A significant portion of GDSN-related work happens within a data pool’s web portal, regardless of the completion-level of its programmatic interface. These web portals vary dramatically between the breadth of their features and ease of use.
Consider these factors when analyzing web portals for GDSN data pools:
- Is the web portal user-friendly?
- Does the web portal offer flexibility for its Microsoft Excel uploading capabilities?
- Does the web portal have a workflow?
- What is the process for uploading images?
- Does the web portal support 360-degree image spin uploads?
Outside of functionality specific to the GDSN, there is often additional work required to move data from PIM or ERP systems into GDSN data pools. Mapping data from the source system to the GDD is the most substantial of these tasks. GDD attributes with RDD or “top-off” attributes, for example, require separate input values for every unique GDSN endpoint.
From character length requirements for product titles to product identification, every target can have different attribute specifications. When loading this data from a source system, it must be mapped from the source system to the GDD — and even within the GDD, some data transformation may be required.
This process is why many larger customers of 1WorldSync have historically used Lansa alongside the 1WorldSync data pool. Lansa would load data from a manufacturer’s PIM or ERP system and transform it to meet specific endpoint requirements. However, this leads to additional licensing costs and systems to maintain. Brands who do not have a solution provider, such as Lansa, then face time-consuming and error-prone manual data entry processes.
Data pool flexibility for loading and mapping data will determine whether a brand needs additional systems for on-ramping to the GDSN.
