Suppliers will soon be asked by Wal-Mart to share their complete product catalogs with the retailer who aims to do a better job delivering accurate product content to its shoppers. The retail giant notes in a recent blog post that its new Product Content Collection System (PCCS) is being piloted with dozens of suppliers and will be launched across the Wal-Mart ecosystem later this year.
Blog writer Ram Rampalli said the crux of the PCCS program is a specification (a set of instructions including the list of attributes, requirement level, data transfer protocol) that will be provided to the supplier to use as a framework for sharing this data with Wal-Mart.
“We are encouraging suppliers to provide us with product content for their entire catalog, whether or not it is currently carried within the Wal-Mart retail eco-system. We also welcome content from suppliers who currently don’t sell on Wal-Mart,” Rampalli noted.
He said online product information is not always accurate and lacks consistency from site to site. He also said social product ratings are subjective based on the audience even though social media appears to be the new gatekeeper of influencing shopper behaviors. Rampalli said consumers who comparison shop often feel frustrated by the gaps in product content available which is why Wal-Mart aims to collect and standardize the content requirements among its diverse supplier base.
Rampalli said the pilot PCCS facilitates suppliers sending their entire product content catalogs directly to Wal-Mart.
“Our goal is to provide the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive product information to our customers – regardless of how they shop – to improve the shopping experience for our customers,” Rampalli notes.
He said many of Wal-Mart’s large suppliers are already part of the B2B centric Global Data Sync Network and that PCCS is not re-inventing the wheel.
“At the same time, the explosive growth of our Marketplace program has introduced smaller and mid-sized suppliers, sellers tot he Wal-Mart ecosystem that are not part of the Global Data Sync Network program. We want to make it as easy as possible for suppliers to upload their catalog to us — either through the GDSN, the PCCS or both,” Rampalli noted.
He said suppliers who work with third party content service providers can also use either of the two systems to upload their catalogs a long as it’s approved by the supplier.
He said having the full product catalog ensures the retailer will have great content for the customer experience, and also allows for rapid set up of items if and when Walmart decides to carry them.