-commerce companies are doing their best to complete as many orders as possible every day. There are also platforms which help e-commerce companies help ship packages faster and more efficiently.

One of those platforms named Shippo has just raised a Series C round of funding for $30 million in order to help e-commerce companies integrated shipping into their services. As per a report, Shippo is a platform which “gives online sellers access to various shipping tools, including the ability to automatically generate shipping labels for all the major carriers, including UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS, with the added ability to compare rates across all the delivery providers. The integration also allows sellers to schedule pickups and returns, validate addresses, and offer post-purchase tracking so their own customers can see where their items are on their journey”.

Shippo’s founder and CEO says that “Shipping shouldn’t be seen as a cost centre — it’s a growth engine,”. She added that “When used properly, shipping is a tool for businesses to gain consumer confidence, increase conversions, and drive repeat buying by building loyalty. Except many of these benefits have historically been reserved for the savviest and most resource-rich businesses. Shippo is changing that dynamic.” Also, she says that her platform is such that it wants to make shipping as easy as “sending a text message”. Apart from this funding round, Shippo has already raised $29 million including $20 million in Series B three years ago.

Here are the items people are buying during Coronavirus lockdown

Shopping choices
Shopping choices

We are currently in an unprecedented era of the world where everyone is currently staying in lockdown and no one is moving out because their governments have told to do so. Not only that, but we are also seeing that a majority of the economy has been shut down all over the world due to the fear of catching COVID-19 and spreading it which could be even more dangerous.

Now, a new report has emerged which shows us the trends among people who are staying at home and ordering online. Many of us would be interested in knowing what exactly do people buy when they are at home and here is your answer.

First of all, it is worth noting that this report is from data given by websites such as WireCutter, The Strategist and Amazon and they have reported seeing sales jump in the category of vibrators, “bed desks” and other products and this buying list is restricted to people in America.

WireCutter’s editor says that “We’re seeing exponential growth in traffic, more than ever before,”. “It’s extraordinary.” He adds that “I can’t necessarily speak to how people are feeling, but as this draws out longer and longer, it behoves people to create an environment they want to be in,”. “Over the long haul, do you want to be working over a stack of books? I think that says something about what people are expecting.”

The deputy editor believes that people are expecting the lockdown to continue for long and that is the reason why they are investing in home-office setups. Also, some of them are investing in sexual products as well. Also, it is said that beauty and health-care products are also being sold more including Moisturizers, hand creams, hair care and skin care along with apparel in categories like loungewear pants, leggings, pajamas, slippers and robes.

South Korean delivery drivers reportedly suffering the worst due to shopping spree

South Korean delivery driver
South Korean delivery driver

As far as the e-commerce industry and COVID-19 pandemic is concerned, we are seeing a very close relationship between them. The fact is that due to the fear of Coronavirus and justifiably so, people are ordered to stay at their homes.

But it is also true that no one can or wants to survive without food and the most basic of facilities and for this reason, they are going the route of ordering from e-commerce in the countries where e-commerce operations are still going on. Therefore, we have an unprecedented demand in e-commerce right now and most of the major e-commerce players are suffering from it including Amazon.

Talking about sufferings, a new report now reveals that some of the lower-level workers of e-commerce are also treated badly due to the surge in online orders. As per the report, delivery drivers are the frontline workers who need to deliver the orders and they are also the ones that get in contact with people the most outside of delivery boys. Thus, delivery drivers are having to keep their precautions while still doing their job and they are not happy.

However, the anger of delivery drivers increased when an incident came to light in South Korea’s Coupang district late last month. A delivery driver who was supposed to be out to deliver products was found dead between the fourth and fifth floor of an apartment building and no one knows what happened to him. The autopsy report reveals that he had heart disease but delivery workers in the country are now demanding a change in the system.

One delivery driver claims that “I think he died from overwork and the pressure to deliver packages quickly,”. He adds that “I think poor working conditions led to this … I always knew something like this would happen.”

New England Patriots sign 10-year e-commerce partnership with Fanatics

New England Patriots
New England Patriots

Fanatics is one of the most famous companies for selling officially licensed sports merchandise and it has a big presence in the eSports tournaments all over the world. The company sells everything from gaming equipments such as chairs, rigs and many more interesting products apart from merchandized stuff. Now, it is announced that New England Patriots have entered a 10-year e-commerce deal with the company where they will have Fanatics operate the online and mobile retail merchandise business for New England Patriots who are six-time Super Bowl champions. Also, there is no need to tell you how big the Super Bowl event is so this deal is a massive one in those terms.

However, this will only be a partnership for the e-commerce space because the New England Patriot sales will continue at the Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place. A new platform called the Proshop.Patriots.com has also been formed and that is currently live and fans can place their orders starting today. However, the orders are likely to not get delivered anytime soon looking at the Coronavirus pandemic situation.

