As a manufacturer in the Tools, Equipment, & Industrial Companies industry, you are constantly seeking ways to enhance your product offerings and improve your overall e-commerce strategy. With the rise of online shopping, it is more important than ever to have accurate, up-to-date product information available at your fingertips. That’s where Product Information Management (PIM) comes in.
By leveraging PIM for industrial tools Shopify store, you can streamline your data management processes, eliminate errors, and provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers. With a centralized platform for managing your product information, you can ensure that your products are consistently represented across all your sales channels.
In this blog, we will explore the advantages of integrating PIM for Shopify and how it can help you stand out as a manufacturer in the competitive Tools, Equipment, & Industrial Companies.
Digital Transformation: Industrial Tools Manufacturing with Shopify
By moving online, industrial tool manufacturers can take advantage of the growing B2B e-commerce market and transform their brands.
It’s important to keep up with changing demands and meet the expectations of the next generation of customers. A robust online presence will help increase sales, brand recognition, and revenue.
Prospective customers in the B2B market tend to research online before reaching out to a company, with 75% of buyers conducting their research before making contact. By having an online presence, manufacturers can reach the right prospects and allow them to find them easily.
Shopify provides an efficient solution for manufacturers to set up an online store and expand their revenue streams.
Direct-to-consumer sales can lead to a better connection with end-users, giving brands more control over their interactions and image. Additionally, quick feedback from online stores can help target new or emerging audiences.
E-commerce Challenges Industrial Tools Manufacturers Face
The growth of e-commerce has presented many opportunities for industrial tool manufacturers but has also brought about new challenges.
Here we have listed the possible challenges that industrial tool manufacturers may face in the industry;
- Competition
- Authenticity and Security
- Inaccurate data
- Slow shift to online
- Time to market
- Handling multiple teams or systems
1. Competition
The increasing number of eCommerce platforms has made it easier for consumers to purchase industrial tools online. In a highly competitive market, many other companies are likely offering similar products and services, making attracting and retaining customers more challenging.
As a result, industrial tool manufacturing companies now face intense competition from both brick-and-mortarWhat are Brick and Mortar? Brick and Mortar is a business with at least one physical store for the sale of its storefront. Hence it is... More stores and online sellers. The competition is not limited to price but also product availability, shipping options, and customer service.
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2. Authenticity and Security
Product authenticity and security are major concerns for online buyers of industrial tools. Consumers are often concerned about the quality and safety of the products they purchase online, especially when they need to physically inspect the products before buying.
As a result, online buyers may be hesitant to purchase industrial tools from unfamiliar or untrusted sellers, which can lead to questions about the authenticity of the products. For industrial tool manufacturing companies, this can result in a loss of sales and damage to their reputation.
3. Inaccurate Data
Manufacturing companies often have interconnected systems, which can lead to inaccurate data if not managed properly. Data silos, or isolated storage systems, can result in a human error because information may not be correctly transferred from one system to another. 1
Additionally, manual data checking is only sometimes thorough and can miss errors, leading to inaccuracies in product information such as pricing, availability, and specifications.
4. Slow Shift to Online
Manufacturing companies have been slow to adopt e-commerce because they rely on distributors and retailers to link to the online world. Their priority was maintaining long-term relationships with these partners rather than transitioning to e-commerce.
However, with the rapid advancement of commerce, companies in the manufacturing sector may now need to embrace digital transformation and adapt to the changes in the market, which may require a learning process.
5. Time to Market
It is a critical factor for companies operating in the online world’s fast-paced and competitive environment. Companies with numerous SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) or a large variety of products across multiple categories may need help to bring new collections to market quickly.
This is because adding new products involves various processes, such as research and development, production, testing, and distribution, which can take significant time and resources.
6. Handling multiple teams or systems.
Managing product information involves coordination and cooperation between multiple teams and systems within a company. If these teams and systems do not communicate and share information effectively, the result is often a fragmentation of data, leading to the creation of “data silos.”
This can result in duplicate, inconsistent, or outdated information, causing a threat to the quality and accuracy of product information.
Boosting Your Shopify Revenue with PIM for Industrial Tools
Product Information Management (PIM) systems help centralize and standardize product data, making it easier for businesses to manage and distribute accurate information about their products.
Here, we have listed some ways in which PIM helps manufacturers brandish their online stores.
