Specifications/Technical Information
Create data assets that will be the axis of DX! Issue 1 Importance and Issues of Product Master Data
In the retail, wholesale, and EC industries, product master data is an information asset that forms the basis for creating purchasing opportunities. In order to promote products and capture the interests of customers, it is necessary to effectively convey product information that meets customer needs. And you need to think about how to create your own information assets (product master data) that can be used for that purpose.
If you break down the process of capturing customer recognition and interest in the purchasing process, you will find that it is made possible by appealing to customers with "some sales and marketing measures" based on "product information data." In other words, we can see that the completeness of the product information data that can be used in the first place has a great impact on the sales and marketing measures in the subsequent processes and the creation of purchasing opportunities in the future. Conversely, when appealing product information to customers through some kind of marketing measures, if the data that is the source of the information is not sufficient, no matter what marketing measures are taken, the desired effect cannot be expected. I don't think so.
If you can increase the number of products and enrich product information, you can not only create purchasing opportunities when directly appealing, but also use those data to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts and analyze sales trends by product attribute. , It can be used to improve the search accuracy of your own EC site.
In this way, product master data is an information asset that will serve as the foundation for various DX measures in the future. In other words, building a product registration mechanism and system that efficiently increases the number of products, enriches the information of each product, and keeps the data up-to-date is a priority for many customers' DX. area.
Issues in current product registration work
1. It is not possible to increase the number of people in charge of product registration
In order to increase the number of products handled in the product registration process and the types of product attributes, it is necessary to assign new people to be in charge of product registration and carry out the work with more people. On the other hand, there are many cases where human resources cannot be allocated due to lack of manpower.
In Japan, the declining birthrate and aging population are progressing more rapidly than in other countries, and the working-age population peaked in 1995 and has been declining every year. The working-age population in 2020 is approximately 74.87 million, but it is predicted to decrease to 67.73 million in 2030.
https://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/whitepaper/ja/h28/html/nc111110.html
As the working-age population declines, recruitment activities become more competitive year by year, making it more difficult to recruit human resources. Under these circumstances, it is easy to assume that it will become more difficult to allocate human resources to product registration work, and as a result, it will not be possible to increase the number of products and product attribute information as desired. In addition, labor costs are expected to rise as the demand for human resources rises. In addition, it is becoming more difficult for small and medium-sized companies to recruit human resources compared to large companies, so even maintaining the current product registration system is becoming more difficult year by year. In order to continuously expand the business, it is necessary to radically reform the product registration process and start thinking about improving efficiency and productivity using technology.
2. Product registration work takes time
Persons in charge of product registration work are required to have certain skills. Roughly decomposing the product registration process,
(1) Collection and classification of product information
② Read product information and enter product information into the database
③ Content confirmation, inspection, content correction
There are three steps of
(1) The step of collecting and classifying product information is the process of collecting and sorting the product attribute information of the products we handle using various methods. There are cases where product information is sent from business partners and cases where information is collected by referring to websites, etc., but in each case, the format of product information varies.
Example: A product catalog is sent in PDF format.
Example Product price information is sent in Excel format
Example Browse the website and collect the necessary information
In order to handle different information sources and different product information formats, it is necessary for the person in charge to actually move and collect and classify the product information. If you need 3 minutes of work per item, 100 items will require 300 minutes, and 10,000 items will require 30,000 minutes (500 hours). In order to generate 30,000 minutes (500 hours) of man-hours, it is necessary to allocate about 3 people in charge only to this work for one month (1 man-month = 160 hours calculation). Of course, for shorter processing times, the weekly headcount that must be allocated increases.
②商品情報の読取とデータベースへの商品情報入力のステップでは、収集した情報を読み取ってデータベースへの入力を行うプロセスです。収集した商品情報を一つ一つ確認しながら、データベースへ情報の入力を行っていく必要があります。現在、多くの企業では、商品登録業務を担当者が手作業で実施しています。商品情報が載っているテキストファイルやEXCELファイル、カタログ等を目検で確認・内容を理解し、その情報をデータベースに写しかえるといった作業が発生しています。
商品数量が増えれば増えるほど、商品登録業務の工数は増大します。また、商品属性情報を多く登録すればするほど、一商品に対して必要な商品登録業務の工数が必要になります。
Example 100 products x 10 product attributes = 1000 column information input
Example 1000 products x 10 product attributes = 10000 column information input
Example 1000 products x 30 product attributes = 30000 column information input
The work of reading product information and entering product information into the database is a work that occurs continuously throughout the year. Also, during busy periods, such as when manufacturer part numbers change and when products are revised, the work load increases temporarily, but securing human resources to match the product volume during busy periods becomes more difficult for the reasons mentioned above. I will continue.
③内容確認・検品・内容修正のステップは、入力した情報の整合性をチェックし、間違った商品情報を修正・最終確認を行うプロセスです。データベースに入力された情報を、別の担当者が改めて目検で確認を行い、最終的に作成されたデータの正確性を担保します。このステップに関しても、現在多くの企業では、担当者が手作業で業務を実施しており、商品数量が増えれば増えるほど、商品情報の確認・修正の工数は膨大になります。また、商品属性情報を多く登録すればするほど、一商品に対して必要な商品登録業務の工数が必要になります。
1st summary
- Product master data is an important information asset that will serve as the foundation for future DX.
- It becomes more difficult to allocate people to product registration work year by year.
- 商品数が増えれば増えるほど、商品登録業務に必要な工数が膨大になっていく。
How can technology solve these challenges?
In Part 2of this special feature, we will look at these issues and solutions and actual examples using technology.
Contact information
Macnica
In charge of CrowdANALYTIX
- TEL：045-476-2010
- E-mail：cax-sales@macnica.co.jp
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