Cloud Native – What does this Mean?

Cloud native stands for applications which are developed exclusively for operation in a cloud datacenter such as, for example, Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also defines a software development method on the basis of which applications are designed from the get-go for “exclusive use” in the cloud, as it is the case for ATAMYA Product Cloud. The result of this are cloud-native applications (NCAs) that make full use of the strengths of the cloud-computing architecture.

 

What Advantages do Cloud-Native Applications Provide to Companies?

Companies that utilize cloud-native applications by developers such as ATAMYA enjoy many privileges. Before anything else, this includes the ease with the solution can be scaled, organizational flexibility, access from anywhere, and, of course, reduced operation and hardware costs. In order to draw from the full potential available, companies need to opt for applications which are specifically engineered for and which can be operated in a cloud environment. And it is here where cloud native plays a decisive role.

 

Cloud Native and Microservices – Synergy with Benefits

Providers of cloud-native software invest a lot of development resources into the cloud-native approach. The effort centers around programming applications in the form of individual microservices which run on container-based, agile platforms, as opposed to the classic approach with “on-premises” (for local operation).

 

The Four Central Pillars of a Cloud-Native Application

To this end, a cloud-native application rests on four pillars that reciprocally complement each other. This includes microservices and container technologies that are developed specifically for the cloud environment and constitute foundational elements in cloud-native development, coupled with continuous delivery and standardized APIs (interfaces):

(1) A microservice fulfills exactly one function and is housed in a container together with all necessary functions required for its operation.

(2) Containers, in turn, are portable and provide development teams with a high degree of flexibility when it comes to testing and rolling out new services.

(3) To achieve this end, continuous delivery is added as the third central pillar defining cloud-native applications. Cloud-native apps are created in close collaboration between the development teams and operation teams, commonly referred to as DevOps. This collaboration is what allows you to add new software features to a microservice without the need to interrupt the operation of the software with maintenance downtimes for updates. Thanks to continuous-delivery processes, new software features are rolled out automatically.

Cloud-native applications are composed out of multiple individual microservices. What connects everything with everything is the communication established with (4) standardized APIs. From the end user’s point of view, everything runs and feels like one single coherent application.

 

High Scalability of the Cloud Service

Cloud-native-software such as ATAMYA Product Cloud distinguishes itself thanks to its system stability and high degree of automation. An improvement in performance does not necessarily entail the need to scale up the entire software but, instead, scaling up individual microservices that operate independently from one another – while still boosting the application’s total performance.

On-premises software often times comes with a downtime for the roll-out of updates of the respective services. Cloud-native apps enable developer teams to roll out software changes such as new software features in real time without interruptions of services. As a result, there are no notable limitations when updating or upgrading the service.

 

Strong Points of Cloud-Native Applications

Putting everything together, what are the most important advantages of using cloud-native apps?

• The most important reason lies in the flexibility. A company can react in a flexible manner to needs and scale the app as necessary. Growing requirements do not translate into expensive hardware upgrades.
• Using an application with so-called “multitenant capacity,” multiple companies share one and the same cloud infrastructure, leading to enormous cost advantages. As part of this, built-in security mechanisms or separate data storages for individual customers fulfill the corporate data compliance requirements.
• Companies no longer need IT professionals on standby for the operation of apps. All this is taken care of by the provider of the cloud service, translating into even more cost savings.
• In cloud-native apps, updates and software changes are available instantly. This allows companies to respond to customer requirements in the most flexible and fastest possible manner.
• The high degree of automation minimizes the risk of human configuration and operation errors.

The rapid availability, simple scalability, cost savings, and a relatively high reliability come together to constitute a decisive competitive edge for companies.

Sustainability and Customer Retention: The Digital Product Pass in Focus

One Further Step Towards the Future

In April 2024, the European Parliament gave their go for the so-called “Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation” (ESPR) with focus on the introduction of the Digital Product Pass, DPP in short. It comes with fundamental changes which open up an entirely new paradigm of how products are presented and managed. This innovative solution promises not only improvements in the circular economy and an increase in both transparency and sustainability, but also strengthens the relation between company and customer. However, what exactly does this concept mean for companies in detail and how can you make the most out of the benefits provided by the Digital Product Pass?

 

What is a Digital Product Pass?

At first glance, the concept of a “Digital Product Pass” appears to be something like the passport you use for travelling – a metaphor which is, in fact, more than apt.

This is because the DPP documents the “journey” of your product. It’s the central space collecting all information about the lifecycle of all your products: from the first industrial blueprints to the finishing touches – in the near future, your customers will have the possibility to browse the journey of their desired product at the click of a button. Instead of hunting for relevant information for hours, they can, for example, simply scan the CR code via smartphone app in a quick and easy manner.

