4 Things Every Online Seller Should Know about Product Information Management

1. Why Product Information Management is important

Have you ever searched for a product online only to receive meager results and thought, “I know there are more people selling this stuff, why can’t I find it?” Or maybe you got frustrated browsing a site because you had to scroll through pages and pages of unorganized products. The source of both of these common problems could be a lack of adequate product information management.

Managing products is a key component to the success of selling online.

• You need to get products to market quickly and with complete and accurate detail.
• Product data must be searchable so search engines can find them.
• You must offer and maintain a large product assortment.
• Items must be organized into collections to make shopping easier for the buyer.
• Updating product data should not break the bank or take so long that it’s prohibitive. (more…)

How “Mastering” Data in Microsoft Dynamics RMS and GP Overcomes Multi-Channel Sales Challenges

Let’s say that you just started as the new IT guru for a local manufacturer. This manufacturer has Microsoft Dynamics GP and three separate sales channels:

• An internal sales force that sells to wholesale customers
• A POS system (Microsoft Dynamics RMS) for their ten physical stores where they sell to consumers
• A website (powered by an eCommerce solution like Magento) where they sell to everyone

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Herschel Supply Manages Thousands of eCommerce Orders in Five Months Using nChannel Connector

Web-based multiple channel management impacts the successful growth of companies

COLUMBUS, OH, April 10, 2013 – nChannel, creator of cloud-based multi-channel management platform and exhibitor at this week’s Magento Imagine 2013 conference, is pleased to announce that The Herschel Supply Company has selected to use nChannel’s Magento and Microsoft Dynamics GP connectors to integrate their eCommerce and fulfillment systems. nChannel, in conjunction with Tacit Management Consulting, began the integration in November just in time to help Herschel streamline their fulfillment process for their critical holiday season. As a growing company, Herschel knew that continuing to manually entering eCommerce orders into their ERP system could bottleneck their growth. As a result of their nChannel integration Hershel has been able to process and fulfill thousands of orders across North America since November. (more…)

Holiday Inventory Management: Coping With Retail Seasonality

Holidays aren’t always so happy for a retailer with empty shelves of fast-selling items and overstocked rows of the not so popular ones. Inventory management is difficult enough all year round but it’s especially troublesome during the holiday season. It’s much easier to understand holiday inventory problems for a bricks-and-mortar store. But, with the advent of online shopping, these inventory challenges are compounded for both the traditional retailer and the online store.

Inventory Challenges: Why It Happens

Unless you’re a Mom-and-Pop store with limited product categories and SKUs, inventory problems for both online and real stores can be caused by:

• Unpredictable consumer demand – Tight economic conditions don’t always mean a drop in consumer demand. Sometimes, consumers tend to splurge, especially during holidays. This makes inventory planning almost a matter of behavioral psychology. On top of that, there’s no accounting for consumer tastes. (more…)