Feed Management Marketplaces: What is that?

Feed Management Marketplaces is an application that helps companies get their products to consumers by displaying them in the right marketplaces. An effective implementation of Feed Management Marketplaces helps businesses grow by gaining more customers and driving sales. In addition, a Feed Management application will save you a lot of time on administration, minimize incorrect data, and gives you full control on product management.

What is Data Feed Management?

Data feed management is the process of importing, optimizing, and updating product feeds to improve the results of online shopping. These results are optimized by increasing the visibility of the products for commercial purposes on different platforms. A data feed management tool uses templates that are automatically filled with the associated data files.

Example of a data feed: Google Merchant Center

Sales channels and marketplaces have a list of feed specifications that you must meet in order to use that platform. Usually, it is indicated whether entering the information is mandatory or optional. For example, see the requirements for creating a product feed at Google.

Why should you use a feed management tool?

There are thousands of sales channels, marketplaces, comparison platforms, marketplaces, affiliate marketing websites and social media platforms where you can get your products listed. Each of these platforms has its own unique requirements and regulations. Without a feed management tool, you would have to manually adjust the product information for each platform accordingly.

In order to tackle your business goals in a highly competitive field, you have to reach your target audience, show your products and services correctly and drive traffic to your webshop. The benefits of additional shopping channels include:

• More traffic – spread the risk of traffic loss
• International reach/ expansion
• Control on ROI and profitability
• Tag channels and analyze the performances through Google Analytics
• Reach new target groups
• Extra visibility for your products and services.

Feed management helps you to manage your KPI’s efficiently and ensure you are prepared properly to effectively sell online.

Another advantage of using a feed management tool, is that you get more brand awareness if you offer your products with the name of your online store in more places. This makes a huge difference in advertising costs.

What is a good data feed management system?

If your ambition is to grow your business – nationally and/or internationally – then you are looking for ways to work at low costs with higher efficiency. A good data feed management system is crucial to make your e-commerce processes profitable.

There are a number of points to keep in mind when choosing a data feed management system:

• First of all, it is important that you can easily and effectively import the data in different formats, after which you can adjust and optimize them.
• It must be possible to simultaneously monitor the product information and adapt it to the different sales channels.
• Product feeds must be able to be deployed and adapted to the specific strategies and requirements unique to particular platforms and distribution channels.
• By centralizing data of products, orders, sales, etc. from the different sales channels, it should provide you with a simple overview of the products and sales activities.
• At the touch of a button, it should show a performance report per product (number of clicks, costs, sales, margins, ROI, etc.).

What is Feed Management used for and by which companies?

Feed Management is used for all important actions that a retailer must perform in order to stay up-to-date with his (or her) online business and to maintain or increase a good competitive position. You can think of:

Feed management systems can be used to obtain the correct data

With a feed management system you are ensured to obtain correct data in the required formats for:

• Payment platforms
• Currency management
• Point-of-sale providers
• Agreements with warehouse and logistics companies
• Personnel administration
• Accountancy

Typical sources used for feed management

• e-Commerce systems such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as NetSuite, Sap, JD Edwards

Online companies that use feed management

A few examples of online companies that use feed management:

• Brandfield.nl
• Google Merchant Center
• Marktplaats.nl
• bol.com
• Amazon.com
• Walmart.com

Please visit the case study of Brandfield to see how we, together with Celigo, have redesigned the application landscape to drastically improve the integration possibilities with a feed management tool.

Key Technologies for Integrated Feed Management

Integratieplatform (iPaaS) of Feed Management Tool: wanneer welke tool gebruiken?

Integration platform (iPaaS)

• Key-out-of-the-box functionality: error handling, guaranteed data delivery, mapping, pre-built flows, etc.
• Standardizes how applications are connected to each other
• Speeds up time to integrate with less technical resources
• Use for applications requiring immediate control, adjustments, frequent changes, or expansion.

Example: Adjustments for bundled items via Amazon that require multiple items, but a single kit item in NetSuite

Feed Management Tool

• Use for applications in smaller markets, where standardization is possible and less direct control or customization is required.

Example: integrate all systems in the local or English language.

Is my software suitable for feed management?

Feed management tools can be implemented for every platform, from Shopify or Woocommerce to NetSuite and Celigo. However, using the right software is crucial to efficiently manage and expand an online shop.

We at ZangaBee are specialized in integrating and implementing ERP and CRM systems with third-party applications, including feed management systems. We will have a good look at which integrations are suitable for your company, to offer maximum functionality and efficiency. We also take your long term goals into account so that the implementations are flexible and can be adjusted as needed.

ZangaBee helps you to be ready for the future of automation

Are you interested in making your webshop or website suitable for various online marketplaces in order to strengthen your competitive position nationally and/or internationally? Then please contact us. You can be assured that we give you advice without any obligations. We would be happy to help you with the development of your company/organization so that you can be ready for a future with automation!