 

Establishing the Conditions for the Digital Product Pass

Even though the specific requirements for the content of product passes are still in development as far as individual industry sectors are concerned, companies can already act as early as today. In the process, however, you’re to tackle the following challenges:

1. Data Integration and Management: In the future, retailers must gather and integrate a comprehensive set of data about their products. This doesn’t only include fundamental product information such as dimensions and technical properties but also details such as materials, manufacturing methods, environmental pollution rate, recycling options, and much more. Here, high data quality, consistency, and validity are decisive when it comes to fulfilling all these requirements.
2. Compliance: Companies now face the challenge to take a wide range of new regulations into consideration – and implement them accordingly. This includes, for example, the REACH regulation, the RohS directive, CE marking, different ISO norms, data protection regulations (GDPR), as well as strict IT security guidelines.
3. Investments and Resources: A successful implementation of the Digital Product Pass requires investments in technologies and professional training, perhaps even additional personnel.
4. Change Management: To make optimal use of the Digital Product Pass, you must accelerate your data processes. At the same time, it’s imperative to adjust your corporate structure in order to promote the internal acceptance rate and use of the DPP. This entails that employees are open for new technologies and ready to adjust their working style accordingly.
5. Technologies and Infrastructure: Companies need state-of-the-art systems and applications which can handle the processes revolving around data processing and organizing following the most recent methods and best practices – on top of that, they should also be easy to integrate into your existing system environment and structures.

 

Benefits of the Digital Product Pass

The Digital Product Pass may only be an EU regulation as of now, however it also offers several advantages for companies:

1. Increased Customer Satisfaction and Retention: In the times of ever-increasing customer expectations, DPP enables companies to inform customers about their products in a holistic manner. It offers detailed insights into the origin, composition, and production processes of all your products. This transparency strengthens the trust and increases the satisfaction rate of customers significantly.
2. Boosting Sustainability and Efficiency: With DPP, companies have the possibility to design their processes in a more efficient and sustainable manner. The high transparency of data allows you to discover errors quickly and, consequently, lower costs, improve production chains, and use resources more effectively. This, in turn, attracts new customers and boosts the trust received by existing customers drastically, since sustainability has advanced to become in increasingly more important sales argument to consumers. In a survey conducted by IBM in the year of 2022, 51 percent of all interviewed participants have stated that sustainability is even more important to them than it was 12 month before.
3. Transparency as a Competitive Edge: By providing transparent and detailed product information, companies can be streets ahead of the competition. When customers know exactly what they’re paying for and when the product matches their expectations, they gain a sense of security and are more likely to remain loyal to your brand and opt for products made by the same company in the future.
4. Environmental Protection and Trust: By conforming to the DPP, you don’t only conform with legal environmental protection regulations but you also demonstrate to your customers that your company proactively contributes to a green environment. Ecosensitive companies can strengthen their brand and win the trust of green-minded customers.
5. Understanding Customers Better: By analyzing the consumer behavior and expectations, companies gain deeper insights into the customers’ wishes. Equipped with this, more strategic adjustments can be made to products, information, and services.
6. Collaboration in the Supply Chain: In the future, companies will collaborate more tightly with suppliers across the entire supply chain. This opens up new changes for well-synced partners and efficient collaboration.

 

The Role of a PIM System for the Digital Product Pass

The pros of a Digital Product Pass demonstrate that well-organized product data is the core ingredient for fulfilling all requirements and securing the decisive competitive edge. In order to provide, maintain, and optimize the entire spectrum of the required data in a sustainable manner, it’s best practice to make use of an innovative software solution. PIM systems offer just the right functions to this end, allowing you to enrich data objects with DPP-conform information such as material regulations, recycling options, as well as data governance information, on top of environment standards. Not least, all this also contributes to improving transparency and sustainability.

1. Data Centralization and Consolidation: One of the greatest challenges is the collection and integration of all relevant product data from various internal and external sources. PIM systems offer a central platform on which all data can be consolidated and maintained. This secures both data quality and up-to-dateness.
2. Improving Efficiency through Automation: Managing large quantities of data manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. PIM systems enable the automation of processes through which you can design workflows more efficiently. This reduces the manual effort required for data management and improves the overall allocation of resources.
3. Controlling the Data Quality: With functions revolving around the validation and cleaning of data, both the correctness and exactness of product information can be guaranteed.
4. Conforming to Norms and Compliance: A PIM system offers an overview of all relevant norms and makes sure that the necessary information is provided pursuant to legal requirements.
5. Smooth Data Exchange: Through the smooth integration of a PIM system into the existing IT system landscape, all connected systems gain direct access to up-to-date information around the clock. This allows for an efficient collaboration.

The data transmission between a PIM system and the Digital Product Pass depends on your preferred method of implementing product passes. What matters the most are the processes: should your product pass include live data or be updated by data validation workflows? You can transmit data either in a scheduled manner or directly upon update. A PIM solution can flexibly adapt to your processes in order to supply the Digital Product Pass with up-to-date and relevant information.

 

Chances Provided by the DPP

The implementation of the Digital Product Pass constitutes a crucial step towards an environment-friendly and transparent circular economy as well as long-term customer retention. Companies should seize the possibilities provided and already start preparing for this novelty in order to exhaust the full potential of DPP. The introduction of a PIM system forms a valuable foundation which can facilitate the transition to the Digital Product Pass and support you in living up to your customer’s expectations when it comes to the ever-increasing data quality standards.

Competitiveness as the Key Motivator for Using PIM in Data Governance

The global market for data governance is estimated to increase to 7.42 billion US dollar by 2026 and will reach an annual growth rate of 22.7 percent (source: dataversity.net). In the digital e-commerce landscape, where more and more companies are competing for relevance and competitiveness, the effective implementation of data governance plays a decisive role. To this end, Product Information Management (PIM) is the key that enables customers to make more well-informed decisions and handle the ever-evolving challenges in compliance and data protection.

In this article, we shed light on the important role PIM plays in data governance and demonstrate how you can use it to optimize your processes. The following are the three central aspects we’ll being looking at:

• the role of PIM in data governance,
• applying PIM to data governance, and
• best practices.

