Why Your Product Data Drives Distributors Crazy
Top Data Challenges in Selling Products to Online Distributors
Selling products to online distributors—such as e-commerce marketplaces, wholesalers, or B2B platforms—presents unique data-related hurdles. After all, distributors don't just purchase a product; they need the data to go with it so they can, in turn, sell to their customers. These challenges often stem from the need for seamless digital integration, real-time synchronization, and high-quality information sharing in a multi-channel environment.
Here are a few of the most prominent product data issues that cause friction in the data exchange between manufacturers and their distributor customers:
Poor Data Quality and Completeness
You've got incomplete or outdated product data - missing specs, obsolete SKUs - and distributors are constantly bugging you for corrected information. This leads to:
- Slower onboarding
- Reduced visibility
- Lower search rankings
- Eroded trust between the manufacturer and distributor as well as between the distributor and their customers
...and ultimately de-prioritization of your brand, since you will be viewed as a "low score" supplier.
Your PIM system should make use of data cleansing and validation protocols prior to publication, and you should conduct regular audits across distributor data field requirements.
Lack of Digital Assets and Metadata
Customers are much more likely to purchase when they have a visual confirmation of the product, but manufacturers often leave it up to the distributor to locate images, and distributors don't usually have the time or resources to hunt for images or spec sheets for their whole catalog.
If you can provide your distributors with digital assets proactively, they will welcome that content with open arms, and your products will be more likely to reach the customer's view ahead of your competition. Make sure you also include the appropriate metadata to help the distributor link the asset to the SKU.
Data Inconsistency and Incompatibility Across Channels
Product data and content need to be aligned with each channel. The challenge is that regardless of what it's the distributor or the manufacturer that does the alignment, someone needs to do it. Larger distributors tend to force their manufacturer suppliers to provide data according to the distributor's data model. Smaller distributors typically receive data in the manufacturer's format and have to either present the data as received or transform it themselves.
Therefore, when distributors receive data that is not compatible with their data model, they either have to take the time to adjust it or reject it. Manufacturers need to focus on their biggest distribution channels and ensure they are providing data that is complete and usable downstream. Not only that, but manufacturers often lose data in the transformation process, leading to mismatched specs and attribute values in the wrong fields, unreadable description formatting, and empty attributes.
The Impact on Sales
The impact on sales can be substantial: up to 40% of B2B businesses report lost sales from data management as a top issue. Further, distributors will experience higher return rates due to buyer confusion, resulting in mistrust and lower customer satisfaction.
These challenges are interconnected and can compound, potentially costing distributors 10-20% in lost efficiency or revenue if unaddressed. For instance, inconsistent data not only affects immediate sales, but also long-term partnerships between manufacturers and key distributor partners.
The First Next Steps for Manufacturers
A PIM system that enables syndication to external data models will allow you to store your distributors' templates and export (via file and/or API) to those formats, so you don't have to adjust the data manually in spreadsheets or use a separate ETL or syndication tool.
To prioritize:
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Start with a data audit focused on your top distributors' requirements
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Understand which distributors have stringent requirements and which distributors will accept data without transformation
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Take a sample of your distributor base to understand which attributes matter most (e.g. for faceted browsing and search) so you can ensure you have ample, clean data for those fields.
This is one way to emphasize quality over quantity - hit the fields that matter and you may see conversions boosted by up to 17%.
Data Alignment with Your Distributors Means Beating Your Competition
The most fundamental aspect of the manufacturer/distributor data exchange is the fact that both organizations use different product data models - they each have separate, distinct catalogs with some overlap where the manufacturer's products appear in the distributor's catalog. The main challenge here is data alignment.
Syndication of data from the manufacturer to the distributor requires that at least one party does the work of mapping from one catalog to the other and adjusts the data accordingly. The problem is no one seems to have the time or resources to commit. After all, manufacturers sell to many distributors and can't cater data to everyone. Similarly, distributors purchase from many brands and need to cope with the variety of gaps and messy data handed to them from so many suppliers.
Many manufacturers are still new to understanding what best in class product data operations look like in B2B, which means there is a lot of opportunity to compete and win.
The manufacturers that take steps to align data with their key distributors will see increased sales, higher visibility in downstream catalogs, and can quickly outrank any of their competitors by committing to improving syndication.