Product Data Syndication has become an essential capability to manage within digital transformation at manufacturers. There are 5 main scenarios.
1: Outbound product data syndication for finished products
As a manufacturer you need to ensure that self-service buying decisions by the end customer through the channel partner point-of-sale will result in choosing your product instead of a product provided by your competitor.
This is achieved through providing complete product information in a way that is easy onboarded by each of your channel partners – as well as direct customers and marketplaces where this apply.
2: Inbound product data syndication for 3rd party finished products
As a manufacturer you often have a range of products that are not produced inhouse but are essential supplements when selling own produced products.
The process involves getting the most complete set of product information available from the supplier in order to fit the optimal set of product information needed to support the buying decision by the end customer where your own produced products and 3rd party products makes a whole.
3: Inbound product data syndication for raw materials and packaging
Here the objective is to get product information needed to do quality assurance and in organic production apply the right blend in order to produce a consistent finished product.
Also, the increasing demand for measures of sustainability is driving the urge for information on the provenance of the finished product and the packaging including the origin of the ingredients and circumstances of the production of these components.
4: Inbound product data syndication for parts used in MRO
Product data for parts used in Maintenance, Repair and Operation is an essential scenario related in running the production facilities as well as in facility management around logistic facilities, offices, and other constructions where products for MRO are needed.
With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) these products are becoming more and more intelligent and are operated in an automatic way. For that, product information is needed in an until now unseen degree.
5: Inbound product data syndication for other indirect products
Every organization needs products and services as furniture, office supplies, travel services and much more. The need for onboarding product data for these purchases is still minimal compared to the above-mentioned scenarios. However, a foreseeable increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in procurement operations will ignite the requirement for product data onboarding for this scenario too in the coming years.
The Need for Collaborative Product Data Syndication
The sharp rise of the need product data syndication calls for increased collaboration through data partnerships in business ecosystems.
In the Product Data Lake venture I am working on now, we have made a framework – and a piece of Software as a Service – that is able to leverage the concepts of outbound and inbound Product Data Syndication and enable the five mentioned ways of utilizing product data syndication to create better business outcomes for you as a manufacturer.
Product Data Lake acts as a single point of digital contact for suppliers and channel partners in the product data supply chain which also provide you as a manufacturer with single place in the cloud from where your Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), ERP and Product Information Management (PIM) applications get and put external product data feeds.
This concept enables automated self-service by suppliers and channels partners who also can subscribe to Product Data Lake. In The Product Data Lake platform you can control the product portfolio and the product attribute set you are sharing with each business partner.
Learn more about Product Data Lake here.
Liliendahl on Data Quality 