Omnichannel content management: PIM, DAM and CMS for Manufacturing

Particularly today, when consumers, partners and authorities are scrutinizing manufacturers more than ever, transparency is key. Knowing that components are sustainably produced for example, or that there is an ethical supply chain, is almost as important as the quality of the product itself. Even end-of-life information about how to dispose of the product is a manufacturer’s responsibility.

From workers on a production line to buyers in a supermarket, accurate product information is vital. For the manufacturer, to have a single repository of information – and a single, true version of each data point – is critical to maintaining product and brand integrity.

Data entry and search are both time consuming occupations. Time, as they say, is money. In a busy manufacturing environment where staff could be better employed performing more intricate tasks, making sure the retrieval of vital product information is simple and fast is a significant business advantage.

Outside the marketing department, few of those involved in understanding their product’s content are ‘content experts’. They might be engineers, stylists, nutritionists or even procurement specialists and environmental standards executives. But all of them may at some point need to amend or create content for the wider business or its partners and customers to digest. A CMS is an intuitive, centralized system that allows people to access the assets they need, within the guardrails (ie alteration permissions, image rights) they have been set, and create content with very little technical knowledge of ‘publishing’. So, rather than having to wait for the content team to make changes or create a piece, those that can simply get on and create the items they need, when they’re needed.

Manufacturers rely on constant communication with their stakeholders. Whether it’s through marketing materials, manuals or news announcements, manufacturers need to use content extensively across their operations. Being able to create accurate content for end-users who can access it directly, rather than via a reseller, is so important for brand relationships. Similarly, manufacturers need to be able to respond quickly and accurately to any important news regarding their products – a recall, discontinuation, reformulation or lack of key ingredient – so partners and consumers are kept up to date.

Linking the CMS to customer data is important, both for understanding the macro trends in the market and what to supply to partners, but also for end customers. Even if manufacturers don’t sell direct, it’s important to understand customer journeys and target them with specific, relevant marketing. Marrying the CMS to other systems like CRM (customer relationship management) or the CDP (customer data platform) allows deeper insight into customer needs and more accurate marketing.

The final piece of the puzzle in bringing PIM, DAM, CMS and other systems together is analytics. By integrating these systems and more such as the CDP, above, manufacturers get much more insight into what content is resonating, whether assets are unused, if products are getting the visibility they need and, of course, how to change it. Insights into content performance allow manufacturers to optimize campaigns, build closer relationships with their resellers and drive an effective, profitable manufacturing organization.