The foundations of a successful digital transformation

Whatever their sector of activity, companies that excel in their digital transformation have one thing in common: they first invest in their foundations before building their digital ecosystem. Contrary to popular belief, product data is not a consequence of digitisation, but an essential strategic prerequisite.

This product data-centric approach enables organisations to build robust and scalable digital ecosystems, capable of adapting to market changes while offering an exceptional user experience. Companies that adopt this methodology are seeing concrete results: faster time-to-market, improved consistency of product information, and optimisation of internal processes.

Whether you're in retail, manufacturing, the food industry, fashion or any other sector, the issue of product data governance is universal and forms the basis of a sustainable digital transformation.

Why is product data strategic?

The foundation of the modern customer experience

In a context where customer expectations are evolving rapidly, the quality and richness of product information directly determines sales performance. Whether they are end consumers on an e-commerce site, B2B distributors looking for technical information, or resellers looking for marketing content, they all expect complete product sheets, quality visuals, and accurate information available in real time.

The Atlantic Group's experience is a perfect illustration of this transformation: by centralising and structuring their product data, they have been able to guarantee an optimal customer experience across all their websites, while simplifying the integration of this data into their digital ecosystem (all as part of a group approach with deployment across the group's brands).

A cross-functional lever for operational efficiency

Over and above the customer experience, mastering the governance of product data radically transforms the efficiency of in-house teams, whatever the business model. The benefits can be seen at several levels:

• Reduced time-to-market: new products are listed more quickly across all distribution channels
• Optimisation of marketing processes: teams have access to rich, consistent content to feed their campaigns
• Improved sales productivity: sales teams have instant access to up-to-date product information
• Simplified multi-channel management: a single source of truth feeds all customer contact points
• Reduce errors and returns: Accurate information limits misunderstandings and customer disappointments

The four pillars of effective product data governance

Pillar 1: Centralising and structuring information

The first pillar consists of bringing together all the product information scattered throughout the organisation: marketing descriptions, technical characteristics, visuals, documentation, prices and availability. This centralisation eliminates inconsistencies and transmission errors between systems.

The Azelis case demonstrates how a global platform can be deployed in six months thanks to a structured approach to product data, making it possible to manage more than 100,000 references in different markets.

Pillar 2: Definition of validation and enhancement processes

Establishing clear processes for creating, validating and updating product information (both in and around the PIM: ERP, CRM, DAM, etc.) guarantees data quality and consistency. This approach involves defining the roles and responsibilities of each player in the validation chain.

Smile's recognised expertise in Akeneo enables us to support this structuring process by drawing on market best practices and in-depth knowledge of the challenges of digital transformation.

Pillar 3: Integration with the existing digital ecosystem

Product data needs to feed seamlessly into all digital channels: B2C or B2B e-commerce sites, marketplaces, retailer portals, mobile applications, PDF catalogues and sales tools. This integration requires an appropriate technical architecture that maintains consistency while offering the flexibility needed for each channel.

Pillar 4: Measurement and continuous improvement

Putting performance indicators in place allows you to measure the impact of data governance on business objectives: product sheet completion rates, time to market, satisfaction of in-house teams, performance of digital channels.

The three measurable benefits of a ‘Data Product First’ approach

Benefit 1: Acceleration of time-to-market

Companies that invest in their product data governance are seeing a significant reduction in the time taken to launch new products on their digital channels. Standardised processes and automated workflows eliminate traditional bottlenecks.

This acceleration benefits all business models: launching new collections in retail, rolling out ranges in new markets, or bringing seasonal products online quickly.

Benefit 2: Improved multi-channel customer experience

A centralised product database ensures that information is consistent across all customer contact points: corporate website, online shops, marketplaces, technical documentation and sales tools. This consistency strengthens the brand's credibility and facilitates the purchasing process.

The Pierre Fabre project shows how optimising customer and product knowledge can transform the digital experience of a multi-activity group.

Benefit 3: Optimisation of operating costs

Automating product data management processes reduces the manual workload of marketing, sales and e-commerce teams, allowing them to concentrate on higher added-value tasks. Data entry errors and inconsistencies are drastically reduced.

Our support for the retail and CPG sectors illustrates how these optimisations have a direct impact on the profitability of consumer-focused businesses.

The three-phase method for launching your project

Phase 1: Audit and mapping of existing systems

The first step is to carry out a complete inventory of current product data sources, update processes and distribution points. This audit enables us to identify priority issues and opportunities for improvement.

This phase includes :

• Mapping of data sources (ERP, PLM, Excel files, local databases)
• Analysis of current data creation and updating processes
• Assessment of the quality and completeness of existing data
• Identification of needs by channel and user persona

Phase 2: Definition of governance and choice of solution

Structuring the organisation around product data involves defining the roles, responsibilities and validation processes. This stage also determines the target technical architecture and the choice of the most relevant tool or tools in the business context.

The white paper ‘Why is a PIM implementation always a change management project?’ details the best practices for achieving this organisational transformation.

Phase 3: Gradual roll-out and measurement of results

Favouring an iterative approach means that assumptions can be validated and the solution adjusted according to user feedback. This methodology reduces risk and accelerates adoption by teams.

This iterative approach can be adapted to any context: whether it's a question of transforming the digital ecosystem in an industrial context or optimising the performance of a retail e-commerce platform.

The two key success factors for your transformation

Factor 1: Change management support

Product data governance is transforming the way marketing, sales, e-commerce and technical teams work. This transformation requires specific support to encourage adoption and maximise the benefits.

Best practices include :

• Training teams in the new processes
• Clear communication on the benefits for each business (including clarification of processes and governance)
• Technical and functional support during the transition phase
• Implementation of shared performance indicators

Factor 2: Integration with existing systems

Preserving the technological investments already made, while modernising the digital ecosystem, is a major challenge. The intelligent integration approach makes it possible to connect the PIM to existing systems (ERP, CRM, e-commerce) without major disruption.

The Agrial customer case provides a perfect illustration of this integration approach in a multi-activity, multi-channel context.

Prospects for technological development

Composable architecture: greater flexibility

Companies are gradually adopting composable architectures to increase their flexibility and capacity for innovation. In this approach, the governance of product data becomes even more strategic, as it feeds into all the components of the ecosystem.

The article on composable commerce explores the opportunities and challenges of this architectural evolution, applicable to all business sectors.

Artificial intelligence: automation and personalisation

AI and automation are transforming product data management: automatic generation of descriptions, optimisation of visuals, personalisation of catalogues according to personas, intelligent product recommendations. These innovations are based on a structured, high-quality database.

Conclusion: Product data as a growth accelerator

Companies that excel in their digital transformation have understood that product data is the foundation of their future competitiveness. By investing in structured governance before deploying their digital channels, they are creating the conditions for long-term success.

This methodological approach transforms technical and organisational complexities into sustainable business opportunities. It reconciles the demands of operational performance with the expectations of a modern customer experience, while preparing the organisation for future technological developments.

The benefits go far beyond simply optimising processes: accelerating time-to-market, improving customer satisfaction, reducing operational costs, and creating sustainable competitive advantages.

Whether you are in retail, industry, the food industry or any other sector, and whether your model is B2B, B2C, D2C or hybrid, product data governance is an essential lever for performance and differentiation.

Ready to structure the governance of your product data to accelerate your digital transformation? Our experts can help you define your strategy and put it into practice.

Contact our teams to discuss your digital transformation project.