Keep on reading to gain valuable insights and practice-oriented examples that will help you strengthen the data governance of your company and use PIM in an effective manner.

 

The Role of PIM in Data Governance

Product Information Management has advanced to be an indispensable tool in today’s data governance. In a world in which data has become one of the most valuable resources, PIM enables companies to centralize, edit, and distribute their product information centrally.

• Centralized Data Management: A PIM system offers a central platform where all product information can be stored and processed. This reduces risks, data inconsistencies, and redundancy while grounding a uniform data source to which all corporate departments have controlled access.
• Improved Data Quality: PIM systems come with built-in validation and data cleansing functions which you can mobilize to secure the accuracy and completeness of data. The result is high-quality data on the basis of which well-informed decisions can be made.
• Efficient Distribution: With PIM, you can distribute product information effortlessly into various target channels, be it your website, catalogs, or an e-commerce platform. This makes for a consistent brand presentation and improves customer satisfaction.

 

Roles and Responsibilities of the People Involved

When implementing and managing a PIM system, you have to clearly distinguish between the following roles and corresponding responsibilities:

• PIM Administrators: They’re in control of the implementation, configuration, and maintenance of the system. They make sure that the PIM system is compatible with other IT systems and runs smoothly.
• Data Controllers: They monitor the data quality, carry out data cleansings, and are responsible for the validation of new data.
• End Users: This includes all those people in your company which will use the PIM system for daily use cases, update product information, and search or distribute relevant data.
• Stakeholders: Lastly, this group consists of the management in marketing, sales, and other corporate departments who require data saved in the PIM.

Objectives and General Conditions

During the implementation of the PIM in data governance, well-defined objectives and framework conditions are crucial.

Goal: One major objective is to improve the data quality and integrity, increase the efficiency of business processes, and establish a consistent customer experience across all target channels.

1. Framework Conditions: This entails the definition of standards for editing data, the setup of processes for data imports and updates, as well as assigning responsibilities.
2. To successfully realize the data governance in your company, you’ll need to have a good picture of the significance PIM plays therein and actively strive towards making sure it’s firmly embedded in your business processes. With clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and framework conditions, you can make sure that your PIM system operate with the full efficiency it can provide to your company.

 

Applying PIM to Data Governance

A PIM software offers a central platform for the management and use of product data. It has significant impact of the data governance in the company. In the following, you learn what functions and benefits a PIM has to offer and how to integrate it so that you can use it to realize best practices in data governance.

Functions and Benefits

A PIM system takes over various functions in the context of data governance and has to offer numerous advantages. This includes among others:

• Master Data Management: A PIM enables the central management of product information and reduces data inconsistencies by establishing a so-called single source of truth.
• Integration of Data Sources: A PIM helps you in unifying scattered aggregates of data by bringing together the different corporate departments and their systems.
• Access Rights and Data Usage: This system makes it possible to define the access rights and control the management of user roles, compliance to governance guidelines, and data protection directives.
• Data Catalog: PIM offers a central data catalog that allows you to efficiently search product data, filter it, and then analyze it.
• Data-driven Decisions: By providing centralized management and use of data, PIM supports data-driven decisions and processes in companies.

 

Integration of PIM

The successful integration of a PIM system is crucial for profiting from the benefits that come with data governance. To this end, you should consider the following steps:

1. Analyze Existing Data Sources: Identify all available data sources and systems that are relevant and ought to be integrated into the PIM.
2. Define Guidelines and Processes: Establish clear guidelines and processes concerning data management and data storage; keep in mind that they must be suitable for the PIM system.
3. Technical Integration: Set up the connection of the data sources to the PIM system and test, on the one hand, the data transfer and, on the other hand, that the data from all sources can be unified in the PIM system.
4. Implementation of Roles and Activities: Define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the use of the PIM system and provide software trainings to users.

 

Best Practices

Here are some best practices when it comes to the application of PIM to data governance that can help you exhaust the full potential of this technology and improve the quality of your data usage:

• Central Management: Use the PIM system as the central management interface for product information to avoid data redundancy and duplicates.
• Synchronization: Make sure that the data exchanged between the PIM system and the integrated data sources are synchronized at regular intervals to keep all data records consistent across the board.
• Documentation: Write up a documentation of the underlying processes and guidelines for data governance; check and improve it at regular intervals.
• Training and Communication: Create transparency in your company with targeted software training for PIM system users and clearly communicate just how significant data governance regulations is.

 

PIM as the Centerpiece of Your Data Governance Strategy

The implementation and maintenance of an effective data governance strategy is essential in the e-commerce field. After all, this is what enables well-founded business decisions. A high-performance PIM solution supports your company in guaranteeing data quality and consistency while also enabling collaboration between the different corporate departments.

The comprehensive implementation of PIM requires careful planning, an efficient project coordination, and close collaboration between people from different fields. The challenges that come with this, however, shouldn’t keep you from establishing PIM as a central element of your data governance strategy since it can generate enormous benefits for your company.

Challenges and Key Factors of Data Governance

The topic of Data Governance may seem complex at first glance. With two blogposts, we’ll bring light into the darkness. In this first article, we want to analyze the topics of essential aspects, challenges, both monitoring and measurement, as well as regulations and data protection. In the second article, “Data Governance in E-Commerce: Why PIM is the Key to More Well-Informed Decisions,” you’ll learn how a PIM can help you during the implementation of an efficient data governance.

