Product Information Management

Transcription

1 ADVISORY Product Information Management Success in a world of many In a perfect world, information on products and services would be reliable, consistent and complete. This perfect world would support companies in achieving optimal commercial performance and give them the information they need to be ready in advance for changes in the business landscape. However, we all know that the world is not perfect... A KPMG Round Table on 12 November 2013 made it perfectly clear that many companies struggle to manage information about their products. Some companies use spreadsheets or manual solutions to this end, while others use ERP but find that their systems are also far from the full answer. Looking at the challenges in today s business landscape, this is simply no longer acceptable. Nowadays, digital customers have extremely high expectations. If companies fail to provide them with accurate, detailed and up-to-the-minute information on products, they will simply switch to the competition. As a result, the concept of Product Information Management (PIM) has become increasingly popular. Since PIM is a relatively new development, there is not yet a common understanding or definition for PIM. However, Wikipedia does seem to get to the heart of the concept: PIM refers to processes and technologies focused on centrally managing information about products, with a focus on the data required to market and sell the products through one or more distribution channels. ( ) PIM systems generally need to support multiple geographic locations, multi-lingual data, and maintenance and modification of product information within a centralised catalogue to provide consistently accurate information to multiple channels in a cost-effective manner. In his introduction, KPMG partner Ronald Jonker made it clear that PIM is a necessity rather than a luxury in today s world of many : many products, many channels, many customers, many segments and many information sources. As Jonker said: Companies need a single source of truth to achieve commercial success and to respond to changes rapidly. Having said that, we should also be aware that the roll out of PIM systems is an intensive, timeconsuming project. Perseverance is a prerequisite of success. That s why we put so much value in organising these round tables: we can learn from each other s experiences and inspire each other to keep going.

2 2 KPMG Product Information Management How high quality product information is adding value for customers Ron Kessels, Saint-Gobain Distribution the Netherlands Construction companies can enjoy significant advantages by obtaining better insight into a wide range of the characteristics of the products they buy, varying from size and colour to strength and weight. These insights combined with fast and flexible logistics offer them opportunities to improve efficiency. However, effecting change in this relatively traditional sector is quite a challenge. Saint-Gobain Distribution the Netherlands (hereafter Saint-Gobain) is proving that it s possible and is now becoming not only a supplier but also an information centre in the value chain. 2,000 suppliers, 150,000 products (of which 30,000 in stock) and 15,000 customers. These stats leave no room for doubt: warranting reliable product information poses quite a challenge for Saint-Gobain, a (wholesale) distributor of building materials, sanitary-ware and tiles. The importance of such information is even higher in the construction industry, where efficient processes are largely dependent on the availability of the right products with the right characteristics. Based on success at one of its companies (Galvano), Saint-Gobain decided to invest in PIM. According to Kessels: We needed a system to store, maintain and enrich extended product and trade item information. This was essential for our e-business strategy based on intelligent content brokerage and to build a market database which included all available products in the market. In fact, we are moving toward becoming an information centre. This led to an interesting question from the audience: Shouldn t you bill your suppliers for your role as an information broker, as other sectors do? Providing such a rich information source is valuable for customers. And that s precisely why your suppliers should be willing to pay for the fact that you store their product information on your platform. The question highlighted the fact that introducing PIM is also a question of strategy. It deserves a well thought-out approach, based on strategic objectives

