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MACH-Based Product Information Management – a Step Towards Composable Commerce

Forward-looking organizations are turning towards a composable approach that gives them agility and a “DIY mindset” in composing their tech stacks with best-of-breed solutions. The changes occur from the smallest particle – master, and product data.As Gartner indicates in its newest “Hype Cycle for Data and Analytics Governance, 2022”, organizations seek to deliver the value of becoming data-driven. There is a growing need for effective master data management of product information for different business areas. The trend of MDM is in an early mainstream stage as the expected time to the plateau is less than two years.Master data management (MDM) solutions and product information management (PIM) solutions are complementary. Many PIM systems already have built-in MDM to ensure there is one source of master data.<h3>Product information, an elementary particle of digital commerce</h3>To realize the importance of product information's quality is to step into shoppers’ shoes. Photos, product descriptions, whitepapers, or testimonials are different product data types. In digital commerce, customers interact through them on various touch points before they see and experience tangible products. In most cases, the purchase decision is based on the quality of product information (its completeness, compelling written copy, etc.)Product-centric companies need to keep an eye on their data and manage them smartly to react quickly to changing customer behavior, enter new markets and add new channels. Modern automation solutions are significant once a company reaches 500+ SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). If e-commerce companies want to improve omnichannel strategy, launch products faster and control the growing volume of data, they should consider adding PIM software to their commerce stack.<h3>What is product information management (PIM) software?</h3>The main job of the PIM solution is to centralize, manage, enrich and publish product content in external channels, all in the most efficient way possible. It supports marketing, e-commerce, and IT teams in their everyday work with product information.PIM core capabilities enable comprehensive product information management, and they can include:<ul><li>team workflow,</li><li>business processes,</li><li>hierarchy management,</li><li>loading,</li><li>syncing,</li><li>modeling, and cleansing data,</li><li>distribution,</li><li>DAM,</li><li>MDM.</li></ul><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt291bfccd550d75e7/62ecf535d3b8a57004567013/ss-pim.png" height="auto"/>A high-quality PIM solution can successfully support multi-channel retailers to overcome their main challenges. The result of efficient product information management is a better, more consistent product and customer experience across all sales and marketing channels, which can translate into increased traffic, conversion rates and customer satisfaction.<h3>Preparing for composable commerce</h3>Commerce based on a business-centric composable approach is increasingly entering the modern retail landscape. And it’s not just a buzzword coined by Gartner in 2020. 95% of <a href="https://www.elasticpath.com/resources/ebooks-white-papers-composable-commerce/state-composable-commerce-2021" target="_blank">Elastic Path's report</a> respondents agree that composable commerce is the approach enterprises should take. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of those "who are aware of composable commerce but not yet implemented it are likely to believe that in five years, most – if not all – companies will be on board."Companies that want to join the digital revolution are looking for modern technologies and remarkable tools. MACH architecture is one of the critical technologies that enable the implementation of composable commerce. According to <a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/our-2022-research-shows-mach-adoption-is-high-on-the-agenda-for-tech-leaders" target="_blank">MACH Alliance’s survey</a>, MACH adaptation is high on the agenda among tech leaders.<h3>How MACH skyrockets the PIM software capabilities?</h3>A product information management system based on MACH architecture fits other best-of-breed solutions like headless CMS, ERP, or DAM and can work with them within a composable ecosystem. With its help, enterprises can create a future-proof, scalable, and open digital stack.MACH tenets and benefits for businessThere are some key differences between ordinary PIM systems and MACH-based ones. Legacy monolithic PIM solutions are convenient for IT and business teams. However, they are often built on a single code base. That means if they get larger over time, the scalability may become limited, and the time of updates and adding new features be extended. MACH-based PIM offers unlimited scalability and agility, resulting from the implemented technology solutions:<ul><li>Microservices-based– thanks to that, PIM software enables fast reaction to technology trends, adding new features, and implementing innovation.</li></ul><ul><li>API-first – makes PIM easy to connect with existing IT components seamlessly and fast. If PIM is part of the API economy, users have unlimited flexibility to connect their product data stored to any system, platform, or channel.</li></ul><ul><li>Cloud-native SaaS – means that PIM was initially built in the cloud and offers a customer the full capabilities of cloud computing, such as elastic scalability, storage, and automatic updates. These benefits are essential, especially in cases such as the rapidly growing number of SKUs and peak sale seasons.</li></ul><ul><li>Headless – allows a free user interface design, significantly promoting omnichannel e-commerce.</li></ul><h3>Summary</h3>With the power of MACH technology, PIM software can support brands, retailers, and wholesalers in standard product information management procedures. Also, it can support business growth with long-term agility and enable customization.The newest ebook, “MACH-Based PIM. The Ultimate Guide for Tech Leaders” by Bluestone PIM, broadly explains how PIM based on MACH principles works in practice, what benefits it brings to businesses, and why it is worth an investment. The publication also includes a comparison of PIM types and frequently asked questions about the technical capabilities of PIM.The ebook is available for <a href="https://hubs.ly/Q01j1rPy0" target="_blank">download here</a> (ungated version).About the author:Zuzanna Zareba is a content writer and tech journalist at Bluestone PIM, where she explains meanders of product information management, e-commerce tips, and CX in simple terms. In a previous life, she juggled the topics as an editor and multitasker PR specialist until the tech space won her heart.<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuzanna-zareba/" target="_blank"><img style="max-width: 580px;" width="100%" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt062e54b1f57811f1/62f644be1256357d9281f68e/Zuzanna_Zareba.png" height="auto"/></a>

