How to speed up supply chain resilience with smart product data

Supply chains have been through the ringer since the turn of the decade. Forward-thinking players at all levels have survived and thrived due to smart data practices, particularly by leveraging product information to understand better and respond to current and future risks.

Brands, suppliers, distributors, and others who have failed to leverage the abundant data available have had a harder time navigating the market.

Building resilience, in either case, will require using the best available technology to harness, analyze, and ultimately act upon product data.

• Why product data belongs in supply chain conversations 
• What happens when your product data works against you
• How centralized product data powers supply chain agility
• How smart product data improves forecasting and fulfillment
• Why supply chain transparency starts with connected product data
• How a modern PIM supports supply chain resilience

Why product data belongs in supply chain conversations 

It’s easy to assume that the biggest impact product data has is on marketing. To be clear, strong product data is essential for effective marketing and sales efforts. But the effects of product data are also felt across the supply chain in many other capacities.

Enriched, accurate product data plays a key role in operations, logistics, and supply chain responsiveness. Manufacturers and retailers alike rely on product information to plan for, detect, and respond to fluctuations in the market. They require strong, centralized data and actionable insights to better understand past and present operations and forecast the future.

Moreover, product data impacts brands whether they utilize it or not. Failure to harness and account for data intentionally can hamper progress at best and cause system-wide harm at worst. In contrast, effective product data operations set the stage for immediate, sustained success.

Another consideration here is that product data is key to future-proofing the supply chain across all its touchpoints. For instance, in an agentic environment where buyers are using artificial intelligence to power more and more of their decisions, structuring data for humans and bots is critical.

Ultimately, by optimizing your product data for all readers, you can make your products—and your brand—more discoverable.

What happens when your product data works against you

Aside from the positives of optimal data practices, failing to collect and act on product data effectively exposes all stakeholders in the supply chain to operational risks.

Some specific pain points that suboptimal product data practices contribute to include:

• SKU issues: Brands and retailers managing stock keeping unit (SKU) data without a centralized system can fall into the trap of adding too many product lines without the capacity to manage them (“SKU proliferation”). This can lead to SKU mismatches.

• Labeling errors: Issues with SKU and other inventory management can result in outdated or inaccurate labeling. This can lead to customer dissatisfaction due to unmet expectations, as well as noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• Manual updates: Fragmented data systems often rely on inefficient manual input and quality control processes. These systems can generate wasteful duplicate work and potentially compromise information quality in terms of accuracy and consistency.

• Supply chain delays: All of these issues can compound and create delays for both supply chain entities and end customers. Data inaccuracies and inefficiencies can delay listing, shipment, replenishment, returns, and customer service.

These issues are felt across the supply chain, and their impacts can multiply across different stakeholders. 
For example, SKU proliferation itself, without mismatching or errors, can have drastic operational impacts on small business retailers. These can then bounce back to suppliers through unexpected business loss or an inability to predict growth.

How centralized product data powers supply chain agility

One of the most significant benefits centralized data provides supply chain stakeholders is the power of agility. An expert writing for Forbes argues that all supply chain resiliency starts with data. 

In particular, dynamic, real-time data provides visibility into what’s happening throughout every touchpoint in the supply chain, overcoming barriers to clear communication and transparency that are the root cause of so many supply chain issues.

Centralized, well-structured data allows teams across the supply chain to detect and respond more swiftly to shifts in demand or supply disruptions. 

Forbes’ expert highlights how “small tech” solutions in particular enable efficiency and cost-effectiveness through bespoke dashboards and POS integrations. 

When used in conjunction with larger, legacy platforms for general business functions, product information contributes to smoother overall operations.

Another resilience benefit centralized product information provides is the capacity to manage multi-channel fulfillment needs. 

Speed, in particular, is crucial when operating across multiple channels. McKinsey found that nearly 50% of omnichannel consumers would shop elsewhere because of delayed deliveries—in the US, exceeding three days can be a dealbreaker.

Agility is also crucial to the future-proofing potential noted above. Forecasting what’s coming is half the battle; the other half is being ready and willing to respond when things don’t go as planned or expected. Smart product information benefits both parties. 

