Imagine you’re managing an intricate web of product data—thousands of SKUs for HVAC systems, power tools, plumbing systems, sanitary fixtures, chemicals, or any building materials. Your sales channels demand speed, accuracy, and strict compliance of product data, but the question looms:
Do you need a centralized PIM (product information management system) before implementing Productsup to meet these needs?
Here’s the answer: while PIM systems offer immense value, they aren’t always a prerequisite for getting started. With Productsup, you can immediately streamline, optimize, and syndicate your product data, allowing you to meet the demands of today’s B2B landscape without delays. The Productsup P2C platform provides you with the agility to adapt to the requirements of industry data pools, distribution networks, and evolving market complexities—enabling faster time-to-value while complementing any future PIM investments. Let’s explore how Productsup equips you to succeed, whether or not you currently use a PIM.
The modern product data management challenges in B2B and industrial manufacturing
Over 65% of B2B companies report having “poor” data and more than 40% of B2B companies say they struggle with siloed data. Why? They lack the necessary technology, team, and strategies to optimize it for ecommerce. With an increasing number of products, channels, and global markets to navigate, businesses face significant challenges in ensuring their product information is accurate, consistent, and up-to-date. Let’s dive deeper into these challenges below.
- Keeping up with rapid technological advancements
Industrial B2B companies face an intricate digital commerce environment, with growing demands for quick adaptation and compliance with varied data standards. From industry-specific data pools to B2B ecommerce platforms and distributors, product data must be tailored to meet a diverse range of specifications, adding layers of complexity to operations.
- Operational inefficiencies across distributed teams
In large organizations with multiple departments and locations, product data management is frequently siloed, leading to fragmented processes. Although product data management is vital for driving revenue and operational efficiency, it often needs more executive visibility. This results in hidden costs, delays, and excessive manual effort in mapping, editing, and transforming data to meet industry standards.
- High risk of data errors and mismanagement
Mismanaged data in industrial B2B can lead to high costs, delays in supply chains, and missed revenue opportunities. Inaccurate or incomplete product data disrupts everything from distributor relationships to the end-user experience, causing downstream issues that ripple through the entire organization.
Slow technology implementations introduce risks in the fast-paced B2B landscape
While implementing a PIM can centralize data and solve certain internal inefficiencies, such as inconsistent data storage and slow data retrieval, relying solely on a PIM project often leads to prolonged timelines that delay addressing internal data structure issues. This delay can mean losing valuable market presence and missing out on the flexibility needed to meet industry-specific syndication and channel integration requirements.
- Lost time and rigid focus
Implementing a PIM can often take up to two years. Focusing only on internal data structures without considering external requirements risks misalignment and lost time. In B2B, where industry-specific taxonomies, distributor needs, and compliance standards are constantly evolving, this delay can result in missed opportunities and a slower time-to-market.
- Category mapping complexity
One of the major challenges industrial B2B companies face is the complexity of category mapping across various platforms— industry-standard data pools, wholesalers, and global distribution networks. Even when companies invest months defining internal taxonomies, they often find that each channel, region, or distributor has distinct classification standards (ie. ETIM and Amazon have different category structures), requiring further rework and adaptations.
Many B2B companies spend extensively on consultants to define internal product categories and taxonomies, only to discover they must still map these to distributor-specific or industry-standard taxonomies, as every distribution channel has unique requirements.
Prysmian Group, a global leader in cable manufacturing, mainly for energy and telecom, revolutionized its product data management using Productsup’s Distribution PX. With thousands of products requiring 600+ attributes, the company centralized data into a single source of truth. This streamlined process enabled the rapid generation of ETIM-compliant content and complex formats, like BMEcat and FAB-DIS.
By eliminating manual processes and custom IT solutions, Prysmian achieved faster time to market and significant cost savings. Discover how this transformation positioned them to showcase products and expand distributor partnerships with ease. [Click to read the full case study]
How Productsup accelerates industrial B2B success
Productsup empowers industrial B2B companies to manage, optimize, and syndicate their product data with unmatched speed and flexibility, regardless of whether a PIM system is in place. Here’s how:
- Flexible data integration and consolidation
Productsup acts as a centralized hub by consolidating and integrating data from multiple sources, such as ERP systems, custom databases, and Excel sheets. It serves as a virtual PIM, enabling businesses to integrate scattered product data into one cohesive, accurate repository, tailored for specific industry platforms or channels.
- Immediate focus on external requirements
Instead of waiting to align internal systems, Productsup adopts an outside-in approach from day one. It prioritizes channel-specific needs, ensuring data is ready to meet distributor, industry pool, and platform requirements quickly, reducing time-to-market delays.
- Automated data transformation and mapping
Productsup simplifies the complexity of adapting product data to match diverse taxonomies, such as ETIM classifications or Amazon categories. Automated tools ensure consistent, compliant exports aligned with the needs of each channel, eliminating manual inefficiencies.
- Supports future PIM implementation
By understanding external data demands, Productsup users can accelerate future PIM implementations, ensuring a seamless setup with precise and actionable data. You can gain insights into data alignment and channel requirements, eliminating the need for extensive rework when a PIM is introduced.
- Scalable for global and regional requirements
Productsup's flexible platform supports global standards and local requirements, making it easier for B2B industrial businesses to enter new markets or adapt to changing standards across different regions and industries.
Whether it’s aggregating and cleansing data centrally or addressing region-specific needs—such as ingesting a FAB-DIS file for the French market, generating a BMEcat catalog for a German distributor, adopting the newest ETIM xChange format to update the 2BA data pool, and even listing thousands of products on Amazon marketplace, ManoMano, and Leroy Merlin—Productsup ensures compliance and operational efficiency at every step.
With seamless syndication and AI-powered services, Productsup accelerates time-to-value by enabling industrial B2B companies to syndicate and transform product data immediately, helping them capture revenue faster and strengthen relationships with distributors and clients.
Start delivering value today with Productsup
Every day spent waiting is another day of missing out on potential revenue and gaining a competitive edge. With Productsup, you can streamline, adapt, and syndicate your product data immediately, no matter your internal setup.
Productsup’s P2C platform eliminates manual work and accelerates your time-to-market, ensuring your product data is optimized for every distributor and platform. And when your PIM does come into play, Productsup’s alignment with external requirements will enhance your PIM process, offering valuable insights and a smoother implementation.
Start leveraging Productsup Distribution PX and Marketplaces PX to drive efficiencies, create value from day one, improve revenue opportunities, stay agile with industry demands, and position your business for success in modern B2B commerce.
Don’t wait! Accelerate your time-to-value with Productsup, and let your data start working for you from today. Book a demo to see it in action.
Looking for more? Check out additional resources here.
- [Explore guide] Product content syndication in industrial manufacturing: A guide for PIM executives
- [Watch on-demand webinar] Fix it before it breaks: The inevitable digitalization of B2B commerce
- [Watch demo video] Build your own tailored platform demo