 

The Essentials of Data Governance

Data governance encompasses the management, control, and security of all activity and processes within a company that revolve around data. Among other things, this includes

• defining roles and responsibilities,
• introducing guidelines and standards, as well as
• complying to legal regulations and data protection laws.

A solid data governance supports companies in successfully implementing their data strategy, guarantee data integrity and quality, and make data-driven business decisions. Central aspects of data governance are: data definitions, data standards, master data management, business sectors, and also data ownership.

Challenges of Data Governance

In today’s corporate landscape, the management must handle large quantities of data while, at the same time, fulfilling not only data quality standards but also compliance requirements. Additionally, they are to gain valuable insights in order to stay streets ahead of the competition. Some resulting challenges are:

• Efficient Management and Controlling of Large Quantities of Data: With the exponential increase of the data quantity, companies must develop efficient methods for saving, processing, and analyzing such data. This entails scalable databases, high-performance analysis tools, and skills for quickly and efficiently browsing big data.
• Assuring Data Integrity and Quality: The data quality is decisive for precise analysis and decision-making. Companies must implement robust processes in order to achieve accuracy, completeness, and consistency of data. This also encompasses data cleansing, duplicate prevention, and continuous data checks.
• Adhering to Data Protection and Compliance Requirements: Observing data protection laws such as the GDPR in Europe is a major challenge. Organizations must make sure that their data processing practices comply to legal requirements – and keep them up to date in an ever-evolving legal environment.
• Gaining Valuable Knowledge and Business Insights: Turning data into useful knowledge requires state-of-the-art analysis tools and techniques. Business Intelligence (BI) and Machine Learning (ML) are key technologies enabling companies to recognize recurring patterns so that well-founded business decisions can be made.
• Integration and Interoperability of Data Management Systems and Corporate Departments: More often than not, different business units or corporate departments work with different systems and data formats. Here, the challenge is to establish a smooth integration and cross-compatibility of all systems in order to achieve an information flow without any gaps together with a centralized view of all corporate data.

 

Monitoring and Measurement of Data Governance Initiatives

To guarantee the success of your data governance initiative, monitoring and measurement are indispensable. Under this heading, you’ll learn how to monitor the performance of your data governance and what kinds of metrics, indicators, and methods for continuous improvement you can apply.

Key Metrics and Indicators

The performance of a data governance initiative can be empirically measured by a variety of metrics and factors. It’s imperative to select all those that best correspond to your company’s objectives and the requirements of the involved management. Essential metrics include:

• Data Accuracy: Measures the correctness of all the data flowing in and through your company.
• Data Integrity: Checks the completeness and consistency of your data over time.
• Data Management: Evaluates the quality of defined governance guidelines and processes for controlling and implementing said guidelines.

A useful tool supporting you in your challenges for metrics and indicators is, for example, Collibra, a software platform developed specifically for data governance use cases. It helps you in efficiently managing the data processes and guidelines.

Continuous Improvement

The principle of continuous improvement is crucial in data governance when it comes to progressively enhancing the quality of your data as well as adapting to new challenges at regular intervals. Some measures for continuously improving are:

• Regularly checking the data accuracy and data integrity.
• Adjusting guidelines and process on demand to react to changes in the company or external requirements.
• Bringing relevant stakeholders on board to receive feedback and requirements which you can incorporate into the governance initiative.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Data governance also comes with various potential pitfalls you need to avoid in order to maintain the performance of your initiatives. Here are some examples:

• Lack of Communication and Coordination between Departments and Stakeholders: To avoid this, it’s important to develop clearly defined roles and responsibilities as well as an effective communication plan.
• Insufficient Resources for Data Management: Always make sure that both technological and personnel resources are available to successfully realize all aspects of data governance.
• Inconsistent Implementation of Guidelines: To prevent this from happening, the governance guidelines need to be formulated clearly and intuitively, on the basis of which you can then make sure that all employees know and follow these rules.

By identifying and preventing possible pitfalls, you make sure that the implementation of your data governance initiative can be carried out effectively. As a result, you can exhaust the full potential of all the data in your company.

 

Compliance, Data Protection, and Data Governance

Being able to adhere to legal regulations and data protection requirements is a crucial aspect of any data governance strategy. To gain a better understanding of this topic, let’s have a look at the role a data protection officer plays and, consequently, the relevant regulations.

Introducing a Data Protection Officer

An essential aspect for realizing data governance is the inclusion of a data protection offer. Their expertise lies in making sure that everything conforms to both data-related regulations and guidelines of the company. They make sure that the data organization, master data management, and data standards adhere to data protection law requirements and the company’s internal policies for handling specific data.

The data protection officer’s role encompasses, among other things:

• Controlling of data organization and data management processes
• Development and implementation of data protection regulations and processes
• Consulting and support of business units and corporate departments concerning data processing use cases
• Validation of access rights and checking of data records
• Help for establishing interoperability between different systems that process and use data

 

Legal Regulations

The data-driven economy poses a great many challenges to companies in the field of compliance. Which is why both data management and governance ought to be adjusted to the relevant national and international regulations and directives.

