Large enterprise brand-manufacturers often grapple with the challenge of maintaining consistent, high-quality product information across a decentralized e-commerce tech stack. This is particularly true for multinational organizations, where diverse regional needs and disparate systems can further complicate matters. The concept of a “golden product record” emerges as a critical solution, yet aligning on, defining, and achieving a golden record strategy in a decentralized environment requires a thoughtful and intentional approach.

What is a Golden Product Record?

At its core, a golden product record is the single, most accurate, and complete source of truth for a given product. It encompasses all essential product attributes, from technical specifications and marketing descriptions to imagery and compliance data. In a decentralized tech stack, this “golden” status isn’t about centralizing all data into one monolithic system, but rather about establishing clear governance and synchronization mechanisms that ensure consistency across various platforms.

The Decentralized Reality

For large enterprise brand-manufacturers, a decentralized tech stack is often a reality, resulting from corporate complexity such as multiple divisions, geographic locations, and acquisitions. It is not an intentional choice. Complexity across an e-commerce stack might look like:

• Multiple PIM (Product Information Management) systems: Different business units or regions might utilize their own PIM instances, each tailored to specific needs or legacy systems.
• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems: Housing core product data, often with a focus on manufacturing, inventory, and financial attributes.
• Owned e-commerce platforms: Optimized for brand presentation and connection with your most loyal DTC customers, these require specific product content for various channels.
• Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems: Storing and managing product imagery, videos, and other rich media like PDFs.
• Regional databases and legacy systems: Supporting localized operations and archived/obsolete product data.

The challenge lies in orchestrating these disparate systems to speak a common language and maintain a unified view of each product.

Key Considerations for Defining Your Golden Product Record

To effectively define and implement a golden product record in a decentralized environment, consider the following:

1. Identify Core Attributes and Ownership

Begin by identifying the critical product attributes that constitute the “golden” record. This requires collaboration across various departments (product, marketing, sales, compliance, IT). For each attribute, clearly define:

• Source of Truth (SoT): Which system is the definitive owner of this particular piece of data? For example, the ERP might be the SoT for product dimensions, while the PIM is the SoT for marketing descriptions.
• Data Standards and Definitions: Establish clear, consistent definitions for each attribute to avoid ambiguity. This is crucial for multinational organizations where terminology and conversions or standards may vary across regions.

2. Establish Data Governance and Workflows

Robust data governance is paramount. This includes:

• Data Stewardship: Designate individuals or teams responsible for the quality and integrity of product data within each system.
• Workflow Automation: Implement automated processes and defined cadences for data creation, enrichment, and approval. Additionally, you’ll want to define process standards for how frequently data is refreshed from upstream systems. These efforts and process documents reduce manual errors and frustrations with rewrites, and they also ensure timely updates.
• Change Management: Define clear procedures for initiating, reviewing, approving, and propagating changes to product data across systems.

3. Leverage PIM as an Orchestrator

While not always the sole source of truth for every attribute, a modern PIM system plays a crucial role in orchestrating the golden product record. It can act as a central hub for aggregating, enriching, and distributing product content across the decentralized tech stack.

• Aggregation: Pulling core product data from ERPs and other systems.
• Normalization: Defined business logic, like transformation, helps normalize data from disparate upstream systems and automatically complete measurement conversions or lookup table values (e.g. always updating ‘turquoise’ to ‘green’)
• Enrichment: Adding marketing descriptions, digital assets from DAMs, and channel-specific content, required for regional retailer completeness. 
• Distribution: Pushing consistent product information to e-commerce platforms, marketing channels, and regional systems.

4. Implement Robust Integration Strategies

Seamless integration between systems is the backbone of a decentralized golden record. This may involve:

• APIs (Application Programming Interfaces): For real-time or near real-time data exchange between systems.
• ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes: For batch data synchronization, particularly for legacy systems.
• Data Hubs or Middleware: To facilitate complex integrations and data transformations.

For multinational organizations, consider strategies for managing localized data and ensuring regional compliance within these integrations. This might involve regional PIM instances that inherit global attributes but allow for localized enrichment.

5. Monitor and Measure Data Quality

Ongoing monitoring of data quality is essential. Implement metrics and dashboards to track:

• Data completeness: Are all required attributes present?
• Data accuracy: Is the information correct and consistent?
• Data consistency: Is the data uniform across all systems?
• Data timeliness: Are updates propagating effectively and efficiently?

6. Embrace a Phased Approach

Attempting to define and implement a golden product record across an entire enterprise simultaneously can be overwhelming. Consider a phased approach, starting with a critical product brand or region, and then scaling the solution across the organization.

By embracing these principles, large enterprise brand-manufacturers can navigate the complexities of a decentralized tech stack and establish a robust, reliable golden product record. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also empowers richer and more personalized customer experiences and stronger brand consistency across all touchpoints.

Want help defining your product content strategy across the organization? Contact us to kickstart a conversation.