Distributors are those who buy noncompeting products or product lines, warehouse, and resell them to retailers or direct to the customers.
Most distributors provide a strong workforce and cash support to the supplier or manufacturer’s promotional efforts. They also offer a range of services (such as product information, estimates, technical support, after-sales services, credit) to their customers.
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Challenges In Distribution
Distributors usually deal with a lot of products. Until the products are bought by the merchant or retailer, the onus is on each distributor to ensure products are stored in a safe environment.
Distribution is not as easy as it seems to be.
In this era of online shopping, it is a tough time for distributors to handle all the products, and to manage different channels which use the distributor’s product information.
The following are the challenges distributors face as a result of progressive development in digitizing eCommerce:
- Difficult to manage product information across different channels
- Absence of data repository for product data
- Managing the same data across all channels
- Managing Digital Assets of Products
- Collecting information from the client’s website automatically
Like how the evolution of this world gave birth to newer possibilities, the challenges faced by distributors can also be solved with robust software to maintain and manage all the product information, in one single place.
Product Information Management (PIM)
PIM acts as the centralized data storage for all the content and information related to the products a company deals with. By allowing real-time collaboration and information sharing, PIM helps distributors manage their products seamlessly and ensures a smooth digital commerce experience.
How PIM Helps Companies
- Easy Access of Product Data
- Increase Team Productivity
- Boosts Sales
- Scalability
Read in detail what is PIM and what it does.
Why Distributors Need PIM
Understand why a PIM in place will ensure a seamless flow of work for every distributor. We have listed out the challenges, and also explained how distributors can overcome them with an effective Product Information Management system.
Difficult to Manage Product Information Across Different Channels
Different channels have different information related to products, and this makes it complicated to access information whenever there is any need for data. To overcome this lag, PIM has an inbuilt channel manager to ensure accurate data is passed to the required channel.
In a modern PIM system like DCKAP PIM, users can create multiple channels under each family, and also map products attributes for respective channels. Later, the channel manager sends the data to the appropriate channels. This way, the whole process is hassle free.
Centric Data Repository for Product Data
Distributors always handle too many products from diverse clients and sources. After a point of time, things can turn confusing due to an overload of products. A digital repository can be convenient to manage such vast volumes of data from a single place.
PIM provides Single Storage Repository which acts as single point storage of all the product information with role-based access to employees.
Managing Same Data Across All Channels
When there are changes to be made in the product data, the distributor usually has to change it in all the channels and platforms where the product is. Auto synchronization is not possible in traditional product maintenance.
As many distributors face the same barrier, DCKAP PIM provides automated sync up with the created channel. The change automatically reflects in all the channels once it is done in DCKAP PIM backend.
Managing Digital Product Assets
Images create impressions and build trust around the products we showcase. Not all media files can be stored in a local system, as it comes with a fair share of risks, data loss, system crash, etc. This is where Digital Asset Management steps in to shine — simplifying and streamlining the workflow by storing multimedia files of the entire company in a single repository
Click here to understand why online stores need Digital Asset Management.
Auto-collect Information from Client’s Website
Data Migration is a scary thing. The fear of data loss or files getting misplaced grips our heart whenever the company is going to undergo migration. It becomes a challenge when the client does not provide any data document.
To counter this concern, DCKAP PIM provides an inbound API which can quickly transfer data from the client’s management system to DCKAP PIM backend. The whole data migration gets done in a jet speed.
Are you a distributor facing challenges similar to what we mentioned above? Check out DCKAP PIM to seamlessly manage all your product data, and increase efficiency.
