Product Equivalencies

The Product Equivalencies feature in Open Cloud MDM serves as a valuable tool for managing products that exist in multiple systems, providing a means to establish connections between them. This feature enables organizations to determine and store a product's identifier in another system, promoting data consistency and interoperability.

Key aspects and functionalities of the Product Equivalencies feature include:

• Cross-System Product Identification: Products defined within the Open Cloud MDM's Product domain can also exist in external systems. The Product Equivalencies feature facilitates the identification and linking of these products by allowing organizations to establish equivalencies between the two systems.
• Flexible Identifier Storage: Product identifiers in external systems may comprise various components or be represented as concatenated strings. This feature accommodates both scenarios, enabling the storage of product identifiers in their individual parts or as consolidated strings, ensuring compatibility with diverse data structures.
• Data Consistency: Maintaining product equivalencies enhances data consistency and accuracy by ensuring that the same product is correctly identified across different systems. This promotes reliable data integration and exchange between systems.
• Interoperability: The Product Equivalencies feature fosters interoperability between Open Cloud MDM and external systems. It allows for seamless communication and data synchronization by establishing clear connections between corresponding products.
• Banking and Financial Applications: One of the notable use cases for this feature is in the banking sector. In a banking environment, product equivalencies can be vital for aligning financial products, such as loans or accounts, across various banking systems or branches. It ensures that customers' financial data remains consistent and accurate, regardless of the system used.
• Multi-System Product Management: Organizations operating in multiple systems or platforms, such as e-commerce, retail, or healthcare, can benefit from this feature by ensuring that product data remains synchronized and coherent across all environments.
• Cross-Platform Data Exchange: In scenarios where products are shared or sold across different platforms or marketplaces, the Product Equivalencies feature ensures that product information is accurately represented and identified across all relevant systems, enhancing customer experiences and reducing data errors.
• Supply Chain Integration: For supply chain management, this feature enables the alignment of product information between suppliers, distributors, and retailers. It supports efficient tracking and management of products as they move through various stages of the supply chain.

The Product Equivalencies feature provides organizations with the necessary tools to establish and manage product equivalencies across multiple systems. Whether in banking, e-commerce, supply chain, or other domains, it promotes data consistency, facilitates system interoperability, and ensures accurate product identification, ultimately enhancing data integration and operational efficiency.

Here are some use cases for the Product Equivalencies feature:

• Cross-Platform E-Commerce: In the e-commerce industry, products are often listed on multiple online marketplaces. The Product Equivalencies feature helps ensure that the same product is correctly identified and synchronized across various e-commerce platforms, reducing the risk of duplicate listings and improving the customer shopping experience.
• Global Retail Chains: Large retail chains operating in multiple countries may use different product identification systems or databases. Product equivalencies enable these retailers to map products across their global network, ensuring consistent product data management and pricing strategies.
• Healthcare Systems Integration: Healthcare organizations often use different systems for managing medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. Product equivalencies allow them to link products across these systems, simplifying inventory management, procurement, and regulatory compliance.
• Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Manufacturers that supply products to different distributors and retailers may encounter varied product identifiers. Equivalencies help streamline supply chain operations by ensuring that the same product is recognized uniformly throughout the distribution network.
• Financial Services: Besides banking, the financial industry can benefit from product equivalencies when managing financial instruments, investment portfolios, or insurance policies across multiple systems or subsidiaries. This ensures accurate tracking and reporting of financial products.
• Multi-System Integration Projects: Organizations involved in system integration projects, where data needs to flow seamlessly between different software applications, can leverage product equivalencies to harmonize product information and reduce integration complexities.
• Data Migration and System Upgrades: During system migrations or upgrades, product equivalencies assist in mapping old system identifiers to new ones, ensuring a smooth transition without data loss or confusion.

Global Market Expansion: Companies expanding into new international markets may encounter varying product coding standards. Equivalencies help align product data for global consistency and compliance with regional regulations.