Catalog Synchronization

OrderWare's Catalog Sychronization provides the framework to keep catalogs current.  Participants in a modern value chain must maintain current and accurate catalogs. This fact drives massive issues in the synchronization and accuracy of product data. These issues include converting product codes from supplier to internal codes (alias management), manual management of product codes that are causing errors, high administrative cost of product data management, changes to product data (price, description, availability, location or identifiers) while sales and purchase orders are still in progress, and the grouping and presentation of product information to internal and external user groups. All these issues contribute to cost and efficiency losses. Catalog Synchronization is the management of the processes of adding new products into inventory and publishing that information to internal users and business partners.

Key processes in managing catalogs:

• Product data integration for structured and unstructured information
• Company catalog and item master maintenance
• Product Data Management, corrections and change management
• Item approval process
• Publication of catalogs internally and externally
• Synchronization of catalog information with suppliers, distributors, agents, websites and internal systems.
• Supplier catalog accuracy monitoring

Common challenges that are addressed by OrderWare’s Catalog Synchronization solution include:

• Frequent product mix changes by suppliers and agents
• Volatile prices – need for rules based automation of standard costs and price changes based on currency and procurement cost changes
• Multiple and changing sources of supply – linking of the new sources to catalog codes and association of product information
• Broad range of products and categories – providing exception based management of catalogs and
• Need for centralized master data management of the product catalog – electronic feeds to central product management group for review and approval followed by automated dissemination to all supply chain partners
• Distributed approval process for product information changes – organization driven process for approval of products and partner supplied catalogs and product information using business rules, and unified globally accessible process.
• Integration to GS1 and trading partners – participation in global trading networks and product information pools.

This solution is highly configurable so contact us to discuss your solution requirements.

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