Creation of process standards and a data management system for Borosil's consumer-ware products so as to allow multiple stakeholders to update, access and share data in a consistent & reliable manner. This system not only streamlined the creation of the catalog but also provided a long-term business solution to tackle the rapidly growing and evolving product range.

​

This was a spin-off project that arose from the problems identified during the Borosil catalog redesign project. (see catalog redesign project here)

​

Reason for intervention

Previously, there lacked a data management system that could be used by the design & marketing teams as a source for product data when creating and updating packaging, websites and other collateral. This not only led to frequent lapses and inconsistencies, but also resulted in a strain on the teams' time and resources.

​

Solution

The following are a few key call-outs to the process and the deliverable.

​

Strategic Solution

With a rapidly growing and changing product line, we needed to ensure the longevity of the catalog. To this end, the project involved creating a strategy for current and future product hierarchies. Taking into account the direction of growth for various categories, we reorganized the products into 3 levels of product hierarchy.

​

Data Repository

Apart from proposing a rational structure, it also involved creating the back-end data sheets for managing and updating this product data. In-depth use of scripts and formulae allows varied levels of access to multiple users, ensuring that edits are made in a controlled manner.

​

Central Asset

This data repository will function as a shared asset for the various stakeholders right from product introduction to the artwork creation stage. The web team keeping the consumer website up-to-date, the e-commerce team ensuring that the right features are listed on Amazon, the internal design team looking to update packaging, the creative agency hired for POS, the product managers looking to update features of a particular product etc - all now use this asset as a shared resource.  

​

Integration of the Atypical Categories

The 'Larah' and 'Appliances' categories are two that the team frequently struggled with, due to the unique nature of both categories. By providing a structure to both categories, we were able to not just make it easier to grasp the data, but also ensured that future updates would be controlled & consistent​.

​

Process Standards

Standards have been put in place to ensure the necessary checks and balances. Insistence on data correctness, removal of all data redundancy, a 'status' associated with every line item to ensure that all involved know how to treat the data point etc are some of the procedural considerations.

​