Internal Company Processes Make It Work

Centralized system captures all the data for live delivery to POS

While Internet technology makes data exchange easier, it requires a new way of doing business on the supplier side to marry process to technology. The biggest challenges aren’t technical but internal company processes and disciplines.

For Proivdent-Integrity Distribution, it was convincing artists, managers, label leaders, and others that the processes and disciplines were valuable.

They came to understand that people won't buy a product unless they know about it. And using Web services standards makes it easy for just about any supplier to make the information immediately available.

At Provident-Integrity, Gary Miller set up a centralized data repository that enables anyone involved with a project to enter data -- publicist, marketing person, promotions person, tour coordinator, catalog developer, editor, etc. Once data is entered into the central server, it’s available in real time to anyone “pinging” on the computer’s door.

Whatever is on Provident-Integrity’s computer is available to thousands of Christian stores as soon as it’s saved. This means retailers can see a project’s progress from initial marketing and publicity to release date as well as immediately updated tour information, new audio clips, or anything else posted.

The process took a little “getting used to.” Miller said staffers had to be careful to get information right because it’s a public document.

“It’s very important you spell the song titles right,” he said. And information has to be updated, so tour promoters must enter new concert dates as soon as they’re known. That way all retailers can immediately begin planning appropriate merchandising and promotion responses based on the latest information.

Some of the industry’s larger chains already are implementing Provident-Integrity’s Web-services system to update product information.

“It’s running now and working well,” Miller said.  “Any publisher or supplier can go to Microsoft.com and download free tools that can integrate the Web-services programming into their servers and Web sites.”

Smaller suppliers might explore off-the-shelf content-management software, such as Adobe’s Contribute, which allows Web developers to give clients total control over updating their online content.