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An interview with Casper Rasmussen, our new MACH Alliance President

In his new role as President, he has huge ambition to drive forward the work of the Alliance and the MACH movement. And he has some big shoes to fill, as founder Sonja Keerl moves to the Advisory Board. In this Q&A, we ask Casper about those ambitions and where his focus will be over the next few years.Q: Tell us something about yourself and how you got into composable tech?A: I was passionate about digital and tech from an early age. When I was just 12, I started my own business offering design and implementation services, and a commercial CMS product to small local businesses. I’ve been addicted to digital ever since. My experience over the last two decades or so has taken me through lots of different industries, a great variety of enterprise-grade stacks and established and startup-like business models. Lots of real and legitimate business transformation!Throughout my career, one success criteria ruled them all - flexibility. Flexibility to follow the increasing digital maturity of the enterprise. Flexibility to pivot. Flexibility to scale. Flexibility to enable business and their ‘just in time’ decisions. It becomes a competitive edge, at this point a requirement, for enterprise companies to compete and thrive in the era of exponential growth, i.e. proliferation of 3rd party channels, ever increasing customer expectations, and simply digital volume and market opportunity. Composable and MACH is THE answer to this, and that got me into technology strategies anchored in Microservices, API-First, Cloud-Native SaaS and Headless with my clients.Q: What are you looking forward to the most in your new role as Alliance President?A: To put it simply, I’m passionate about propelling the adoption of MACH technology forward! I’m honored to be in a position where I can continue to educate the market, and drive adoption in categories outside of transactional and experience driven commerce like Retail and CPG. In working with the brilliant minds and extremely friendly peers across our boards, councils and members, I am thrilled to help establish and push the MACH agenda forward.Q: Why do you believe the work of the MACH Alliance is so important?A: The MACH Alliance and everyone who’s been instrumental in establishing the organization started a movement, and now we’re the driving force behind high momentum. We have to take great responsibility. We are responsible for helping companies unlock the opportunity and value of MACH. Our mission is not complete before we see the value of MACH being realized by businesses of all sizes across industries - we want to see MACH become a mainstream mindset because we’ve all seen what it can truly do.Q: What do you believe are the priorities for the Alliance over the next two years?A: Firstly, it’s ensuring ease of access to the technologies, while expanding the MACH technology marketplace. Second, we need to diversify further with a focus on inclusion across industries, ensuring the MACH Alliance is available everywhere, for everyone. The third priority is to continue to take responsibility for MACH business enablement through best-practice alignment and education. I see those areas as central to the Alliance mission and where we can really make a difference.Q: How have you seen the MACH category accelerate and why is it important to raise awareness among business leaders?A: MACH is picking up speed. Entry barriers have lowered, adoption is increasing and with more very positive and compelling stories coming from the market, and increasingly from new markets, that momentum will continue. We need to continue to clarify the opportunity for business, beyond those relying on digital commerce as a critical growth component. I personally see lots of opportunity in less transactional spaces, like automotive and the connected car, or even the human-centered approach on the rise within healthcare. Most of the qualities and enablers MACH offers are greatly applicable to drive these business opportunities forward too.Q: Where skepticism still exists around MACH, how do you think the work of the Alliance can help?A: From day one, the Alliance set out to create a community for everyone working in MACH to belong to. One where best-practices, experiences and challenges can be exchanged. It must go beyond engineering and development communities - mainly because MACH isn’t just a technology preference, it is an enabler of the business too.We would like to see more alignment of solution approaches between companies, and therewith be the source (and maybe marketplace) for blueprints of success.And finally, we need to support companies to succeed! We’ve already started to unlock some of the difficult moments across the MACH journey, i.e. RFP, vendor analysis, ROI on business cases or business maturity assessments. These things are all critical to help lower the barriers to entry further, but there’s a lot more to do.Q: Of the companies that have taken this route, what are the key benefits they describe over operating monolithic architectures?A: Every one of them reports a complete change in their ability to manage the business in an agile and flexible way. They can say ‘yes’ more often, enabling ‘just in time business decisions’, and benefiting from vendor and in-house innovation perpetually. Most importantly, it’s changing customer experiences, adding to the imperative that all businesses must look at their digital operations as the future business enabler.Q: You have a technical background. How can tech leaders make the case for MACH within their own organizations?A: We’ve always talked about the importance of ensuring technology recommendations are made in the spirit of driving business results. Help your organization see (and prove) value early! Use the unique capabilities inherent with MACH technologies, to construct the architecture that’s right for you as you progress through the roadmap of your business.Q: Tell us something about you?A: I’m a dad to two boys. Since I was young I’ve raced remote controlled cars semi-professionally, so I’m (attempting) to pass on that passion to them. They’re getting the hang of it and it’s just great to be able to spend time together doing something we all can enjoy.<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/casper-aagaard-rasmussen/" target="_blank"><img style="width: 100%; max-width: 580px;" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt57b841cebe0092b6/62f669a8e894104b2725a608/Casper_Rasmussen.png" height="auto"/></a>