Well-implemented Data Governance takes different aspects into consideration:

• Department-overarching responsibilities and clearly defined roles when it comes to using and managing data
• Abiding to internal and external directives for data storage, processing, and transmission
• Realizing guidelines that offer continuous protection of personal data

An effective incorporation of a data protection officer in your data governance combined with the implementation of legal regulations and directives will result in a strong compliance on top of better decision making in business. This is because data records will be more accurate, consistent, and secure – while also offering higher availability. It enables companies to make data-driven decisions and minimize risks in an effective manner.

 

FAQ on Data Governance

Here are the most frequently asked questions and corresponding answers.

Why do you need Data Governance?

Data governance is indispensable to guarantee data quality, data security, and compliance to legal regulations. Companies can set up effective decision-making processes and protect their valuable data foundation. Practical tips include defining guidelines, assigning clear roles, and conducting regular control check-ups.

What does a Data Governance Manager do?

A data governance manager develops and implements strategies in order to secure the data quality, access, and protection in a company. They coordinate teams for data guidelines, establish compliance, and control data protection measures. Their work optimizes data-founded decision making and reduces risks.

What is a Data Governance Framework?

A data governance framework is a system for managing and controlling corporate data. It defines strategies, processes, and technologies which can help maintain data quality, integrity, and access. Equipped with this, you can make well-informed decisions and apply risk management measures.

 

Key Factors of Data Governance

Introducing a data governance strategy across an entire company for data use is a crucial project. We’ve looked at two universally applicable key factors on how to realize this. Finally, there is a third topic to be added specifically to account for product data:

• Monitoring and Metrics: The continuous monitoring of data governance initiatives enables you to measure success and identify new potentials for optimization.
• Compliance and Data Protection: The close collaboration with a data protection officer and adherence to legal regulations secures compliance and protects, at the same time, all corporate data.
• PIM Systems: Such a system centralizes and standardizes product data, in virtue of which you can improve not only data quality and consistency but also marketing and sales processes.

What this third point, “PIM systems in connection with data governance,” is all about, is what you can learn in our second of two articles: “Data Governance in E-Commerce: Why PIM is the Key to More Well-Informed Decisions.”

The Digital Product Pass (DPP) – Challenge or Chance?

The decision has been made: on the basis of a mandate by the European Union (EU), political bodies across many countries such as the German Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUV) have already declared that companies must have implemented the Digital Product Pass for all their product assortments by the year of 2030. On the one hand, this decision is an important contribution to push forward environmental protection and sustainability, while, on the other hand however, it constitutes a plethora of new challenges for companies. After all, companies must not only make adjustments to their business processes now, but they must also guarantee that they have the capacities to gather all necessary data required for the Digital Product Pass and provide it accordingly. Though, the Digital Product Pass does also offer businesses with the opportunity to strengthen their competitive prowess and win the customer’s trust by demonstrating the transparency and sustainability of their products.

Now, what even is Digital Product Pass, what requirements does it impose on your company and your product data, and before anything else: how can you use it strategically in order to achieve your corporate objectives?

Answers to these questions are provided to you in this blog post. Have a delightful read!

 

What is the Digital Product Pass?

The concept of “Digital Product Pass” may remind us, at first glance, of a travelling pass – a metaphor that is, in fact, more than appropriate.

After all, the Digital Product Pass is nothing more than the “travel” of your product. It is the central point where all information about the life cycle of your product is collected: from the first industrial sketch to the finishing touches before release – in the future, your customers will have the option to track the travelling route of their desired product at the click of a single button. With this, they must no longer search hours upon hours for the desired information. Instead, they can directly scan it in a quick and easy manner via a QR code or your app, for example.

 

How to Profit from the Digital Product Pass and Enhance Your Competitiveness

You save time!

According to the BMUV, not only vendors and consumers but also all other agents involved are supposed to gain access to relevant information via the new Digital Product Pass. The primary aim of the pass is to promote a circular economy that is friendly to the environment so that the requirements for sustainable production of raw materials or for an ecologically-acceptable waste management are easier to fulfill.

The following figure illustrates the concept of the product pass very well:

 

In this figure, you can clearly see how all agents of the closed-loop economy have easy access to product data using the Digital Product Pass. An important foundation for all this is the communication established through a stable and standardized data exchange. This cuts both extra coordination with other parties involves as well as the need to set up a data transformation procedure for sending and receiving data.

With the Digital Product Pass, you gain valuable time which you can use to focus on the truly important matters of daily business.

 

More than Mere Image: Act and Think with Environmental Awareness!

Green deal is in! Consumers are starting to value sustainability more and more when making purchases. According to an Europe-wide survey by YouGov from 2021, around 60 percent of the interviewed people from Germany take sustainability to be a decisive purchasing factor (source: YouGov). The digital product pass will, therefore, not only be a legal requirement on both the national and EU level – but also a topic with high trend potential among consumers to whom sustainability and environmental protection are important issues. Companies, on the other hand, can once again demonstrate to their customers that ecological awareness enjoys high significance when it comes to manufacturing their products. The product pass is also an ideal instrument for becoming even more eco-friendly as a company. In the future, you will be able to conduct is–ought analyses, upon which you can then ground the optimization of your business processes: be it sustainable material, information about the recycling process, or more transparency in the supply chain – every little green step helps. And as if all this isn’t enough yet, you do also motivate your customers to commit to more sustainable purchasing habits on top of that. They can obtain important information about repair, reprocessing, and recycling of purchased products in a comfortable and easy manner. In the long run, this reduces waste production and it is also easy on the environment.

