Catalog Management: In-house or Out-sourced?

[Nomad UX]

Many organizations face the dilemma of managing their inventory catalog in-house or outsourcing the function to an external vendor. Need to overcome the challenges of setting up or refining your in-house catalog team to handle the job? Or should you take a step back and manage the relationship with an external expert who provides these services, tailored to your needs? The decision is not so obvious; There are several questions to consider.

Managing data integrity is a full-time job if done right. Many organizations make the mistake of incorporating directory responsibilities into other functions so that the resource is neither targeted nor dedicated to the task.

Let me illustrate with a real life example. A multi-site producer had a part-time listing on each of its twelve locations in the business. There were no established internal processes to follow and no templates for data entry. Each company entered data into the description in free form as they liked to see it. These people came and went, and over time the database grew steadily.

Results were displayed in the data... spelling errors, inconsistent manufacturer nomenclature, inconsistent abbreviations, inconsistent words / symbols, incomplete description of information and duplicates. System word searches were almost impossible; the data was a mess. Finding a part has been a frustrating, difficult and generally unsuccessful experience. They were not alone in their situation. Inventory was seen as a necessary evil and seldom bothered to improve it.

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Another common mistake in the management of directories is to give the responsibility to a non-merchant. We have often seen cataloguers who did not have the basic knowledge to correctly identify a part. The item description entered into the system cannot be recognized by service personnel using the part.

The consequences can be costly for the business. There is a spare parts container on the shelf (already paid for), and when an unrecognizable part is needed, a maintenance worker cannot find it in the system, so they order the part directly (and often from a "RUSH" prize). to complete your work. The bottom line is that inventory purchases and cash purchases have increased business expenses.

Building an internal directory team isn't as easy as it sounds, unless you think of it as a one-time data entry job. So it's very simple: you just need someone who can write and spell. But if you see it as the central point that connects your purchasing and maintenance teams, you have several challenges to overcome in finding the right skill that meets the demands of the job.

Catalogers not only need to know what the part is and how to describe it so that maintenance workers will recognize it, but they also need to know how to use it and what material quality and specifications are required. And they must have a process for setting up new item descriptions. Finding someone with all of these skills can be a difficult task. And it can be nearly impossible to find several (across the company) to work together.

In addition, you need to develop internal procedures and processes around the catalog itself to establish the standard nomenclature you want to use, to develop models of consistency and integrity, to assign responsibility for the data.
This is a lot to consider for a business that is not in the business of catalog management!

An alternative option is to outsource the catalog management function to experts - dedicated and qualified personnel to carry out the work, so that the description of each item matches the manufacturer's specifications. The next time a maintenance worker searches the inventory catalog for the item, they immediately recognize it and use it from the store shelf.

Catalog management companies have staff who are constantly working with spare parts data. Many of them are former traders or people familiar with manufacturers' catalogs. They have often developed in-house software tools to improve the efficiency of their catalogers: predefined sub-models (with drop-down attribute lists), manufacturers' catalogs in electronic form for easy retrieval, data analysis tools, and so on.

These resources are available to provide you with information within a guaranteed period of time (hours, not days), and your payment options for these services generally range from a fixed monthly price based on the minimum / maximum catalog activity thresholds to one per one. Sku (warehouse unit), where you only pay for the services you use. Either way can be quite profitable for an organization…. a very viable alternative. The challenge then is to find a company with the skills you want.

Since directory management companies act as an extension of your own organization, it is important that you are able to work easily and develop a good relationship with the resources that are assigned to you. You need the peace of mind of knowing that the integrity of your data is maintained to its usual high standards. Your goal should be: consistent, comprehensive quality work at a reasonable price, delivered on time.

Going back to our concrete example, the company chose to outsource its directory management needs. A post-mortem inspection a year later confirmed their decision. While they didn't see any reduction in staff, they did see an improvement in maintenance efficiency when locating parts. They also documented savings by avoiding duplication of work, streamlining excess inventory levels, and reducing product lines. Most importantly, they were able to set up a single enterprise directory that was kept in sync across all sites (and across multiple systems) ... a goal they had previously failed to achieve alone.

Directory management is a challenge that most multi-site producers face on a daily basis. Each organization must decide for itself whether it should be addressed internally or whether it uses the services of an external provider. Each decision has unique challenges for management. There is no right answer, but not solving the problem at all will definitely add to the cost of your business.