16 Feb
ChannelUnity Developments: Data Translation
Why Do We Need Data Translation?
Marketplaces require more data than ever before, and that increases exponentially as you serve more sales channels in more countries. With ChannelUnity’s powerful ability to integrate with multiple marketplaces from one source of data, you want the product data you enter to reach maximum visibility for each platform. This is where our Data Translation and Data Enrichment functionality become essential.
The larger your product catalogue the more difficult it is to manage and the greater the risk of a mistake in completing the correct product data. In some systems, you quickly run out of places to store all the extra fields. One option is a Product Information Management (PIM) system and there are some great solutions available in that space. But not everyone has a PIM and even the best PIMs can be challenged by complexity of hundreds of fields for different marketplaces channels.
ChannelUnity’s Data Translation and Data Enrichment functions are purpose-built for operating at scale across many marketplaces, whatever sources of product data you have available in your business.
How Does Data Translation Work?
At its heart, Data Translation takes an input, translates the value according to some rules, and produced an output. For example, whilst sizes of S,M,L,XL might be appropriate for a website, 
a marketplace might require sizes expressed as Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large. Or a product that varies by colours of Red, Blue and Green might need to be translated to Rot, Blau and Grün for German language sales channels. And shoe sizes of 8,9,10 in the UK will equate to 9,10,11 in the USA.
Data Translation lets you build these relationships into the ChannelUnity system, to reduce the amount of data you have to actually maintain, and make sure your marketplace listings are always right.
How Does This Fit With Data Enrichment?
Before developing Data Translation, toward the end of 2020, ChannelUnity successfully developed Data Enrichment. Unlike Data Translation, which translates inputs to outputs based on rules, Data Enrichment lets you add data that you simply don’t have at all in your main product database.
And if you don’t supply all the data you can, you’re missing out on opportunities to have customers find your products..
Data Enrichment allows you to exchange data with Microsoft Excel, easily downloading product data then uploading additional columns to your ChannelUnity account, in order to improve listings on multiple marketplaces.
Data Translation rules and Data Enrichment capabilities are managed together, in an integrated way within our solution.
Both capabilities are accessible to those that take the Data Enrichment training, which covers both topics. We’re restricting the functionality to those who have received the training simply to make sure users understand how to improve their listings using the new software.
ChannelUnity have created a new capability, which allows you easily upload additional product data to your ChannelUnity account, to improve listings on multiple marketplaces. Marketplaces are increasingly demanding more data on products, and offering optional fields at category level which become essential to getting your products seen.
Inside this, Data Translation solution makes things easier, saves time and reduces risk where the data that you need for marketplaces can be derived from the data that you store as standard. Field translations can be put in place that are specific to each sales channel.
This development comes from within the Data Enrichment development and will for now, be only accessible to those that go through the Data Enrichment training. This is because of the demand for the product, but also that we feel it is necessary for companies to take their time with this process and understand how to correctly improve their listings fully using the new software.
What Should You Do Next?
If you are a ChannelUnity customer, click the button below and sign up for Data Enrichment training now. If you aren’t yet a ChannelUnity customer click here and contact us today to find out how we can support your business.
“You store the data once and let ChannelUnity translate this to what you need for each sales channel.”
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