Digital product presence and sales rely heavily on seamless data transfer from supplier to stockists' system

Miscommunication, missing data, errors often leads to order delays, returns, lost sales opportunities and have a negative impact on the company's digital presence. To avoid these pitfalls, it is crucial to establish a strong and coherent data transfer process that instills trust and boosts digital sales.

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The digital shift and the role of product information

In McKinsey's report "Next normal in construction" released in June 2020, we read:

"Digital channels are spreading to construction, with the potential to transform interactions for buying and selling goods across the value chain."

The same report states that 72% of respondents agree that the digitalisation of sales channels is already impacting the construction market at scale.

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A recent NBS report on product information in the UK construction market, we read that 92% of construction designers and specifiers use search engines to look for product information.

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The monetisation of digital presence is already a fact. One of our customers stated that they have multiplied their webshop turnover by 20-fold within 18 months!

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Evaluating your digital footprint

So, what does your digital presence look like?

Try this: type the product name or id into a search engine of your choice. What do you find?

• Is your product information easily findable in search engines?
• Is it coherent, comprehensive, and trustworthy?
• Is it consistent among various sources and search results?
• Is it searchable based on various product data, criteria, or values?
  

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More and more manufacturers realize the value of the effort put into building a strong digital presence for the company and their products. Nevertheless, many do not understand how much the data their stockists and partners present affects and contributes to their digital presence.

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You might offer comprehensive and well-presented product data on your website, digital brochures, or catalogs. However, if the order is placed on your stockists' webshop, toggling back and forth between the sites to ensure the correct product order is undoubtedly a hassle.

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The Link Between Sales and Data Transfer

Thus, digital product presence and sales heavily rely on seamless product data transfer to stockists' systems. Some reasons for this is: 

• Effective data transfer ensures no miscommunication, missing data or errors which can lead to order delays, returns or loss of sales opportunities.
• A well-executed transfer of product information allows end customers to filter the products they are interested in and easily access the product information they are looking for in all sources like digital databases, webshops or websites.
• Seamless data transfer helps to create a strong, coherent, and trustworthy digital presence for the products, which is crucial in today's competitive market.
• It boosts sales by providing accurate and up-to-date information to stockists, enabling them to make informed decisions and effectively promote the products to potential customers.
  

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Today, the digital presence is as much about manufacturer website as about how the products themselves are presented by stockists, partners and other independent sources like industry databases. It requires a deep understanding of the process in all touchpoints on how the data is created, obtained, stored, managed, shared, transferred and most importantly, how it is used. This understanding allows us to bridge the gaps, streamline the processes and automate the data transfer for the benefit of all parties: suppliers, stockists, partners and customers.

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Take a moment to investigate:

• How is your product data presented in the digital world?
• How do you share and transfer product data to all relevant parties?
• How could you enhance product data transfer to boost your digital presence and sales?

Manufacturers and retailers, take a step towards digital excellence by collaborating on seamless data transfer. Assess your current data practices, identify gaps, and work together to establish streamlined processes.

Visit our webpage or contact us for more insights on optimising digital presence and data transfer. Your shared efforts will pave the way for a brighter digital future.