From 640 supplier formats to one field model, with every customer getting their own version.
Tens of thousands of articles, delivered in varying quality, for professional customers who each expect their own assortment, prices and article numbers in webshop, portal, punchout, EDI and on the Peppol invoice. One source that normalises supplier data and exports per customer and channel.
Product fiche · automatic
liveA BMEcat file nobody can read, and an intern retyping 1,800 articles.
The buyer at a chemical company asks why the punchout catalogue has no UNSPSC codes, because without a code his system approves no order. A customer wants the safety data sheet of a cleaner in French, and the only version is the supplier's German one. Accounting reports that Peppol invoices are being rejected because 'box' has no UN/ECE code. And the managing director asks whether you are now a 'producer' for Bebat for the own brand. Yes, you are.
Hundreds of formats on the incoming side
BMEcat 2005, ETIM xChange, GDSN, Open Icecat, Datanorm and above all Excel templates that differ per supplier. Every delivery is retyped, and nobody knows which file introduced a wrong dimension.
Every customer their own language
ETIM for the technical suppliers, eClass or UNSPSC for the procurement systems of large customers, GS1 and GPC for retail, the CN code for Intrastat and customs. Four classifications, and every customer expects theirs.
The role that is written nowhere
For the drill of a European brand you are distributor, for the own-brand tools from Asia manufacturer and producer for Bebat, for the wooden handles trader under the EUDR. That role determines your duties, per article.
Product data in order in wholesale
A 34-page working guide for product and marketing managers at technical and B2B wholesalers. No PIM theory, but what you actually do.
- A field model for wholesale you can adopt right away: golden record, supplier record and customer record
- ETIM, eClass, UNSPSC and GS1 side by side, BMEcat and ETIM xChange incoming, punchout, EDI and Peppol outgoing
- The distributor's role in every regulation: when you become importer or manufacturer, what you must be able to prove for ten years, safety data sheets, SCIP, the EUDR and the structured invoice
- A one-month plan, from Excel inventory to a first channel fed automatically
- Excel works, until it doesn't
- The field model for wholesale
- Four classifications and three identities per article
- The role determines the duty: distributor, importer, manufacturer or trader
- From one source to every channel
- Live in one month: what it costs and returns
Golden record, supplier record, customer record. One structure.
Supplier onboarding with import profiles
Per supplier a profile (format, mapping of columns to specifications, units, language); every next delivery is imported and validated in the background: GTIN check, duplicates, mandatory fields per ETIM class. You see per field which supplier delivered which value.
Four classifications side by side
Classifications are extra hierarchies next to your own product tree: link an article to its ETIM class and derive eClass and UNSPSC per class, with an own code where needed; the CN code is a specification on the variant. On export the platform picks the right code per channel.
Customer-specific assortments and numbers
Customer records under the golden record and channel rules per customer or customer group: which assortment, which price list, which customer article number and which description a customer sees in the portal, the punchout catalogue, EDI and on the invoice. The price itself stays in the ERP.
The long tail completed
Product readiness shows per channel what is missing; AI classification proposes an ETIM class with a confidence score your product manager validates; datasheet, declaration of conformity and SDS hang as documents on the article and go to every channel in one go.
What your product data must be able to do in wholesale.
A selection from the field model in the whitepaper, for a technical or B2B wholesaler with own imports and own brand.
Three identities
Own article number, GTIN per packaging level, manufacturer, brand and MPN, supplier number and GLN per supplier, customer article number and customer description per customer. Plus the role per article: distributor, importer, manufacturer (own brand) or trader (EUDR).
Four classifications
ETIM class and features for the technical channels and data pools, eClass and UNSPSC with version for punchout, Ariba, Coupa and the marketplaces, CN code with country of origin for Intrastat, customs and EUDR, GPC brick for retail via GS1.
Commercial
Name, short description and long text per language, order, price and packaging unit with UN/ECE code (C62, BX, MTR), minimum order quantity and multiple, gross price, discount group and tiers, assortment assignment per customer, lead time and stock status.
Compliance per role
CE marking and declaration of conformity, manufacturer and EU responsible person, consumer reach yes/no, instructions per language, safety data sheet per language with version, CLP and UFI, SVHC and SCIP number, battery characteristics and Bebat status.
EUDR, packaging and DPP
EUDR scope via CN code and DDS reference numbers per purchase lot, packaging hierarchy with dimensions and weight per level, material and weight per component, producer status and registration number per supplier, DPP URL and data carrier once applicable.
Assets and data quality
Packshot, dimensional drawing, datasheet, declaration of conformity and SDS as documents with version and validity, source, receipt date and version per supplier delivery, completeness score per channel and review status, relations for alternative, successor and accessories.
The complete field model, with level (golden record, variant, supplier record, customer record), data type and the channel for which each field is mandatory, is in chapter 3 of the whitepaper.
Normalise incoming, translate per customer outgoing.
What each flow asks for, and what PimLayer imports or exports per channel.
Live in one month, supplier by supplier.
No long IT project. This is the order from the whitepaper, as we apply it at Belgian wholesalers.
Inventory and data design
Which suppliers, which customers, which channels. Product tree with golden record, supplier record and customer record, specification library per ETIM class, units with UN/ECE codes and validation rules.
Onboard suppliers
Start with the suppliers that make revenue: import profile, validation on receipt, source and date per field. Record the role per article and filter on everything where you are manufacturer or importer.
Classifications and documents
ETIM classes linked, eClass and UNSPSC derived, CN code and EUDR scope completed, SDS per language with version, declarations of conformity and datasheets as documents on the article.
First channel live
Your webshop, the customer portal or a punchout catalogue fed automatically. Then you scale up, supplier by supplier and customer by customer.
Frequently asked questions from wholesale
Can PimLayer import supplier data in BMEcat, ETIM xChange and Excel?
Yes. Per supplier you define an import profile (format, mapping of columns to specifications, units, language), and every next delivery is imported and validated in the background: GTIN check, duplicates, mandatory fields per ETIM class, units from lists. You stop retyping and see per field which supplier delivered which value.
How do I manage customer-specific assortments, prices and article numbers?
With customer records under the golden record and channel rules per customer or customer group: which assortment, which price list, which customer article number and which description a customer sees in the portal, in the punchout catalogue, in EDI and on the invoice. The price itself stays in the ERP; the PIM manages the structure and the link.
Can PimLayer manage ETIM, eClass, UNSPSC and CN codes side by side?
Yes. Classifications are extra hierarchies next to your own product tree: you link an article to its ETIM class and derive eClass and UNSPSC per class, with an own code where needed; the CN code is a specification on the variant. On export the platform picks the right code per channel.
What about the hundred thousand articles without image, classification or document?
That is the long tail, and that is where the real return is. Product readiness shows per channel what is missing; AI classification proposes an ETIM class with a confidence score your product manager validates; and documents (datasheet, declaration of conformity, SDS) hang as assets on the article so they go to every channel in one go. Start with the articles that make revenue, and finish the rest supplier by supplier.
How long does an implementation take, and do I need IT?
You usually go live within a month, 27 days on average, with onboarding included and a first channel fed automatically. PimLayer is configured, not programmed; IT mainly comes in for the ERP link and EDI.
Ready to get your product data for wholesale under control?
Whitepaper wholesale
34 pages with the field model, the four classifications, the duties per role and the step-by-step plan. Free as a PDF, in Dutch.
Send me the whitepaperRequest a demo
See PimLayer at work with your own supplier files and customer assortments. 30 minutes, no obligations.
Book a demoFree product data assessment
Leave your work email and get an analysis of your product data with concrete quick wins.
Request your assessment