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. Here’s how GS1’s National Product Catalogue and Smart Media can help.

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 e-commerce 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.

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 at 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.

Images and content

So, what about photography? Although it sounds simple, brand owners often underestimate the importance of their visual identity online.

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 also offers other services:

• Renders – high quality photo-realistic 2D and 3D.
• Product images for marketing and pre-visualisation.
• Mobile ready hero images that allow customers to browse products on all mobile devices, anywhere, anytime and view call-outs.
• Clipping paths to ensure your product images can be used in any marketplace, on any background.
• 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

GS1 Australia will soon 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.

For more information visit www.gs1au.org.