Get Suppliers On Board and Watch Your Profits Grow
The biggest stumbling block in achieving good product content for catalogs is lack of supplier enablement. Simply stated, without supplier enablement, building catalogs for eProcurement is difficult and puts the onus on the buying organization. And without good content for catalogs, eProcurement users get frustrated, and go elsewhere for what they need – which means no savings. Even though supplier participation is critical for the success of eCommerce and eProcurement initiatives, it won’t happen if the suppliers don’t want to get involved. And that’s the case when the process is costly or cumbersome.
Importance of Clean Data
Managing the flow of supplier data into a catalog can be challenging. Even when data is available electronically, it is usually unsuitable for eCommerce (for instance, it may contain abbreviations and acronyms).
ePlus helps those organizations that need Product Information Management but have neither the time, the inclination, nor the internal skill sets to do it themselves. If it’s not their core competency, it makes sense to have ePlus perform the services, at least initially.
We employ the components of our Product Information Management suite, specifically the Supplier Portal, and work with the suppliers by providing them with a cost-effective approach to providing their content online.
Then, depending on the data, Content+ Advanced validates it, normalizes and standardizes the descriptions, and classifies products to various industry standard schema that the clients selects, or works with the client’s own schema.
By providing suppliers with an intuitive tool that allows them to self-author their content, easily load and enrich product information, and increase their own sales, you’re sure to have eager involvement. And having suppliers willing and able to participate is the key to realizing your eCommerce initiatives.