New England Patriots say that “Fanatics has established themselves as our industry’s preeminent sports retail company, and their scale across e-commerce and mobile shopping will create an incredible new offering for our passionate fanbase worldwide,”

Its spokesperson adds that “With their world-class technology platform and commitment to e-commerce innovation, our fans will have around the clock access to a premier shopping destination featuring the widest assortment of merchandise we’ve ever offered.”

Fanatics President of Business Affairs said that they are proud to partner with New England Patriots and adds that they are “widely recognized as one of the most innovative and successful teams in all of the sports”. He says that Fanatics will look to provide an “elevated, personalized shopping experience of real-time products for fans.”

Amazon reportedly postpones Prime Day 2020 due to Coronavirus crisis

Amazon Prime Day sale delayed
Amazon Prime Day sale delayed

While we are seeing reports regarding the postponement or cancellation of every major event this year, we have a new and potentially concerning report. Now, it is seen that the best service right now is e-commerce which is helping customers get what they want despite the fact that almost everything else is closed due to lockdown. However, we know that e-commerce companies are also burning money since they have to deliver essential products only which have a pretty low margin per each sale. But it is also understood that margin is not something any business should focus on right now.

Coming to the report regarding Amazon, one of its biggest one-day sales of the year also called the Amazon Prime Day sale is reportedly being delayed this year. For people who are unaware regarding Amazon Prime Day, it is a 24-hour sale by Amazon as part of its founding anniversary every year. It is also seen as one of the best days to shop for customers because it is when the best deals are available after the Black Friday week and the Holiday season.

The report also mentions that Amazon Prime Day which usually takes place in July every year is reportedly getting delayed to at least August. Also, Amazon is expecting a hit of $100 million “from excess devices it might now sell at a discount” as reported by Reuters who have seen internal meeting notes from Amazon.

While Amazon expects a hit in revenue due to delay in Amazon Prime Day sales, it also says that the video-on-demand service which is Prime Movies will have $100 million more in revenue for the first quarter since the people watching shows online has gone up quite drastically. Amazon has also stopped its affiliate program right now due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic which also means they are expecting a loss of revenue.

Rocket Internet’s stake in Jumia e-commerce from Africa sold off

Jumia
Jumia

It is worth noting before every news and report that we are living in unprecedented times of the Coronavirus pandemic and half of the world is currently under lockdown meaning that people can’t go outside their houses to work, shop or even do basic things.

However, everyone knows that it is done for their safety and that’s why they are following the things done by the authorities quite well. On the other hand, we also know that this will cause devastation in the economy and many businesses are said to go out of money very soon if help is not provided to them.

Talking about the fact of businesses going out, we might have our first big casualty regarding the COVID-19 situation. This is because a new report from Africa reveals that African e-commerce firm Jumia has lost a big investor. Rocket Internet, who had a big stake in the e-commerce firm, has now sold off their stake from the company.

A spokesperson for Rocket Internet said that they held 11% stake in Jumia as of Nov. 8, sold its holding between then and the onset of the coronavirus crisis. While they have not revealed any more details regarding why they sold off the stakes, it is believed that the decline in business due to COVID-19 could be the main reason.

Now that Jumia has lost one of its high-profile investors in Rocket Internet, there are reports that the company which listed on Wall Street to become the first company from Africa to do so last year, will go private soon. However, there is no confirmation regarding the same from Jumia’s stakeholders or the company itself. On the other hand, Jumia’s sales figures have also been questioned by their competitors. Now, this can definitely be seen as a big blow to Africa’s e-commerce space.

COVID-19 will boost e-commerce in long run but there are problems too: Report

E-commerce
E-commerce

E-commerce is currently the most trending topic because of the fact that everyone is relying on it due to the Coronavirus pandemic situation. Also because the retailers have closed their stores for the public which is also understandable, we see people are ordering deliveries right at their doorsteps. Now, people say that this is the best thing that can happen to e-commerce at the moment. However, a new report claims that this is not only for short-term but the trend of shopping online will continue for a long term and boost e-commerce sector going forward.

However, it is not all merry and cherry for the e-commerce sector as well because there are some issues that the sector needs to fix before they can say that the retail industry is going to be doomed because of them. “The question becomes how employment, income and the wealth effect play into all of this: If you lose 30% of your 401K, you might not want to buy that extra sweater or other non-essentials,” the report adds.

The report adds that “There are going to be people who thought, ‘I could never not touch an apple before I put in my basket’ who now have been forced to use FreshDirect or AmazonFresh and have now said, ‘That’s a pretty convenient experience. I might do that more.’ Or who have bought meal kits to make home-cooked meals and thought, ‘That’s a much better experience than I would have thought, and I waste less”., “This is a forced way to retrain a broad swath of consumers.”

While e-commerce will definitely benefit in long term, it is expected “the longer term could be 2021,” which means the advantage could not be for next five years or a decade. Also, it is feared that while big e-commerce players will survive, the smaller ones may go out of business as well.

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