What Is SXM?

A SupplierXM platform is software that supports retailers in the collection, centralization, listing, enrichment, and publication of product data from suppliers. It serves as a product data management solution.

SupplierXM enables retailers to win the omnichannel shopper through deep collaboration with their suppliers at every stage, from item setup and product discovery to enrichment.

SupplierXM can replace existing processes, such as the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), managed service providers (MSPs), and vendor portals, by allowing for real-time feedback and collaboration with suppliers.

It can also serve as the source of truth for all the data — including listing data, metadata, and enhanced content — needed to deliver enriched consumer experiences.

An effective SupplierXM platform supports retailers by empowering them to take the five critical actions necessary to build winning omnichannel shopping experiences:

1. Collect product data from suppliers — no matter the source or data format.
2. Centralize product data from wherever it is currently stored.
3. List product data in each retailer’s product information management environment.
4. Enrich product data to ensure it's optimized to deliver content-rich ecommerce experiences.
5. Publish product data across multiple channels, including brick-and-mortar retailers, ecommerce channels, and click-and-collect channels.

Retailers need to deliver differentiated consumer experiences in an increasingly competitive retail environment. Staying competitive means you need more product options, more content, and more product details — all available within a few clicks.

Retailers should consider these modern commerce requirements that make implementing a comprehensive SupplierXM platform essential.

Supplier Data Is Crucial to the Shopping Experience

Consumers shop using attribute-based searches, meaning retailers must collect more content from suppliers than ever before to support these digital shelf experiences.

Product Data Volumes and Touch Points Are Ever-Increasing

Product data volumes have reached a tipping point due to increased online consumer shopping and consumer and regulatory pressure. There are an unprecedented amount of consumer touch points — and they all need to have up-to-date product data.

Consumer touch point examples include:

• Retail sites
• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites
• Marketplaces
• Social commerce
• Customer support solutions

To keep customers satisfied, retailers must publish enriched, shoppable experiences in an omnichannel strategy to meet them everywhere they are. 

How SupplierXM Supports Retailers’ 3 Primary Objectives

Thanks to its unique capabilities, an effective SupplierXM platform allows retailers to meet all these needs and requirements while achieving three primary objectives.

1. Quickly Engage and Collaborate With Suppliers
   Retailers have to work with thousands of suppliers to receive, approve, and optimize product data. This process requires having an automated and frictionless supplier onboarding approach built on a platform that supports omnichannel product data.
2. Publish Product Data More Efficiently
   Retailers have to publish error-free product data as quickly as possible. This need requires building responsive and collaborative approval processes that are flexible to serve their suppliers.
3. Keep Up With Ever-Increasing Data Quality Volumes
   Retailers have to manage supplier data quality at scale while simultaneously and continually optimizing their publishing requirements. This need requires continuously adaptive data quality management tools for an increasing number of suppliers, products, and attributes.

An effective SupplierXM platform can help retailers find continued success in the “new” normal of commerce by exhibiting responsiveness, accuracy, and scalability. 

The core benefits of SupplierXM include the ability to:

• Quickly engage and collaborate with suppliers;
• Publish product data more efficiently; and
• Manage supplier data quality at scale. 

SupplierXM Improves Responsiveness

A SupplierXM platform that offers frictionless supplier onboarding allows retailers to quickly engage and collaborate with thousands of suppliers.

Implementing a SupplierXM platform that offers a proven onboarding methodology tested suppliers of all sizes, automated notification tools to identify and send requests to the right supplier contacts, and a dedicated and experienced support team to facilitate supplier onboarding is essential.

SupplierXM Improves Accuracy

A SupplierXM platform must support collaborative data collection, which helps retailers:

• Publish error-free product data;
• Customize their data-collection process according to different business scenarios;
• Centralize multiple components of supplier data collection on a single, unified platform; and
• Simplify product data exchanges with suppliers through integrated collaboration features.

SupplierXM Increases Scalability

SupplierXM’s flexible data quality management enables retailers to keep up with ever-increasing product data volumes.

An effective SupplierXM platform should also:

• Offer a flexible data model customizable to the retailer’s unique needs;
• Monitor suppliers throughout the data collection process and track overall data quality; and
• Have artificial intelligence (AI)-based correction suggestions that enhance product accuracy and searchability.

An effective SupplierXM platform will allow you to provide winning omnichannel shopper experiences without having to sacrifice responsiveness, accuracy, or scalability.

Not only will it help you give the differentiated experiences consumers crave, but you’ll also strengthen your supplier relationships and your product data — a win-win situation for brands and retailers.