- Efficient product catalog management
- Highlighting Key Technical Features of Products
- Content management
- Shopify Collection Management with PIM
- Meta Fields setup
1. Efficient Product Catalog Management
Industrial companies with large product catalogs face challenges in efficiently uploading and managing their product data on e-commerce platforms like Shopify.
PIM for industrial tools can simplify this process by providing a centralized system to manage product information, reducing the complexity of updating and organizing product data. 2
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i. Centralizing scattered data
The use of PIM software can help gather scattered product data from various sources such as Excel spreadsheets, files, and other systems. This centralized product information system helps bulk upload onto an e-commerce platform like Shopify and saves time.
ii. Uploading and updating the bulk
PIM organizes all the product data and their attributes into categories, making updates and editing easier. The faceted search function helps to identify and update specific subtypes of products in bulk.
iii. Adding more products
The centralized database of PIM allows for a more organized and systematic process of adding new products, reducing time-to-market for manufacturers.
iv. Publishing catalogs
PIM allows for the feed of product information onto InDesign for publishing digital and print catalogs. This eliminates the risk of outdated or incorrect information, ensuring that the information in the catalog is the same as in the leading online store.
Using PIM for industrial tools reduces product complexity when selling on Shopify and improves the process of traditional or other selling channels.
2. Highlighting Key Technical Features of Products
PIM’s foundation is based on data governance, which outlines the procedures in the PIM system that adhere to the company’s established standards for product data. This is crucial for manufacturers of industrial products, tools, and equipment to maintain accurate data.
i. Product Data Cleaning
Errors in product data can harm a company’s reputation and relationship with customers, especially in B2B industries. To maintain a trustworthy image, it’s important for companies to have clean and accurate product information.
By using a PIM system to cleanse and standardize data automatically, a Shopify store can provide complete and consistent information to shoppers, reducing the risk of mistakes.
ii. Dynamic Product Display
Shopify stores require high-quality product images to provide a visually engaging experience to customers. A minimum of 4-7 images is recommended.
A PIM system allows for storing additional digital assets such as instructions, diagrams, and 360-degree spin images to showcase the product, fully providing an in-person online experience.
3. Content Optimization
Promoting your Shopify store is important to optimize and enhance your content. Search engines are the primary source for online searches, so having high-quality, informative, and unique content is critical for attracting more eyes to your product pages.
You can differentiate your brand by creating content that is tailored to your target audience and buyer persona. 3
A PIM system can automate manual tasks and help you manage content effectively. You can also use PIM to check the completeness of your product pages and grade your content’s quality. Using these features, you can ensure that your content is top-notch and optimized for search engines.
4. Shopify Collection Management with PIM
To optimize the product taxonomy structure, grouping products into collections based on common attributes, such as seasonal themes, product type, or industrial usage is important. This helps customers find what they’re looking for more quickly and improves the overall user experience on your Shopify store.
Additionally, automating collections can ensure that all new products are correctly categorized and easily accessible. A well-organized site structure can reduce bounce rates and increase conversions, leading to more revenue for your business.
5. Meta Fields Setup
Metafields are custom attributes on a product page in Shopify. 4 They can be added manually through the Shopify interface or an app with the use of Liquid template language.
However, using a PIM system that can bulk update meta fields through an API is more efficient, as this will save time and ensure all data is validated.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Shopify offers opportunities for businesses in the industrial tools sector to increase brand awareness and sales through online stores. However, there are challenges with managing product data and content online, but integrating PIM for industrial tools stores can solve these issues.
Don’t let these challenges hold you back from reaching your true potential! Apimio PIM is the solution you’ve been searching for. With Apimio PIM, you’ll save time, reduce costs, and skyrocket your sales to new heights. So why wait? Take control of your brand and invest in our PIM today!
What to do next?
- Want to know more about PIM-Shopify integration? Head on to our blog.
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Frequently Asked Questions
PIM helps manufacturers improve their product data accuracy and consistency, streamline workflows, and increase productivity.
Some common challenges include data integration, managing large volumes of data, and ensuring data consistency across multiple systems.
PIM automates many manual tasks involved in managing product data, such as data entry and distribution, freeing up time for manufacturers to focus on other important tasks.
- Data Silos:https://www.talend.com/resources/what-are-data-silos/[↩]
- Product Catalog Management: https://www.sana-commerce.com/blog/ecommerce-catalog-management-best-practices/[↩]
- Content Optimization:https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-optimization-guide/[↩]
- Meta Fields: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/custom-data/metafields/metafield-definitions/creating-custom-metafield-definitions[↩]
