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Crack the code with
product data
in Magento
Frédéric de Gombert
CEO / Co-Founder – Akeneo
@FdeGombert
About Akeneo
Who are we and what are we doing here ?
Akeneo – The Open Source PIM
15 000+ installations worldwide
20+ partners across the globe
Co-founded by Yoav Kutner
(xCTO & co-founder of Magento)
Native Magento connector
Main challenges…
… when dealing with product information
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
The Product Data Flow described before the project kick-off
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
The Product Data Flow discovered during the project
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
The Product Data Flow at the end of the project
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
Why it is painful?
Developing multiple connectors is time consuming and expensive
Imports in Magento can be slow… Very slow…
Defining which source is responsible for what can be pretty difficult
It often leads to bad decisions from an architectural or business point of view :
• let’s put everything we have in a spreadsheet (aka Death By Excel)
• let’s use Magento as a content hub…
• Hey! We don’t care that much about product information! Let’s forget it!
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
An alternative Product Data Flow
#1 – Reconciling multiple data sources
How a PIM can help here :
Developing multiple connectors is time consuming and expensive
PIM solutions are designed to easily interact with third party systems. It will be far less difficult to
connect a PIM with multiple data sources than Magento.
Imports in Magento can be slow… Very slow…
A PIM can reduce the number of incoming data feeds in Magento. Less imports = less time
Defining which source is responsible for what can be pretty difficult
PIM can orchestrate multiple data sources and define different behaviors for each data source (ex :
always trust the ERP when dealing with structural data like SKUs or weights)
#2 - Controlling Data Quality
Why Product Information Quality Matters
Better conversation
rate (up to 56%)
Better SEO
Fewer returns
(up to 23%)
Fewer information
enquiries
#2 - Controlling Data Quality
Attributes Required VS Attributes Available
An attribute set in Magento defines which attributes are required and which are not.
If the user is not able to fill all the required attributes when creating a new product, he
won’t be able to save the product.
It means that the contributor should have all the product information from day one…
which is very uncommon !
This leads to 2 common mistakes…
#2 - Controlling Data Quality
#1 : Almost no attributes are
required :
Poor product information
No pictures
Weird product names
…
#2 - Controlling Data Quality
#2 : Death by Excel – Volume 2
As contributors can not create products
directly in Magento, they will use a
temporary Excel file to enrich the
information before importing it in
Magento
#2 - Controlling Data Quality
How a PIM can help here :
Dealing with product information lifecycle
PIM will enable product information preparation. Once ready it will be automatically
pushed to Magento
Enabling collaborative contribution
Instead of sharing on unique spreasheet in a very iterative process, PIM solutions are
providing advanced rights management and validation workflow features enabling
collaborative enrichement processes.
Reporting on Quality
PIM can provide accurate reports on product information quality (how many products
have no images, badly formated labels, …)
#3 – Reusing Product Data
Sometime we need to use the product data stored
in Magento for other channels
#3 – Reusing Product Data
Why it is painful?
Sometime you need different values for a same attribute depending on the destination
channel (a shorter description for a mobile application for instance)
Product Information requirements can change from a channel to another (different
classification, unit metrics, attribute names, …)
Some channels might need some information that is not stored in Magento (HD images
for printed material for instance)
#3 – Reusing Product Data
How a PIM can help here :
Multiple values for a same attribute
A PIM will allow your users to create values per channel.
Requirements per channel
Instead of defining one global rule of completeness for every channels, a PIM will allow
you to define those rules channel per channel.
One Single Source of Truth
You will be able to put a lot more product information in a PIM than in Magento – even
non e-commerce related information !
What is a PIM ?
… and what is not a PIM !
PIM vs CMS vs CRM vs ERP vs …
What is NOT a PIM
A better Magento
backend
A merchandising
tool
An ERP
Survival Guide for project managers
60% of a PIM project has nothing to do with technical matters : it’s all about your data
dictionnary !
Avoid « big bang » projects – Start with a subpart of your catalog or only a few channels
PIM is a tool that can increase from more than 60% the productivity of your marketing
team.. If they are involved in the project from day one!
Thank You
www.akeneo.com
@akeneopim