Launching and marketing new or existing products in a highly competitive online market isn’t easy. High quality branding and product master data is critical for success. Emma Morrison from GS1 explains how its National Product Catalogue and Smart Media can help. This article first appeared in the October 2021 issue of Food and Drink Business.
In 2020, Australians buying online increased by 57 per cent year on year. To be successful in this crowded market requires a well-oiled supply chain that sets you apart from the crowd and grows your sales across retail digital platforms.
Developing and manufacturing your product are the first steps. Once you have your product, then comes the packaging, labelling, barcodes, just to name a few.
But what happens next?
How do you give your product the best chance in an overcrowded marketplace and how do you meet retailer requirements?
Essentially there are two parts to solving this product puzzle.
The first is about product master data and how this is important to an efficient, well-oiled supply chain. The second part relates to your product and brand’s visual identity in the eCommerce space.
GS1 Australia realises the importance of supporting business and knows that product images and content are integral to both growing sales and a successful supply chain.
Product master data
Managing and sharing data for new products and updates between trading partners can often be complicated. Studies have repeatedly found high levels of data inaccuracy and misalignment between and across supplier and retailer systems.
KPMG’s recent report, Unlocking the Value of Tomorrow’s Retail, says master data “defines the attributes of an organisation’s products, customers and suppliers, is and always has been a core component of business operations, providing essential information, and serving as an enabler of efficiency across many aspects of business.”
Although this is true, a company’s product master data is only as good as the input information.
“Businesses that neglect their master data will only realise after it’s too late that quality data is no longer a competitive advantage, but an exception,” KPMG says.
GS1’s National Product Catalogue (NPC) is used by major retailers including Woolworths and Coles and is a solution that enables the user to enter, validate, maintain and share all product information including pricing, trade and marketing related details.
The NPC provides critical information for retailers and is one source of truth. It’s a permanent record in terms of product data and they can go back any time and retrieve that information.
You can maintain data integrity and alignment in systems both internally and externally, across retailer systems. All product updates are in real-time and delivered automatically to trading partners.
George Georgiou, Food & Nutrition NPC projects manager for PZ Cussons says: “The NPC provides critical information for retailers and is one source of truth. It’s a permanent record in terms of product data and they can go back any time and retrieve that information.”
The main benefits of this service include greater data accuracy and visibility, improved stock levels in the supply chain, and a reduction in administration, and therefore costs. While the NPC helps decrease the misidentification of products, it also provides a foundation for rapid product recall and precise product tracking.
Coles head of supply James Hulse says: “As retailers, including Coles, continue to invest in a technology led supply chain, data integrity is becoming an ever increasingly important attribute.”
Images and content
So, what about photography? Although it sounds simple, brand owners often underestimate the importance of their visual identity online.
High quality product images are not only critical for helping boost sales, but images also need to meet certain retailer
specifications and standards for compliance.
Elyptol president and CEO Tim O’Connor says: “With experienced marketing people taking photographs, we don’t do any of that anymore and it’s saving us an enormous amount of time and mistakes.”
Another important element that retailers need for eCommerce is on-pack data including information such as allergens, dietary, nutrition, storage instructions, country of origin, and so on.
GS1 Australia Service and Customer Engagement manager Mark Blitenthall says: “Consumers can look up the product based on its description, be presented with a range of other information about the product such as the allergens it might contain. As people become more conscious of the food they consume, they are looking for specific ingredients, so it is integral that brand owners provide this information. Consumer expectations are evolving too, therefore people keep expecting more detail on ingredients.”
GS1 Smart Media is a complete digital marketing solution which enables you to store, capture and share your product content including images, with retailers and marketplaces. All your product images are stored in a single location and comply with retailer standards and specifications.
Metcash Food & Grocery national shelf manager Michael Joiner says Smart Media is an ideal solution for receiving product information from suppliers. “It definitely saves us time and effort downloading images, digital assets and other data.”
Regardless of whether you’re a new or existing seller, Smart Media is the preferred retailer platform for sharing images and digital assets with trading partners. It provides peace-of-mind knowing you are meeting retailer requirements as well as the opportunity to sell more product.
GS1 Product Photography provides high quality product images, including 2D and 3D photography, and specialises in innovative photography including lighting, spritzing, concept and stylised photography for digital and print.
Envy Distilling director Nathan Wheat says: “We were thrilled with our product images which were beautiful, crisp shots on a clean background – exactly what we needed for our online store and social media.”
GS1 is also offering complementary services:
1. renders – high quality photo-realistic 2D and 3D product images for marketing and pre-visualisation;
2. mobile ready hero images that allow customers to browse products on all mobile devices, anywhere, anytime and view call-outs;
3. clipping paths to ensure your product images can be used in any marketplace, on any background; and
4. romance or marketing copy for a unique on-brand narrative so customers can connect with your product in a crowded marketplace.
A new primary product portal
Later this year and into early 2022, GS1 Australia will be integrating Smart Media and the National Product Catalogue into one service.
Brand owners will soon be able to access and maintain all their product master data, images and digital content in one central location.
For Amy’s Kitchen country manager Hayley Hutton, the consolidation will enhance the service.
“The main benefit for us is that we will be able to manage all product master data and images in one central location. While we access and maintain data and assets in a single interface, Woolworths will receive all our product information in a single feed,” Hutton says.
A significant milestone for all current users of both services and also new users, the main benefit of this development is that all product data and images will be consolidated into one main interface or a “single feed”, making it easier and simpler to load, maintain and share all product information relating to pricing, on pack data and much more.