 

Secure Your Competitive Edge

With the early implementation of the Digital Product Pass, you demonstrate to your customers that you have not only understood the principle of environmental protection but also that of digitization. On the one hand, you position yourself on the markets as a state-of-the-art provider and a pioneer in your industry branch. On the other hand, your customers receive perfectly maintained and, most importantly, complete data about your products. This manifests itself in the form of a significant reduction of cancelled purchases and an increase in sales.

 

Sustainable Outlook: What Companies Ought to Do Right Here and Now

By 2030 at the latest, the Digital Product Pass will be required by law for all product assortments in the case of some European countries like Germany. Additionally, further legal requirements to be fulfilled will follow as mandated by the EU commission.

Even if the implementation of a Digital Product Pass seems to pose a challenge at first glance, you should start gaining an understanding of it as early as possible. After all, you can only profit from it. As we have seen, the new e-pass does also offer many advantages which you can strategically mobilize for your business objectives. Therefore, you should begin in good time with preparations by evaluating the current state of your IT system environment. One foundational requirement for the successful implementation of your Digital Product Pass is a central data source. Since only when all your product data and information is kept up to date and free of error at all times by centralizing it in a single source of truth, is it possible to ace all requirements of the Digital Product Pass without suffering from shortage of personnel in the process of doing so. Now, let’s get to the best news: PIM systems are practically made to support you in tackling this and related challenges head on in the best possible manner.

Equipped with a PIM system as your central datahub, you can efficiently manage and edit all your data while also updating your product passes at regular intervals.

BIM: Digital Building is the Future

There have been a great many failed construction projects throughout history. It’s not just a myth as the Tower of Babel may suggest. Be it the Leaning Tower of Pisa or, to give a more recent example, the Rafael Viñoly skyscraper in London better known as the “Walkie Talkie” (its curved glass facade reflects sunlight in such an extreme manner that it ended up melting cars and causing fires). This is an outcome to be expected when people in response plan past each other, culminating in miscommunication and bad decision making grounded upon incomplete information. This then snowballs into delays, quality defects, and additional costs – construction projects are particularly prone to inefficient processes.

The building and planning field is subdivided in various areas of specialization: be it architecture, engineering, or automation. The planning, design, construction, and operation of a building is based on the efficient interplay of all sorts of aspects. And all this can only click together like lego when supplied with the correct information and when everything is up to date. Unstandardized information exchange is the root cause for misinterpretations and errors. This may spiral into further costly issues.

How, then, can such problems be prevented before they even come up in the first place? It’s simple. You can use the near-endless possibilities of ever-increasing digitization to your advantage: Building Information Modeling is the magic word. In short, BIM. Now, one may wonder, what exactly is BIM? Find out all you need to know in this article.

 

What’s BIM?

A question which is, in fact, not that easy to answer. To cut straight to the chase: The concept of BIM is a method which involves software solutions for providing a digital 3D model of a building’s entire life cycle with all relevant information for all fields and areas of specialization in the building industry. This enables collaboration with all stakeholders involved during the construction project and facilitates planning, building, and operation. The punchline: All fields and areas draw from one and the same mapped building object and feed it with further data from their own end. Throughout, this unified data pool remains up to date and consistent at all times. This, in turn, is the key to efficient projects.

 

“Draw (BIM) Houses Without Lifting Your Pen”

Let’s have a closer look at an example scenario for Building Information Management to illustrate how BIM processes function: let’s draw a house without lifting the pen.

First, all requirements are gathered in collaboration with our example customer who wishes to build a new house. This data is stored in a central database and forms the foundation for the entire project. Now, the planning team can get down to business and plan the actual building itself. The building plan conceptualized by the planning team is enriched with information complying to consistent terminology and a standardized format. This way, every party involved in the construction always has all the newest information available on demand. This, in turn, translates into effective teamwork. With this information as the basis, the building can be mapped onto a digital object. Finally, as the end result, your BIM system draws an exact visual representation of your customer’s dream house for you – without even lifting a pen. Quite literally.

Digital objects, such as windows, can be enriched with further information by expert planners and designers, such as color or mount. The house requires water pumps? No problem. The pump manufacturer becomes active and supplies all important data so that the best-fitting pump is directly integrated into the digital object. To prevent any unexpected increases in costs, the project team utilizes the BIM model to manage all building areas and analyze all BIM data such as project costs, energy coefficients, etc.

The construction company makes good use of the model to propose offers and informs itself about the building components by checking the object properties. Once the best possible offer has been deduced, all required information is automatically processed by the BIM system. This guarantees that the matching windows are delivered, among other things (remember the example of the “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper brought up in the beginning). Our example customer can now send the visualization of her house – drawn digitally and fully automatically, without lifting a pen – directly to the building authority for building permissions.

 

BIM – The Future of Construction

With the BIM method, all important steps of the building process are centralized. All people involved in the project can access relevant information from anywhere. This boosts the overall efficiency of the construction project, saving time and money. Accordingly, it’s no wonder that the use of BIM has already established itself as a quasi-standard when it comes to big projects. That is to say, in the building industry, BIM is not just a nice-to-have feature, but much rather the very future of construction.

 

Now, it’s imperative to not simply reduce the use of BIM to generating 3D models. BIM is the process for managing your information chains throughout the entire life cycle of a building – be it a house, a tunnel, or a bridge. It provides a clear-cut structure for the systematic exchange of information, encompassing all data accumulated step by step throughout the building project.

