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Product Information Management

Product data is of vital strategic importance to the consumer products and retail industries, yet in many companies data quality and data management do not rate as senior management priorities. Without a firm foundation of high-quality data, no manufacturing or retail organisation can generate the information required to make intelligent business decisions.

Unfortunately, independent research suggests that most organisations suffer from poor quality product data, with as many as 50% of records containing errors. The impact on both manufacturers and retailers is severe, and may increase overall supply chain costs by as much as 3%.

Product information management (PIM) provides the disciplines and tools to address this problem. PIM has two main elements: internal data alignment focuses on getting the data ‘clean’ and keeping it clean; and global data synchronisation provides a mechanism to exchange clean product data among trading partners.

The first priority, then, is internal data quality. The availability of complete, consistent, accurate and timely product information is critical to ensuring maximum return on investment from any supply chain initiative - from radio frequency identification to collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment, vendor managed inventory and, of course, global data synchronisation.

And the returns are significant. High-quality product data delivers increased sales, improved productivity and reduced costs. Product information management transforms data and creates a corporate asset. It provides a foundation for more informed business decision-making and improves the quality of information that flows through the supply chain. Ultimately, it helps the enterprise to make more money and do it for less. It is time for senior management to take product data more seriously.

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