Centralizing product information allows for fast and efficient data processing, which powers faster operations at every point along the supply chain, from production to delivery.

How smart product data improves forecasting and fulfillment

Not all product data is created equal. To harness the full power latent in every supply chain data point, stakeholders need to target smart data to mobilize as information. 

This enriched data supports better planning, accurate availability status updates, and faster time-to-shelf. 
Qualities to seek out in trustworthy, powerful, smart data include but are not limited to:

• Accuracy: Smart data accurately describes contents, materials, production details (to the extent required or expected), and other minutiae that supply chain entities rely on for operations and end customers use to make informed purchasing decisions.

• Completeness: Smart data is comprehensive, encompassing metadata and other essential elements required for tracking and business operations. Additionally, sustainability information is provided for conscious consumers and in preparation for future EU regulations.

• Synchronization: Smart data reflects the most recent available information, with real-time dynamic updates being ideal, whenever possible. Stakeholders should be notified of any significant changes to product information and have these changes reflected in their dashboards.

• Consistency: Smart data is uniform in structure and compatible across multiple platforms, with flexible configurations that cater to widely disparate accessibility needs. For example, product information may be localized or localizable across global contexts.

Controlling for these qualities ensures that more data can be leveraged as usable intelligence, rather than being all noise and no signal. The other major component in maximizing the benefits of smart data for supply chain resilience is ensuring this data is integrated system-wide.

Why supply chain transparency starts with connected product data

Aligning product data across all supply chain touchpoints, from development to logistics and digital commerce, enables cross-functional visibility and transparency. This means transforming data points into impactful product information and intelligence. 

On a practical level, it also means eliminating silos and creating a responsive, resilient supply chain—one that benefits all stakeholders mutually.

The most effective way to achieve these goals is to implement a robust product information management (PIM) solution that collects, enriches, distributes, and evaluates your data.

Data products with connected product information generate significant tactical benefits, including:

• Inventory management: Stakeholders rely on granular visibility into goods, parts, and components for accurate projections, adequate stocking, swift time-to-market, and more specialized operations (such as tracking replacements, returns, and alternative parts).

• Exposure assessment: Smart data managed effectively can provide transparency across supplier and distributor exposure. This gives brands and other stakeholders larger and more flexible windows in which to plan and execute recovery protocols.

• Supplier onboarding: Smooth data practices enable fast and efficient onboarding for suppliers and other stakeholders. Beyond efficiency in normal circumstances, this benefit is especially crucial during supply disruptions, as it helps minimize downstream effects.

• Distributor management: Maintaining high-quality data operations also enables brands to understand distributor performance effectively. This allows the identification of patterns, projection of top performers, and optimization based on both existing and potential distribution partners.

• Granular price monitoring: Granular tracking and frequent, near-real-time updates keep stakeholders informed about pricing information across the value chain, from parts and labor to distributor rates, indexed according to location and supplier quality.

• Procurement optimization: Similarly, smart product information enables procurement at optimal times for volatile materials subject to price fluctuations. Remove the guesswork and lower costs by timing markets with precision.

Again, implementing a powerful PIM solution is the best way to reap these benefits.

How a modern PIM supports supply chain resilience

Supply chains have weathered one storm after another over the past 5+ years. For this reason, resilience has become more critical than ever, and building effective product data systems is key to supercharging resilience efforts. It also has knock-on benefits across all operations.

Implementing a solution like Inriver’s PIM platform ensures supply chain resilience by providing real-time access to data. It minimizes manual work and the likelihood of errors or inaccuracies by automating repetitive tasks and consolidating data processes into a single, centralized system. 

Additionally, it keeps stakeholders aligned with smart, powerful information and actionable insights on which products are performing well and which aren’t, across markets, along with the reasons why.

These features work together to keep supply chains both responsive and resilient—proactive rather than reactive—to survive and thrive in today’s climate and beyond. To learn more about how Inriver PIM can revolutionize your resilience, get in touch today.