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Feature
Product data is holding the industry back
INDEPENDENT research published this year by GS1 UK and Barbour ABI estimates that poor product information is costing UK construction up to £ 3.8 billion a year- with three in four businesses still managing product data through static PDFs and brochures rather than live, structured formats. The industry knows this: 93 % see real value in better product data, yet 99 % report facing barriers to achieving it.
In a flat market, the businesses that grow will be the ones easiest to trade with- and increasingly, easiest to find. AI-driven search and shopping tools are already changing how buyers discover products, and poor data means being invisible to both people and machines.
At this year’ s BMF Conference event, Data Yard will assess the position in the building materials sector and how members can use better structured product data to grow their businesses. This One Voice feature article gives a précis of the presentation that will be part of the Conference Day.
At the BMF Conference, Data Yard will take a 12-month look at the state of product data, what’ s holding the industry back, and the practical tools helping suppliers and merchants turn better data into commercial opportunity.
1. 12 Months of Data Yard, What Have We Learned?
• What 12 months of real supplier product data tells us about the industry
• The journey from spreadsheets and PDFs towards structured, usable data
• What we’ ve learned from working directly with suppliers and merchants
Key message: We knew product data was a problem. Twelve months of working with the industry have shown us just how big the problem really is and, importantly, that it can be fixed.
2. The Problem- Why Is Product Data Holding the Industry Back?
The uncomfortable truth about the state of industry data.
• The findings from the new state-ofthe-nation assessment
• How good- or bad- is UK building materials product data?
• Where are the biggest gaps?
• Why are spreadsheets, PDFs and brochures still so prevalent?
• The hidden cost of poor data
• How poor data creates friction for suppliers, merchants and customers
• The commercial impact:
o o o
Products taking longer to list Manual data cleansing Duplicate effort o o o o
Poor search and discoverability Inaccurate product information Difficulty comparing products Lost sales opportunities
• AI and the changing buying journey
• Why structured data is becoming essential to being found by both people and machines
Key message: Poor product data isn’ t just a data problem. It’ s a commercial problem.
3. From Problem to Solution- What Have We Built?
Practical tools to help the industry close the gap.
Rather than simply telling members their data isn’ t good enough; Data Yard aims to show them what they can actually do about it.
Tools and support developed over the last 12 months:
• Product Data Template
• Data Yard itself
• ETIM and classification
• Data mapping tools
• Data quality assessment
• Data validation
• Onboarding and support
• The staged approach to improving data
• How suppliers can move from their current position towards a higher level of data maturity
Key message: This isn’ t about expecting everyone to fix everything overnight. It’ s about giving the industry a practical route from where they are today to where they need to be.
4. The Customer View- Turning Data into Growth
What does better product data actually mean commercially for a supplier?
• Get products to market faster
• Reduce repetitive data requests from customers
• Supply data once rather than repeatedly reworking it
• Improve product discoverability
• Make products easier for merchants to list and sell
• Improve digital product presentation
• Prepare for AI-driven search and shopping
• Reduce internal administration
• Create a single, trusted source of product information
• Move product data from an administrative burden to a commercial asset
Supplier takeaway: Better data makes you easier to trade with and, increasingly, easier to find.
The Merchant View- What Does Good Supplier Data Mean for You?
Better supplier data should mean less work for merchants and better experiences for customers.
• Less manual data cleansing
• Less chasing suppliers for missing information
• Faster product onboarding
• Consistent product information
• Better search and filtering
• Better digital merchandising
• Improved customer experience
• Fewer errors and returns
• Better ability to compare and substitute products
• Creating a stronger digital foundation for the merchant sector
Merchant takeaway: The quality of the data you receive directly affects how efficiently you can sell the products you stock.
6. The Commercial Opportunity- From Data Problem to Growth
The shift:
Poor data → friction → cost → lost opportunity
versus
Better data → efficiency → discoverability → better customer experience → growth
Better data can create opportunity in a flat market:
• Being easier to trade with
• Being easier to find
• Being easier for customers to compare
• Being ready for AI
• Reducing the cost of managing product information
• Getting products to market quicker
Product data isn’ t the destination. It’ s the infrastructure that enables growth.
7. Your Data Yard Assessment- Where Do You Stand?
FREE- BMF member data assessment offer.
• Data Yard product data assessment
• An indication of where the business currently sits
• The key gaps identified
• What they should prioritise
• A practical route to the next level
Where you are → Where the industry is → Where you need to be
Join the Data Yard session at the BMF Conference on September 17th or contact Data Yard to discuss how you can get involved.
Email- info @ datayard. co. uk Web- https:// www. datayard. co. uk /
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