Each task involved in managing product data is handled by a product team member with a particular skill set, and roles are defined accordingly. For example, a content writer drafts the product description and a designer would need to update product images. If the product team works with a freelance photographer, he/she provides the product images.
Managing roles for team members, creating and assigning tasks are essential functions of product data management. Also, as we saw with imports, collaborating with external stakeholders creates additional challenges for role and task management, such as:
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- Suppliers/vendors often send product files riddled with erroneous data. Product teams have to correspond with suppliers via long email threads to get product data updated. Managing tasks this way is cumbersome and inefficient.
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- Using email to share product information with external stakeholders can lead to multiple, redundant copies of product data which are prone to errors, as product teams and suppliers are forced to repeatedly upload/download files from emails.
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- To control access to sensitive product data such as pricing when sharing files with external stakeholders.product teams often maintain a separate set of files that exclude sensitive data, resulting in further redundancy.
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- Product teams can invite external stakeholders such as suppliers and freelancers to join their PIM organization by email. This allows them to set up their account and have their own logins and collaborate in real-time within Unbxd PIM.
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- With Unbxd PIM, everyone has access to one central repository of data where they can edit or update existing data, or add new data as well. This negates the need for repeated file uploads/downloads and avoids redundant copies of product files.
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- Unbxd PIM lets product teams have granular control over access permissions to product data. Administrators can define read/write/manage permissions based on individual users, or based on ‘roles’. For example a content writer can be given ‘write’ permission for just the ‘product description’ property, but might have ‘read-only’ permission for all other properties. Similarly, a freelance photographer can be assigned ‘read/write’ permission for the ‘product images’ property alone, and can be restricted from accessing any other product data.
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- Product teams can create and assign tasks, based on roles or by members. Tasks such as adding/updating product data can be delegated to suppliers, since they know the product information in detail. This allows product teams to focus on more pressing matters, such as enriching product content with digital assets. Unbxd PIM sends email alerts when tasks are assigned, and also when tasks are completed. This makes delegation and management of work a lot more efficient.
