Product Data Quality: Health, Safety, and Security

Why Indominus rex could so easily escape from the cage? It had happened because the dinosaur was genetically created both to entertain kids at Jurassic World Park and to be a perfect weapon: the genetic engineers have more than delivered. The security engineers did not know that it could control body temperature. Temperature sensors were used to track a dinosaur inside the cage. Indominus was smart to become invisible for sensor and escape.

An incident became possible because Indominus features and parameters, such as IQ level, speed, ability to control body temperature, and ability to change skin color were initially unknown to the Jurassic World administration and security engineers.

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PIM for global sourcing: features and functions

Is it possible to share the same product repository and classifier both for buyers and for sellers from different countries and different industries? What features should Product Information Management (PIM) systems have to do so?

Today there are only a few good examples: GS1 and IceCat in FMCG. Some experts could mention UN SPSC, which was initially developed for statistical needs. However, its application in procurement is doubtful.

Clearly, firms have unique requirements to their classifier structures and to the product information. Information that is necessary for one company might be redundant for another. Both abundance of unnecessary details and lack of vital information might reduce process effectiveness. Therefore, companies need customized product templates (item identification guides in ISO 8000 terminology) for items of procurement, items of production, and items of supply.

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Why manufacturers do not reveal all the details about their products?

Sometimes we are confronted with the fact that manufacturers don’t open  all the details about their product to the clients, don’t provide any product specifications that reflect products properties and characteristics at open access. Typically, the reasons for such secrecy is: manufacturer beleives that customers don’t need product information (before they buy Read more…