Quality data is essential for online sales

Lars Emperor Bob

Head of product onboarding, Matas

Text:

Karen Gahrn

Photo:

Kasper Løftgaard

How do you use GS1 in your everyday life?

- Basically, we want to make it easier to be a supplier to Matas. At the same time, we want to give suppliers full responsibility for ensuring that their product data has a strong and usable quality. Today, both we and our suppliers spend far too much time on data washing before we can create the products.

Working together on GS1 introduces a common language and, not least, suppliers only need to set up one place for all retailers, which will be a significant efficiency gain. At the same time, data will be quality controlled and we will achieve a better process. In addition, in the near future we will experience stricter requirements from the EU, such as extended producer responsibility and a Digital Product Passport. We can only succeed here by standardizing the data model and structure.

How does the collaboration with GS1 contribute and develop in your company?

- As more of our sales are made online, it's imperative that the product looks as attractive and sales-ready digitally as it does when you hold it in your hand. A lack of product data online gives the customer little opportunity to choose the right product. You could say that poor quality product data is like putting a product on the shelf without a label.

In Varens Go Live (a project that stems from Matas' growth strategy, ed.), we hold a product in our hands from the first dialog with the supplier, through creation/washing/enrichment, until the product is bought home and is finally ready for sale with pictures and good product descriptions. It's a new way of ensuring an effective product launch that I haven't seen anywhere else.

We really want more of our suppliers to get on GS1 and start exchanging data with Matas, so we get a more efficient process for all parties.

For me, GS1Trade Sync and GS1Trade Exact are two sides of the same coin, for us it's about getting access to high quality data so that the product appears super sharp both in store and online.