Preparing for the B2B digital revolution

© 2017 Dakota Systems, Inc. www.daksys.com

What B2B manufacturers need to know about digital transformation

Preparing for the B2B digital revolution

Paul Wlodarczyk, PIM Practice LeadMarch 2017


THE SUPPLY CHAIN IS GOING DIGITAL

How we discoverHow we exploreHow we

compareHow we price

How we transactHow we support

Print Web MobileStores Print Catalogs e-CatalogsSamples Site SearchBids e-Auctions MarketplacesOrders EDI e-CommercePhone & Manuals Web Apps

© 2017 Dakota Systems, Inc. www.daksys.com 3Source: Forrester/Internet Retailer Q1 2015 US B2B Buyer Channel Preferences Online Survey

B2B BUYERS EXPECT A B2C EXPERIENCE

B2B buyers’ prefer researching products online with rich content and effective search / SEO.B2B buyers prefer buying online for most purchases –via distributors & marketplaces. B2B buyers prefer buying from salespeople for complex or expensive purchases, or those requiring service and installation.

93% Prefer to buy online once they’ve decided what to buy

74% Think buying online is more convenient

71% Value a convenient purchase process over loyalty

59% Prefer not to interact with a sales rep

53% Prefer gathering info online on their own

82% Prefer a sales rep when purchase is complex

67% Prefer a sales rep when product requires installation or service

© 2017 Dakota Systems, Inc. www.daksys.com 4

“Going digital” requires retooling IT platforms, and reengineering sales and marketing processes. Because the change is sweeping, digital transformations are complex, costly, and time consuming.

It can take years and cost millions.

Website redesign & replatformSite searchAnalyticse-Commerce implementationPIM implementationProduct data remediationProduct content syndicationCustomer self-service

MARKET LEADERS INVEST IN TRANSFORMATION




$3B distributorFrom $0 to $1.6B online revenue>1M products>5 years>$50M invested>$5M on product data aloneSource: MSC Direct website





$10B distributor$4.1B online revenue>1.5M products online700% increase in marketing spend over 5 years4X increase in talent for digitalSource: Grainger 2015 Fact Book


© 2017 Dakota Systems, Inc. www.daksys.com 7Source: Practical E-Commerce, October 2016

AMAZON & OTHERS WILL DEFINE THE MARKET

$855B in B2B commerce happened online in 2016. Much of that is shifting to marketplaces.Amazon and other B2B marketplaces are creating an existential threat to traditional industrial suppliers.Marketplaces create value for B2B buyers (convenience and low price). Marketplaces can diminish the value of manufacturers’ brands when they restrict availability of product content.

30K Amazon Business vendors in year 1

9M Amazon Business items in stock

$1B Amazon Business Year 1 Revenue

20% Amazon’s MoM sales growth rate in 2016

400K Amazon registered buyers in 2Q 2016

$49 Amazon Business free shipping order size

5M Amazon Business items with quantity discounts

© 2017 Dakota Systems, Inc. www.daksys.com 8Source: Amazon annual report 2016

AMAZON CONTINUES TO DEFINE ECOMMERCE

Amazon accounted for 43% of all online sales in 2016, and over half of all ecommerce growth.Amazon continues to innovate technology that makes it easier for people to shop and transact online.Our on-line behavior as consumer extends to our work lives.This trend is often called the “consumerization” of B2B commerce.

43% Amazon’s share of ALL US online commence in 2016

53% Amazon’s share of US 2016 online sales growth

~90% researched products on Amazon for work

~80% bought products on Amazon for work


THE ONLINE CATALOG IS YOUR NEW FRONT DOOR For manufacturers with an

online product catalog, as much as 80% of their website traffic enters through the catalog. The majority of that traffic lands directly on product detail pages.The product detail page is the digital front door to your business. Through it, prospects learn about you. Shoppers become customers. Customers get support and buy related products and supplies.How well is your front door working? How do you know?


Despite the digital revolution, B2B manufacturers’ sales & marketing communications still rely heavily on printed catalogs, datasheets, and brochures, especially in Europe.

THE CONTENT SUPPLY CHAIN REMAINS ANALOG

Source: Worldwide Business Research – B2B Online Europe 2016 Survey


RICHER CONTENT MEANS 5-15%

MORE REVENUEGoogle Manufacturer Center before/after studies illustrate the value of more detailed product information. Increase in conversions after adding rich product attributes:• JanSport backpacks – 13%• Speakman – 8%• Bosch Power Tools – 4%

Source: Google Adwords Blog, April 2016


LEADERS GROW FASTER

There is a payoff for migrating product content to digital. The best grow 5x faster than the rest in B2B.

(based on the McKinsey Digital Quotient® of 18 management practices related to digital strategy, capabilities, culture, and organization that correlate most strongly with growth and profitability)


B2B manufacturers know what to do for digital. They need help on how.

B2B manufacturers have become aware of the importance of customer experience and winning approaches to digital transformation.The challenges are closing gaps in digital leadership, governance, suppliers, process, technology, and skills. We suggest adding digital product content and data to the list of gaps.


WHAT B2B MANUFACTURERS NEED

Digital Transformati

on - now!

Ability to perform new

work of digital

Digital content to power new experiences

New sources of product

differentiation

Insight and ability to

adapt quickly

(without time

& expense)

(with current staff & skills)

(using existing content)

(for today’s products)

(within existing

processes)


Total Product ExperienceThe Total Product Experience encompasses product information in all its various forms and languages, digital and analog, interactive and static.It includes product catalogs, web pages, brochures, pricing, availability, user guides, service manuals, knowledge bases, schematics, drawings, models, images, videos, UI, help, training – at every stage of the customer lifecycle.