3 3 KPMG Product Information Management and the systems that are currently in place. Kessels shared some valuable insights into how Saint-Gobain Distribution the Netherlands views the combination of the PIM solution in this case Heiler and its ERP system. According to Kessels, the ERP system does not offer sufficient functionality: PIM systems provide a user-friendly, straightforward and efficient environment for managing, maintaining and enriching product information. ERP systems are not designed to do that. We chose to incorporate all products available in the market in our PIM system, while our ERP system only incorporates the products in our primary assortment. Moreover, many aspects of the product data stored in the PIM system are not necessary for the ERP processes. The aspect of proper interfacing between ERP and PIM systems proved to be a key point in the discussion. To some extent, data in ERP and PIM systems will overlap. This calls for solutions that support seamless integration of data based on middleware. More importantly, the process needs to start with clear principles on which a system is to be dominant. Each environment will have different characteristics, so there is no standard recipe for success. One of the factors is the question of whether customers and/or suppliers will have access to the information platform. A popular model is to manage basic information in ERP and to manage extended information in PIM. Or, as one participant added with some sarcasm: It depends on how much you hate your ERP system. During the process, Kessels faced numerous issues. He pinpointed one of them by simply asking the audience What is a product?, whilst showing a photo of a worker s shoe. Is it a De Greef Grisport shoe S3 703 Black? Is it a De Greef Grisport shoe S3 703 Black Size 43? Is it a De Greef Grisport shoe S3 703 Black Size 43 bought from Supplier Y? Or is it a Box with 12 pairs of De Greef Grisport shoes S3 703 Black Size 43 bought from Supplier Y? Of course we need agreed definitions. But the truth is: there is no single answer. It s all true. This example demonstrated how much intense operational work is involved in data management. Actually, that s more time-consuming than the implementation itself. Our commercial people are still working on that side of things. According to the audience, the hardest part is to find the right people for this type of work. Are commercial professionals the best choice, given their reputation for not being overly accurate? According to Kessels: That s the best option.

4 KPMG Product Information Management 4 PIM business case: the numbers don t count that much Jenny James, Informatica Many projects in the field of PIM are connected to ecommerce projects or multichannel business models. The benefits of PIM are clear: the improved data quality makes room for increased sales and lower return rates. The question is: How important is a business case to actually get things going and to gain solid sponsorship in the organisation? In her contribution, Jenny James made it perfectly clear that simplicity is the key to obtaining sponsorship for PIM projects. It used to take 24 hours to get a new product online. Now it takes less than five minutes. From her experience on numerous projects, James informed us of how PIM can increase a company s agility and thereby its competiveness. With examples like this in mind, it appears companies should not worry too much about detailed analysis of the business case. According to James: Data has a strategic value. Connecting and networking all of your data provides improved analyses and faster processes. Of course we can plot these advantages into elaborate spreadsheets to show management that it s economically viable to invest in PIM. But just how valuable are such exercises? In reality, we probably only need agreement from the procurement officers. What s more important is that we convince management that good product data is essential to doing business in the current landscape. Especially where it comes to online business. Put simply, it s a necessity. James believes that credibility of a business case can be increased by sticking to a number of clear advantages. A list of a hundred advantages, worth 15 million in the next few years sounds like wishful thinking. A shortlist of 3 features with a combined effect of 0.5 million probably has a stronger effect on the decision-making process.

5 1 KPMG Master Data Management KPMG Product Information Management 5 Every situation demands its own, custom-made answers. But in general, James does not tend to emphasise the cost savings to gain sponsorship. Most companies are very lean now. PIM may lead to more efficiency, but I d rather give people valuable new tasks than fire them. I consider the opportunities for revenue growth to be more important in gaining sponsorship. But it helps to come up with examples to convince people. I tell them how online revenue in a department store exploded or how time-to-market was shortened. That proves more compelling than an excel spreadsheet. More in general: a new business landscape is emerging. In this new landscape, quality information on products represents value. This translates to supplier negotiations: some companies reward their suppliers who have the right information available. It also translates to new business models: integrators are focusing increasingly on gaining reliable product information with intelligent tools, and selling their services to companies who use this information in the sale of their products. After the presentations, participants took the opportunity for further discussions and expressed their appreciation to KPMG for organising what had been a valuable round table event. KPMG is a leading Data Management Consultancy firm.

6 Contact Ronald Jonker Service Leader Enterprise Data Management KPMG Advisory N.V. tel mobile [email protected] KPMG Laan van Langerhuize 1 Amstelveen P.O. Box DB Amsterdam The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particularindividual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that suchinformation is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act onsuch information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation., registered with the trade register in the Netherlands under number , is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ( KPMG International ), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Netherlands. The KPMG name, logo and cutting through complexity are registered trademarks of KPMG International.