On any of the central nodes of the information chain, however, BIM can itself not operate properly without functional and technical product data that is well-maintained. For those who’re looking to prepare themselves for the future of construction with BIM, also require a PIM system as the underlying foundation. Only PIM can function as the central datahub for consistent data. It provides you with a simple solution for managing large quantities of data – from collecting, through editing, to distributing data.

If you are interested in further information on the topic of PIM and BIM, please arrange a personal meeting with one of our product experts.

Digital Customer Experience Management as a Clear Competitive Advantage

The e-commerce industry is booming now as then and the competition for customers is getting tougher by the day. Satisfying their expectations is no longer enough, it’s about surpassing them. No wonder that more and more budget is flowing into Online Marketing – the question is whether or not this is truly the best course of action.

The continuous advancement of digitalization also renders the experience your customers make with your brand via digital channels more important. In short: If you want to be successful, you must absolutely guarantee for a magnificent digital experience for your customers – and that’s what Digital Customer Experience is all about. Thanks to Digital Customer Experience Management, commonly abbreviated as DCXM, you can optimize the experience your customers make in digital channels. So far so good. Yet, how exactly does this concept unfold and contribute to your company’s marketing strategy? Find out in this blog entry.

 

The success of a company can be determined with key performance indicators, in particular the customer satisfaction rate. The best prices, technologies, and assortments alone do not exhaust all factors relevant for securing your competitive edge. This is why the concept of “customer experience” has been gaining in significance throughout the last few years as means for improving customer retention and satisfaction. If customers are thoroughly satisfied as they travel through the steps of the Customer Journey, the probability rises that they’ll opt for your brand again in the future. Experience proves: Consumers value the digital experience higher than the price when it comes to the purchasing decision.

 

What challenges come with Digital Customer Experience?

The ever-advancing digitalization creates more and more possibilities for optimizing your customer’s experience, regardless of what touchpoints are required. Be it content for social media or the functions of an online shop. The central challenge is to optimize all touchpoints relevant to the Customer Journey in order to create a consistent brand presence for users. This way, they’ll take a liking in interacting with both your company and brand.

After all, it’s the positive experience on digital platforms that turns users into loyal fans. For your company, this means: sustainable customer retention, better customer lifetime value, higher sales, and corporate growth. To that end, it’s all the more important that you have automated the online experience to flow smoothly, intuitively, functionally, and memorably in order to get your customers hooked. This is where the great potential of the ideal Digital Customer Experience lies – at the same time, however, it also poses an equally great challenge to many companies.

 

Are there differences in the B2B and B2C market?

Who would’ve guessed? 87 percent of all consumers do no longer compare the brand experience in comparison to your direct competitors but superior DCX champions such as Amazon, Netflix, and PayPal. For this reason, you shouldn’t draw a strict distinction between B2B and B2C when it comes to Digital Customer Experience. After all, people who make decisions in B2B companies are usually also users on the aforementioned platforms and may very well be already used to the digital B2C experience which comes with their services. Which is why they’ll be influenced in their expectations accordingly. As a result, you should put your focus on optimized digital touchpoints in the B2B sector, too, when it comes to strengthening the relationship to your customers and inspiring potential target groups – even if the measures to do so may differ between the B2B and B2C sector.

 

What are the objectives of Digital Customer Experience?

With the help of the implementation of a DCX strategy, both B2B and B2C-oriented companies can accomplish various qualitative and quantitative objectives. Central quantitative goals which will give your company a boost include:

• Expanding your digital customer acquisition
• Securing new income sources
• Increasing sales

Qualitative objectives such as gaining and retaining new customers or even getting new employees on board, too, have a positive impact on your corporate success.

💡 “Being world class in both customer experience and operations will allow us to grow faster and deliver even higher service levels.” (Bezos 1998)

As early as 1998, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has already capitalized upon the elementary importance of the right combination of customer experience, new technologies, and first-class marketing when it comes to gaining the competitive edge. By keeping this mindset alive in the company, by continuing to dish out new customer-oriented business models on the markets, and by always being quick to react to current developments, Amazon has grown to what it is today.

 

How can a DCX strategy be implemented in companies?

To establish a DCX strategy in a company, the first thing to do as part of the Digital Customer Experience Management is to analyze the current as-is situation: Which digital channels are currently being provided with what kind of content? What functions do your users need to navigate and utilize your website for a smooth solution to their use cases? How good is your networking as far as channels are concerned? What expectations do your users have concerning the services you provide?

Digital Customer Experience Management is what constitutes your access to the digital world and the key to your customers heart. DCXM provides you with a solution to identify, organize, and actively shape the needs and expectations of your customers.

The starting point is to bring together your internal infrastructure, including all intersection nodes with external stakeholders, and unify isolated data pools. Only a collaborative and consistent basis for all data about products and customers allows you to design a target-group-oriented approach with matching product recommendations on all touchpoints. The objective is to never divert from concentrating your focus on the needs of your customers and to keep monitoring the progress for further optimization. The better your understanding of the consumer, the higher you can boost the satisfaction rate, optimize customer experience, and secure your relationship to your customers in a sustainable manner.

