Are you finding it monotonous and painstaking to manage your eCommerce store’s product catalog? Do you feel that your product data is irreconcilable? Perhaps, it is time to invest in an eCommerce catalog solution.

Catalog management solution plays a pivotal role in the lives of both customers and distributors. It helps the customers to look for product information, and make more informed purchase decisions. On the other hand, a well-organized product catalog makes the work of a distributor better manageable and more efficient, thereby helping to generate more sales. A well-made product catalog also helps the products to rank higher in the search engine results.

So, what does a well-managed eCommerce catalog look like? The quality product catalogs include a detailed description of the products with accurate specifications. The products are categorized under different groups. You can add or update the product catalog regularly to maintain consistency in the requirement.

Now the question arises, how can you find the right catalog management solution for your eCommerce business? Well! Your search now comes to an end with these easy steps to help you choose an appropriate Commerce catalog solution for your business. But, before diving straight into the steps, let’s understand the basics first.

What is an eCommerce Catalog Management Solution?

An eCommerce website contains a hierarchy of in-depth product information, including product name, description, price, availability, supplier data, and lots of other information. Do you think that an eCommerce website deals with only a single type of product? The answer is: No. It includes a myriad of product varieties with a gazillion of product-related data.

In this case, eCommerce catalog management serves as a helping hand. It is an effective process that helps in the categorization and organization of the products in such a way that customers can access high-quality product information across all channels. With the catalog management solution, you can easily automate the entire process of product categorization in the desired format.

Importance of eCommerce Catalog Management Solution

Many businesses, whether B2B or B2C, are moving their operations to the online world. In this scenario, eCommerce catalog management services are of immense significance for meeting the needs and preferences of the consumers and providing easy online access to the products.

With the help of an eCommerce catalog management solution, you can maximize your sales quotient by introducing a new product range to your business. A product catalog management solution also allows you to deliver a rich and consistent customer experience. This way, you can reach your target audience effectively. Therefore, catalog management solution is a crucial aspect of the eCommerce business.

Some of the other benefits of eCommerce catalog management solution are:

Centralized Area for All Products Information

It’s quite a challenging task to maintain multiple product catalogs for different channels. It becomes even more challenging, when new products are on the verge of launch, and you require packaged services across different departments.

The eCommerce catalog management services help to manage the product data effectively, reducing the chances of any repetition in the information. It gathers all the product data at a centralized location so the customers can access the information from a single browser. Hence, it authorizes them to act progressively in accordance with the market changes.

Easily Accessible

After the creation of a centralized location for all product information, a catalog management solution ensures easy accessibility to all its users. The only thing that you need to do is create and design the catalog according to the needs of the consumers. You can also exercise control over cross-channel strategy by creating and directing catalogs across different marketplaces.

Readymade Datasheets for Different Marketplaces

You are required to process and verify a massive amount of data to refurbish the catalogs suitably. But, it becomes laborious to maintain the validity of the product repository with accurate information. In such a case, a catalog management solution plays a key role in recognizing the desirable products, thereby collecting the relevant product information and price.

Seamless Product Categorization

Maintaining the product catalog efficiently is a daunting task and requires a lot of effort. Inappropriate product categorization may bother the customers, thus maximizing their chances of bouncing back. With an eCommerce catalog solution, you can categorize and classify the products seamlessly, and do away with such customer experiences.

Adaptable High-Quality Images and Content

Apart from a great shopping experience, the customers want to get a look and feel of the product attributes before making purchases. Whenever customers browse products, they tend to compare the product descriptions with the given images, wherein any mismatch could lead to purchase discouragement. In such cases, a super-efficient catalog management solution allows you to collate all the high-quality images and videos under a centralized repository, along with the relevant product information. If there are any changes in product-related data, the solution automatically transforms the images.

How to Choose an eCommerce Catalog Management Solution for your Business?

Following are the steps that you can follow to select the right eCommerce catalog management solution for your business:

Step 1: Look for Cloud-Based Solution

The first step to selecting eCommerce product catalog management software is looking for cloud-based solutions. In this fast-moving era of businesses, people want access to all the information anywhere and anytime. A cloud-based catalog management solution provides you and your team with the benefit of accessing all the product-related information anytime and anywhere as long as their device is connected to the Internet.

When compared to the web-based solution, a cloud-based solution is a cost-effective proposition that offers both flexibility and operational scalability according to your business needs.

Step 2: Check if you can Add Custom Products and Services

The next feature that you must look at in an eCommerce catalog management software is the functionality of adding or updating custom products and services. You should look for a solution provider that allows you to add custom products to your catalog and integrate them into your sales quotes easily.

VARStreet is one of the best catalog management solution providers that helps you to include custom products and services from your catalog to the sales quotes in just a single click. You can also upload product images, descriptions, technical specifications, and any other relevant information in your custom catalog.

Step 3: Examine the Creation Process of Rich Content

The eCommerce catalog management software should also provide the resellers the ability to create and publish content regularly. It will help you to grab the attention of your customers.

Although the product catalog involves all the information related to the product, it becomes difficult to keep the data up-to-date with the market changes. With VARStreet, you can get access to free rich content from the leading content providers like IceCat and Etilize. These up-to-date product resources will help you to compare and research products before quoting.

Step 4: Look for Easy Creation of Accurate Quotes

Next, you should look for catalog solutions software that makes the quotation process easier. It should allow you to add products to your sales quotes with updated product information and price. The catalog solution should automatically update product information regularly to your product catalog. It should provide filters to browse products based on brands, categories, keywords, price range, and much more.

Thankfully, VARStreet includes all the functionalities that make the sales quotation process quicker and easier.

Step 5: Inspect whether the Platform Provides Integration Functionality

A robust product catalog management solution helps the B2B business to attract customers by not only organizing and categorizing the products automatically but also updating the product-related information instantly. Without a proper eCommerce catalog management solution, it would be challenging for you to expand your business with new product lines, as all your time and effort would be utilized in completing the tasks manually.

ERP, CRM, and PIM integration are some of the key features that you need to consider while selecting an eCommerce catalog management solution for your business. A PIM system will help you to streamline the product catalogs and regulate data for suppliers. The PIM integration will organize all the product information into one consolidated location. Moreover, the CRM and ERP systems will help you to manage your marketing and handle your finances and logistics, respectively.

Hence, you should look for an eCommerce catalog management solution that takes care of all these requirements.

Step 6: Investigate for any Add-On Services

Along with the primary features of a catalog management solution, you should check if the platform provides any add-on services. Customer support and professional services should be on your checklist when choosing a catalog management solution, to ensure that you get customer support at all times and all your technical issues get resolved immediately.

Key Takeaway

You will find several eCommerce catalog management solutions in the market today. Based on the size of the industry and your business, customer base, product, shipping, and other requirements, you should accordingly choose the best-suited catalog management software for your online store. Following the above-mentioned steps will help you to make the most suitable selection for your business.