Product Data Governance Framework: The Backbone of B2B eCommerce Excellence

Product data governance is a crucial process for any business that wants to succeed and grow in today’s digital age. Having checks and balances for the product information for an item you are selling on any given marketplace is more important than it might seem.

Imagine shopping online for a portable baby car seat that fits a stroller. Weight matters – every gram counts for a new parent. You find the perfect one listed at 3.95 kg (8.7 lbs), but when checking other marketplaces, you see conflicting weights: 4.65 kg (10 lbs) on one site and 3.25 kg (7.2 lbs) on another. Confused and frustrated, you lose trust in the brand. Inconsistent product data can quickly drive customers away.
With the right data governance components in place, this scenario would never occur. This article explores best practices, frameworks, and strategies for implementing an effective product management governance framework.

What Is a Data Governance Framework?

A product data governance framework represents a structured set of guidelines that help companies control product information efficiently. Several globally recognized governance models provide valuable insights, such as:

• DAMA-DMBOK (Data Management Body of Knowledge): Defines principles and best practices for data governance.
• FAIR Data Principles: Focuses on making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.
• ISO 8000: Ensures data quality standards for businesses handling large-scale product information.

Companies implementing these frameworks avoid discrepancies in product data and ensure consistency across marketplaces and platforms.

Product Data Governance Products and Services

Companies looking to improve their product data governance services can use a variety of tools and platforms, including:

• PIM Systems: Akeneo, Salsify, Pimcore (to centralize and structure product data)
• Data Quality & Validation Tools: Talend, Informatica, Data Ladder (to automate error detection)
• Data Syndication Platforms: Gepard, Syndigo, Contentserv (to distribute product data across multiple sales channels)
• AI-Powered Data Management: IBM Watson, Google Cloud Data Catalog (for automated data enrichment and governance enforcement)

Data Governance vs. Data Management

Often many people are confused as to what data governance is versus data management. It’s important to differentiate and understand what data governance and management are. When it comes to describing data management, DAMA, a community of experts in the field, defines it as “the processes used to plan, specify, enable, create, acquire, maintain, use, archive, retrieve, control, and purge data.”

Whereas data governance is only one element of the overall process of data management. Nevertheless, a crucial part of data governance deals with overseeing procedures that an organization has set in order to have the quality and security of the data it possesses and operates with.

Data Governance Framework

Every business that deals with extensive amounts of eCommerce data needs to be able to view the whole picture of product data governance. To achieve that, the best course of action is utilizing a data governance framework that can help with such operations as collection, management, distribution and storage.

Such a framework consists of seven basic steps that lead organizations to an agile data governance implementation:

1. Goal setting and comprehending the benefits.

2. Analyzing the present status and performing traditional delta analysis.

3. Laying out a a roadmap based on the findings.

4. Reassuring the course of action with all involved parties and laying out a budget.

5. Initiating and organizing the data governance program.

6. Executing the program step by step.

7. Observing, checking the progress and quality of the program and adjusting where needed.

Naturally, each organization can and should have its own custom data governance framework. It should ideally work best for the manufacturer or a brand and meet the objectives that lead to the relevant outcome.

Data Governance Benefits

Over 65% of data leaders have identified data governance as their primary focus for 2024, surpassing other areas like data quality (47%) and AI initiatives (44%).

• Standardizing the approach to working with data across the organization

Any company can benefit from the systematic process that a framework offers. Standardizing data governance increases efficiency and decreases the amount of time needed to handle information throughout digital platforms.

• Gaining more transparency in data governance and management

When a clear protocol is implemented in the way an organization works with data, it provides an easy workflow. On top of that, accurately following the guidelines that are set for data management results in the transparency of information to the relevant people in a company and still follows security measures.

• Easy auditing when needed

Auditing can be both a costly and daunting task for many businesses. Once again, if clear guidelines are followed, this will provide an opportunity for auditing to be an uncomplicated task that is done with the help of a few simple commands in a spreadsheet.

• Transparency even with a multi-tenant approach

Last but not least, even if your information is distributed across multiple platforms, it is still transparent if all of the points of a pre-established framework are followed.

Importance of Data Governance for Marketers

Clean, structured, and reliable product data helps businesses stand out, build customer trust, and drive higher conversions. Here’s why marketers should make product data governance a priority:

Boosting SEO and Search Visibility

Imagine a customer searching for “wireless noise-canceling headphones.” If your product data is optimized with structured data and schema markup, search engines can easily understand and display your listings in rich snippets, improving click-through rates.

