A recent Deloitte report listed ‘Investing in advanced technologies to help mitigate risk’ as a key priority for the US manufacturing industry. Though this insight came from the US market, case studies from WoodWing have also revealed that European manufacturers have focused on digitalisation in recent years. As such, this priority should also be a key focus for the APAC region's manufacturing sector.

When it comes to reducing business costs, many people think of it as a cost-cutting exercise. While this approach has validity, it does not always yield the best results; making the wrong cuts could seriously damage your operations and the customer experience. Instead, I encourage you to think about cost reduction as an opportunity to optimise costs. Consider how you can get more from what you already have and find areas to optimise operations to reduce unnecessary costs.

Data integration provides numerous opportunities to reduce expenses across your business while enhancing your operations. It can maximise ROI, eliminate redundant data entry work and provide you with an opportunity to take advantage of cloud platforms.

Rather than grappling with multiple systems, you can reduce costs with a single source of truth for your data, ensuring that you work with accurate, up-to-date information. 

Whether a customer makes a purchase relies heavily on the product content. Images and descriptions without ample information can make people second guess their decision and may result in them not proceeding with the sale.

When shopping, we can often choose from different options for a particular product. A phone case might come in ten different colours, or a pair of shoes might have three designs; marketers must account for all this content and ensure its consistency. They also have the difficult job of not only ensuring consistency but enriching it to suit the channel or campaign.

The digital content supply chain is a process that connects product content across its lifecycle and eases distribution. It starts upstream with digital assets created by manufacturers and other primary content creators. These digital assets must then be sent downstream and stored in a repository for retailers and distribution partners. These companies can then enrich the content to suit each channel, overlay it with campaign-specific content, and publish it for consumers to view in print or digital media.

A Product Content Management (PCM) platform supports the digital content supply chain in the following ways:

We can describe data integration in multiple ways and apply it to many situations, so let’s begin by looking at a couple of definitions…

Manual data entry across siloed systems drags down efficiency and accuracy in your organisation. Mundanity and repetition breeds mistakes as staff become disengaged with their work. 

Traditional business models have relied on monthly, quarterly, or yearly planning to set strategic goals and define the next steps. Today, we live in a world where technology continues evolving, and customer expectations keep changing along with the market.

Gone are the days of five-year plans. The pace of disruption has reached an intensity such that any business model today could be unviable in five years.

An agile business plan is the key to success. You must be able to pivot quickly and make changes on the fly to stay ahead of the competition. One way to achieve this agility is through systems integration. Integrated systems bring together the data you need to make informed business decisions and find cut-through in the market.

The success of your business relies on your ability to make the right strategic bets. It feels like a tenuous line to walk with failure one wrong decision away. So how can you increase your chances of making the right decisions and ensuring you do not steer your company in the wrong direction?

Personalised content has become imperative for retail companies to compete and stay relevant to their customers. In response, I have seen two trends emerge: omnichannel content delivery and first-party customer data collection. What exactly do these encapsulate, why do they need to be considered collectively, and what do they mean for your retail business?

Right now, technology companies worldwide churn out innovation at a rapid pace. Recent years have seen a sharp acceleration in the capabilities of Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Each new technology and solution promises a compelling, unique benefit.

A modern retail business deals with more moving parts than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. You might serve customers in a physical store, but they also interact with your brands and products throughout the day. Social influencers promote products during your customers’ personal time, which leads to research during the day, with a final online purchase potentially made in the evening.