Total Product ExperienceThe Product Experience touches every customer interaction with your products, at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Your company’s customers – in all their roles – engage it in every product-centered transaction.As more of the Product Experience becomes digital, you have the ability to make it more engaging, and measure it.


Total Product ExperienceIndividual prospects & customers engage in “micro-journeys” – brief interactions with the product experience. Applying the best practices of user-centered design (e.g. personas, journey mapping), multi-channel publishing, search, and web analytics, manufacturers can observe and analyze these interactions. Product-centered analytics provide insight into customer needs, and the basis for continual improvement.


Total Product ExperienceYou can accelerate your Digital Transformation using your existing product content – in all of its formats, whatever the system.You can create compelling digital experiences – in a fraction of the time and cost.You can measure the ROI of your product experience, and gain insights into customer needs.And – you can do this with your existing staff and skill sets.Let Dakota show you how.


DAKOTA CAN ACCELERATE YOUR TRANSFORMATION

Digital Transformation Strategy & Planning

Change Management, Training & Staff Aug

Information Architecture & Content

Transformation

Product Experience Design &

Optimization

Product- and Content-Centered Analytics

Your plan. Your team. Your content. Your brand. Your results.


Pathway to PIM: A Program for Success

20

• Pain points• Objectives• Gap analysis• Baseline & KPIs

Audit & Baseline

0100110101

• Legacy data ETL• Legacy data

cleanup• Data extraction• Attribute data fill• Data normalization• Data migration to

PIM

Product Data Cleanup & Migration

PIM Deployment

• Define roles, work process, business process, policies, organization structure

• Integrate with product lifecycle management (PLM), search, commerce

• Actionable Product-centered Analytics

• Plan for new product categories & product acquisitions

PIM & Data Governance

• Market research: competitor & distributor product hierarchies for print, web & PIM

• Design PIM hierarchy • Define category

attributes & inheritance

• Style handbook

Product Hierarchy& Attributes

• Data & taxonomy audit

• Product UX audit• Cross-functional

team established• PIM requirements• Deployment

roadmap• PIM technology

selection

Requirements & Roadmap

PIM Readiness


Information Architecture & Content TransformationCase Study: The PIM-free Product CatalogA manufacturer of specialty valves & controls must deliver detailed product specifications in electronic and print catalogs for 600 base products with over 10,000 SKUs.Over 5000 documents related to these products need to be accessible for buyers, end users, installers, and service technicians.

Before:• 90% of the content is in

engineering PLM system• Rekeyed and redrawn by tech

pubs team to create static web catalog pages & print catalog

• Time consuming & error proneAfter:• Automated publishing of

datasheets and digital catalog from engineering data

• “One source of the truth” for product specs & docs

• An integrated product experience


Information Architecture & Content TransformationCase Study: Product Data ClearinghouseA manufacturer of commercial and residential plumbing fixtures must deliver detailed product specifications for 5000 base products and 100K SKUs in datasheets, on their website, and to distributors and retailers. Product teams needed one place to maintain and publish product data, documents, & digital assets.

Before:• Product specifications and

documents stored in multiple systems with no single point of access.

After:• All product data and documents

in a single clearinghouse• “One source of the truth” for

product specs & docs• Publishing from one source to

documents, global website, distributors & retailers

• Employees & partners can access complete & authoritative product info


Product- and Content-Centered AnalyticsCase Study: Product Experience OptimizationA high-tech equipment manufacturer needed to understand if their online catalog was effectively servicing prospects & customers.The digital team needed to demonstrate the ROI of digital marketing investments to their leadership.The analytics team needed to “level up” their skills.

Before:• Used Google Analytics (GA) to

track traffic to website.• Had high-level stats for visits,

downloads, and pageviews, but couldn’t track journeys.

After:• Track personas on journeys, e.g.

architects designing a facility, engineers buying individual units, and installers seeking manuals & support.

• Report journey success rates by persona, and measure ROI in terms of leads converted, revenue, and self-service. Can track trends over time and identify issues.

• Analytics team now has a playbook for how to improve results through UX, search, IA, and content projects.


Dakota Systems, Inc. is a privately-held corporation headquartered in the heart of downtown Chicago, specializing in digital communication solutions. Since 1999 we’ve been a trusted partner for globally recognized engineering-driven and content-rich brands. Our consultants and developers help digital marketers and technical communicators improve the quality, speed, and business impact of their digital communications. Whether working with digital product catalogs, technical manuals, or scientific journals, we maximize technology ROI. Using proven analysis, design, and development methodologies, we quickly and cost-effectively integrate business intelligence and digital communication strategies for our customers.


ServicesStrategy & Roadmap Information ArchitectureDigital Analytics & OptimizationContent & Data Transformation System Deployment & IntegrationCustom DevelopmentStaff Augmentation & TrainingChange Management

PIM Taxonomy & DeploymentProduct Data NormalizationDigital Product Experience Product Content SyndicationTechnical DocumentationElectronic Data InterchangeKnowledge ManagementXML Standards Compliance(DITA, S100D, SPL, XBRL, etc.)

Solutions


Contact usPaul Wlodarczyk Product Information Practice Lead

Office: (585) 598-6050Email: [email protected]: paul.wlodarczykTwitter: @daksyspaulwLinkedIn: /in/paulw

Dakota Systems, Inc.35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1970 Chicago, IL 60601+1 888-834-2152 (US toll free) +1 312-263-4400 (International)Email: [email protected]

@daksys /company/dakota-systems-incwww.daksys.com

Adaptive Content. On Demand.

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