
The Manufacturers’ Guide to Effortless Catalog Production
Manufacturers and industrial suppliers rely on printed and digital catalogs for brand awareness and overall growth. That makes good data management and workflow the top priority.
When we hear the word “catalog,” many of us think of the glossy, printed versions from retailers that fill our mailboxes—or their digital app counterparts. However, manufacturers and industrial suppliers also rely on printed and digital catalogs to grow their business and brand among those who buy their many products. Creating these large, complex catalogs on time, on budget, and error-free is both challenging and mission-critical.
Manufacturers’ catalogs are complex AND mission critical. They must be done on time, on budget, and error-free.
Like their retail counterparts, each manufacturer’s catalog contains detailed data on hundreds of individual products, along with images and text related to each product. It also includes diagrams and information that show how the product will be used and, significantly, how it can be used in tandem with other products. Good data management and effective workflow are high priorities for marketing and advertising directors, creative services managers, and production managers.
Data-Driven Design
Manufacturers’ catalogs must make it easy for customers to find and order what they need.
A well-designed manufacturer’s catalog is a complex project. It must not only be brand-focused and aesthetically pleasing but also make it easy for customers to find and order whatever they need, even if they’re unfamiliar with the company brand. Products that logically go together must be on the same page or in the same section.
For example, all tools used for sandblasting must be grouped, giving the user an overview of different sizes, features, and prices for each model. Next to that section, there is usually a subsection of accessories needed to use the tool properly. Featured products often include simple tutorials on how to use them safely and effectively. All this requires massive amounts of data.
First, every product in such a catalog has many data points, including dimensions, power requirements, descriptions, styles, model numbers, product categories, related products, SKUs, and other standard identifiers. Scores of separate data points can exist for thousands (or tens of thousands) of individual products. Each must be kept up to date in a centralized Product Information System (PIM).
A well-designed manufacturer’s catalog requires massive
amounts of data.
The data mountain doesn’t end there. Images, illustrations, and even videos for each product must be maintained in a centralized Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. Each asset must be identified with a specific product (and no other), and if an image is updated or modified, the DAM system must be able to track which version is the right one. Add to all that the need to track prices, margins, and inventory, and the scope of data management becomes challenging indeed.
Production managers must find
a way to take all that data and
put it on page after page of a functional catalog.
Now Comes the Hard Part
As if data management was not tricky enough, design and production managers must find a way to take all that data and put it on page after page (or screen after screen) of a catalog that is functional and valuable enough to keep around as a go-to reference.
Each product must include its array of information and assets—drawn from different data sources—and extreme care must be taken to avoid costly errors caused by using outdated or incorrect data.
One more thing. If the catalog is to be produced in different languages or regions, each requiring its own version, or if product safety and compliance is at issue, the degree of difficulty increases exponentially!
Without a reliable means of automating the design and production process, creating such catalogs manually (or even partially manually) is enormously expensive. Aesthetic quality and brand identity suffer very often, and the likelihood of costly errors is high.
Fortunately, the Comosoft LAGO system provides a high degree of automation for print catalog publishing and digital production. Using an integrated, InDesign-based production system, LAGO automates the planning and production process, using data from any ERP or PIM system to produce well-organized, brand-focused print and digital catalogs—on demand or a schedule.
LAGO automates the planning
and production process, using
data from any ERP or PIM system
to produce well-organized,
brand catalogs.
Automation Pays
Manufacturers and industrial suppliers face enormous challenges today, but the creation of catalogs should not be among them. Thanks to the automation provided by the LAGO system, manufacturers can reach new sales channels—notably digital and mobile ones—without diminishing the impact of their print catalogs. The system also accelerates speed to market, shortening the production cycle by up to thirty percent. If the underlying ERP or PIM data are updated, the catalog pages are updated automatically—even at the last minute. Best of all, LAGO provides up to sixty percent reduction in labor costs without sacrificing accuracy or quality.
LAGO provides up to sixty percent reduction in labor costs, without sacrificing accuracy or quality.
For a manufacturer’s marketing and advertising directors and creative services managers, LAGO’s advantages extend beyond production costs—or even beyond its multichannel reach. Avoiding cost overruns and data fragmentation issues is a positive outcome. But LAGO also provides an optimized media production process, giving decision makers the tools to plan, measure, and scale their marketing efforts.
Find out more about Comosoft LAGO—the comprehensive toolkit for creating cost-effective, print and digital catalogs for manufacturers and industrial suppliers. Or book a demo to see for yourself.