Ensuring Brand Consistency Across Platforms

Have you ever seen the same product listed with different specs on Amazon, eBay, and a brand’s official store? This inconsistency confuses customers and damages trust. A strong data governance strategy ensures product descriptions, images, and attributes remain uniform across all sales channels, reinforcing credibility and professionalism.

Improving Customer Trust and Reducing Returns

Customers rely on accurate product information to make purchasing decisions. If a customer orders a laptop that’s advertised with a 15-hour battery life, but the actual runtime is 10 hours, frustration and returns are inevitable. Data governance ensures that all product specs are verified, complete, and up to date, leading to higher customer satisfaction and fewer costly returns.

Enhancing Personalization and Targeted Marketing

Retailers and eCommerce brands thrive on personalization. With properly governed product data, businesses can deliver hyper-relevant recommendations based on customer preferences. Whether it’s personalized email campaigns, AI-driven product suggestions, or dynamic retargeting ads, high-quality data helps create tailored experiences that drive engagement and sales.

As product information management trends evolve, businesses that maintain structured product data governance will adapt faster to digital changes and remain competitive.

Product Data Governance Strategy For Brands And Manufacturers

For eCommerce businesses, establishing a product data governance strategy is a crucial aspect as it has a direct effect on brand reputation and revenue. When it comes to working with product data, the important part is to list out the key elements. Once that is done, they need to be treated as strategic resources.

Some of the key points to take away when coming up with a strategy are:

1. Ease of use for all stakeholders

Make sure that business users (everyone except developers who are hands-on with the product data) can utilize the product data easily. Avoid over-restricting data access.

2. Transparent product data lifecycle

When product data is moving through the stages of its entire lifecycle, transparency is a key component to the best outcome. From the initial stages of determining attributes for a particular item that will be manufactured and sold, to creating the description listing and distributing it on third-party platforms, everyone who is involved in the process should have clear communication in place that guarantees transparency.

Using global product data exchange ensures seamless data synchronization, allowing businesses to maintain consistency across multiple sales channels and marketplaces.

3. Pre-validation & assets adaptation

To ensure high quality of product descriptions, it’s important to review the information listed. Removing outdated details and updating new ones will provide an accurate product feed that in return boosts your customers’ confidence in the buying decision.

4. Controlled delivery & coverage monitoring

The last step is the actual delivery process that requires accurate formatting for each endpoint the information is being uploaded to. Once all of the descriptions are successfully distributed throughout the external sales channels, it’s important to double-check them. Review if there are any errors in the descriptions, confirm that the correct product pictures were chosen and make sure that all of the intended products were listed.

PIM and Product Data Governance

A PIM data governance strategy keeps all product information in one place, making updates easy and ensuring accuracy. To maintain high-quality data, businesses should standardize how data is entered, automate error checks, regularly review data accuracy, and adapt as product catalogs grow.

Case Study: How Opple Lighting Transformed Chaos into Control with PIM

Opple Lighting was overwhelmed by scattered product data, mismatched specifications, and time-consuming manual updates. Keeping up with EPREL compliance was a constant struggle, leading to errors and inefficiencies. It was clear they needed a smarter, more automated solution.

To fix this, they turned to Gepard PIM – and the transformation was game-changing. Here’s what happened:

• No more painstaking manual uploads. PIM automated product data syndication, making updates effortless.
• EPREL regulations required strict data accuracy. With PIM’s structured validation, Opple ensured every product met compliance standards without constant manual checks.
• Instead of scattered, inconsistent product listings, Opple Lighting centralized all product data, making it easier to manage, update, and distribute.

Here are the results:

•  80% less manual work – Employees could focus on strategy instead of tedious data entry.
• 100% compliance with EPREL – No more regulatory risks or last-minute data fixes.
• Faster product launches – Streamlined processes meant quicker updates and listings.

By leveraging PIM for data governance, Opple Lighting turned a chaotic, time-consuming process into an efficient, streamlined system – boosting accuracy, compliance, and productivity.

Gepard’s Role In Product Data Governance

Inconsistent product data leads to lost sales and frustrated customers. Strong product data governance turns this chaos into a strategic advantage. With Gepard PIM’s automated content optimization, compliance checks, and digital shelf analytics, businesses can enforce governance policies, ensure accuracy, and maintain consistency effortlessly.

A structured governance approach means fewer abandoned carts, stronger customer trust, and better market performance. Contact Gepard and learn how to successfully take control of your product data.