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Why is Gartner so excited by new digital commerce waves?

It is a crossroads moment that Gartner has published a new report that defines, explains and amplifies the modernization and modularization movement in its latest Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce.<img width="705" style="width: 705px; height: auto;" asset_uid="blt67634f5247f45c84" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt67634f5247f45c84/62eb897c18595876bf316112/og_title.png" height="auto" max-width="705px"/>Let me pick out just a few highlights. Gartner’s finding that API-based digital commerce, which it places in its dreaded “trough of disillusionment” stage, stands in stark contrast to the booming fortunes of headless commerce, which is a key tenet of the MACH Alliance. Gartner says API-based digital commerce has somewhere between five and twenty percent penetration and is up to five years from reaching its “plateau of productivity” when all the wrinkles are ironed out. I say that headless is already there…and there to stay.It's also good that Gartner separates three related phenomena in Composable Commerce, Modular Commerce and API-based Commerce under its digital commerce umbrella. Modular Commerce, I would define, as breaking up commerce into component parts for ease of flexible reassembly. In a nutshell, the world is moving away from monolithic approaches and it’s good that Gartner is doing fine work in picking out the nuances in different approaches. That can only help the thousands of commerce operations that want a more flexible, adaptable and snap-in approach that fits a world where platforms, value channels and user demands are so unpredictable.Gartner has coined a useful TLA to describe what companies like commercetools, Uniform, Occtoo and others are doing: DXC, Digital Experience Composition.In its own words:“DXC is emerging to handle digital multi-experience orchestration in a 'headless,' decoupled, composable world. Extending from front end as a service (FEaaS) or 'visual page builders', these tools allow developers to set up digital experiences and hand them to business users for day-to-day management in no-code environments.”That’s a good summary that will help us all comprehend and explain what’s going on because technology waves can be tough to follow and understand. Vendors are often far from blameless in this as they attach their brands to whatever is hot.The paradigm shift we are observing is a move away from an approach where vendors provide an all-in-one offering based on what they think works best (and leaves them holding all the cards) to one where services are flexible, tightly integrated but loosely coupled, thus, providing customers with optimal choice and freedom to flex. Having Gartner create a lexicon and a framework will take us a step forward to an evolving commerce model that gives us far greater freedoms than were ever possible in the past.In my mind, the change looks something like this:<img width="680" style="width: 680px; height: auto;" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt2c768e4782f34fdb/62ebb4292a66d4760f00f170/designed-for.png" height="auto"/>There are a host of companies generating the DXC waves (some will like the term, some will not), <a href="https://www.virtual-identity.com/" target="_blank">Virtual Identity</a>, <a href="https://www.algolia.com/" target="_blank">Algolia</a>, <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">AWS</a> and <a href="https://cloudinary.com/" target="_blank">Cloudinary</a> to <a href="https://amplience.com/" target="_blank">Amplience</a> and <a href="https://www.epam.com/" target="_blank">EPAM Systems</a>. Just as important are the commerce companies themselves that recognize what DXP can do for them, from <a href="https://www.riverisland.com/" target="_blank">River Island</a>, <a href="https://www.boohoo.com/" target="_blank">Boohoo</a> and <a href="https://www.moo.com/" target="_blank">MOO</a> to <a href="https://www.mars.com/" target="_blank">Mars</a>, <a href="https://www.costa.co.uk/" target="_blank">Costa Coffee </a>and <a href="https://www.halfords.com/" target="_blank">Halfords</a>.The Gartner recognition is just another milestone. We still have some way to go in the many changes impacting and improving digital commerce activities, but we’re getting there fast.Kelly Goetsch is Chief Strategy Officer at commercetools<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/" target="_blank"><img width="705" style="width: 705px; height: auto;" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blta48368b593c19113/62ed21242a66d4760f00fc1c/kelly.png" height="auto" max-width="705px"/></a>

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Why is Gartner so excited by new digital commerce waves?`

Moving to Headless Commerce - The 8 most important Technical Considerations

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Moving to Headless Commerce - The 8 most important Technical Considerations

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