 

Good Product Experience is the Basis for Optimal Customer Experience

You may have already experienced this: You’re having an awesome digital experience with a brand – at every touchpoint of your Customer Journey. You like the product, the product images look promising – so you put it straight into the shopping bin and select your payment method! However, after the product has been delivered to you, you quickly came to the realization that reality looks and feels much different from what you had imagined and expected. The consequence: you’re disappointed. To guarantee an optimal customer experience, there’s one thing we should never forget: the product, together with the product experience.

Bring the following to your mind: The purchasing decision of a customer isn’t solely based on the product itself, but also the product information utilized to present it, e.g. product descriptions, reviews, videos, and images. An interconnected Customer Journey offers your customer the right product information at any target platform for a comfy and secure brand experience. It’s all about meeting your customers on their own ground, at the right time and at the right step of their Customer Journey, supplying them with just the right content they need for their current situation. Inconsistent product data, on the other hand, translates into frustration and leaves a dent in your customer loyalty which, in turn, negatively impacts your customer retention rate.

A PXM solution supports you in organizing your product data and distributing it to the relevant channels with personalized content in the right use case context.

 

Your Data is Decisive

Companies which make their transition to the digital world to upgrade their entire product experience – as the basis for better customer experience – in the manner already outlined above will simultaneously lay out the foundation for further corporate growth spurts.

To exhaust all possibilities presenting themselves to the max and to put things into good use to boost your own company’s sales can, indeed, be a though challenge. In order for everything to flow as smoothly as possible, you’ll need consistent data from a “single source of truth” – a central spot where all data is pooled together. If your data is spread over all sorts of applications such as Excel tables, Word documents, or PDF files, you may quickly succumb to the data chaos – which, in turn, will eat into your resources and time.

In the process, a strong and experienced partner can prove to be of valuable help to you during the implementation of a PIM system. This involves, for example, getting rid of potential obstacles when cleaning up the product data chaos, or setting up the digital Product Data Management and stakeholder management. Such a partner has the right software, is well-versed in your business sector, and also brings broad and battle-tested knowledge to the table. With a structured implementation process and a high quality standard, ATAMYA has earned an excellent reputation in the field.

This is Your Guide to Chaos-Free Software Implementation

Introducing new software in a corporate environment always comes with a great many challenges. There is a lot to take into consideration in order to satisfy all framework conditions and to get all teams who will later work hands-on with the software on board. Only in this way can you guarantee the optimal use of the new system.

We know: Such a project should always be tackled in a well-structured manner. For more than 30 years, we’ve been supporting companies in software implementation processes. Based on our experience, we’ve managed to identify the basic patterns which govern all success and failure of implementation projects. The good news is: You can avoid such problems in an easy and efficient way. In this blogpost, we want to discuss some Do’s and Don’ts which you should be aware of so that your implementation process will result not in a disaster, but in success across the board.

 

Don’t:
Underestimating the resources required and misplanning the core team.

Do:
Allocate sufficient resources well ahead of time for the software implementation. You won’t be able to tackle all tasks on your own given that you’ll also be handling day-to-day business. Come up with a concept for your core team of key users who will be accompanying the implementation from start to finish. This team should have in-depth know-how of all products and services provided by your company. Its members should know how products and services are developed or purchased, know what processes are required to do so, and know the target groups your products appeal to inside out. The team should also include a project manager who has some real-life experience on how to monitor and control digital projects methodologically.

 

Don’t:
Getting your IT involved only after the fact.

Do:
Get your IT department involved even before your implementation process kicks off. Your IT colleagues have professional experience from which the introduction of your software will profit enormously. The sooner you get them on board, the sooner you can clear up any remaining doubts. Meet at regular intervals and share the progress of the project. Regular exchanges between IT, Management, Development, Project Management, and your core team will resolve any problems before they even arise.

 

Don’t:
Attempting to configure existing, unoptimized processes into your new system.

Do:
Make sure that you’re always mindful of this simple fact: Your processes will change to the very core. But don’t panic, they will change for the better. After all, you’re introducing a new software with the goal to work more efficiently and optimize processes to begin with. This is where your software provider will lend you direct support. In collaborative workshops, you can define together precisely what intersection points between systems will have to be implemented and what technology is required to satisfy all requirements.

“Compiling all relevant product data prior to implementation start contributes to a smooth process.”

– David Klein, Presales and Data Track Hound for ATAMYA

 

Don’t:
Not providing adequate software training to users and including them when it’s already too little too late.

Do:
Make good use of training offers from your software provider. At the end of the day, this will save you both time and money. Trainings also take away the fear of new software from your colleagues, strengthening the acceptance of innovations. The result: Employees can work faster and more confidently with the new software. Think about who needs or wants software training. You can organize your colleagues into groups and also take individual requirements into consideration while doing so. In our case, we provide users with a battle-tested and practice-oriented training concept, our ATAMYA Academy. Here, our leading product experts demonstrate to you how our software can be used in an effective manner in order to make room for what’s most important: The unfolding of your product data.

 

Don’t:
A brief, company-wide announcement that a new software will or has been implemented.

Do:
It is of utmost importance to inform your colleagues ahead of time and communicate it as transparently as possible. For employees, the reasons behind decisions involved – the “Why” – plays a major role. Picture your goals and make it clear to both the executive board as well as all teams precisely why you’ve decided to implement this software in particular. Making it explicit: This software solution will leave a positive impact on higher-level goals of the company, will make things more transparent, and speed up the information flow in and through all company departments.

 

Very important: Provide sufficient training options and materials for open use. This will help getting your employees more involved and motivated to use the new software.