4 Benefits of Automating Product Spec and Sell Sheets

1. Eliminate human error

Even the most astute team members can make mistakes. We’re only human, meaning mistakes will happen at some point in your spec and sell sheet lifecycle. Unfortunately, the risk of errors increases with the number of touch points in your process.

As you know, product data creation and management require input from many different departments. When working in a collaborative environment increases the risk of errors because you don’t have control over the versions of product information floating around. If your team works from disparate systems, that risk becomes even higher. Also, with complex product data, the slightest mistake can have dire consequences, including legal penalties, fines, health concerns, and more. Automation supplies all the required, accurate data needed to remain compliant with industry legislation.

You no longer worry about human error in the management process when you automate your spec and sell sheets. Using production information management (PIM) software creates a template for spec sheets with all information stored in a centralized hub. Your teams have everything they need to work in a collaborative, efficient, and productive way with the confidence they are working from the correct files.

Your PIM also enables you to create automated workflows that ensure you always use the same process. It takes your spec and sell sheets through all necessary touch points and approvals using one version. As a result, you avoid redundancies, everyone is literally on the same page, and you maintain a high standard for the spec and sell sheets you create.

2. Speed up time-to-market

The automated product spec and sell sheets functionality are at the heart of your process, improving how you operate. Through automation, you can develop a consistent approach in providing product information via branded, enriched spec and sell sheets. These essential tools are key to maintaining consistent product information across all channels while also sharing information easily with customers, supply chains, or internal teams.

Templates are the easiest way to streamline your process for creating, editing, updating, and deploying spec and sell sheets, whether it is internally, through marketing channels or to marketplaces. Simply put, when your information is templated, automatically updated for each channel, and stored within the system, your products are always ready to hit the market without delay. Both internal and external stakeholders are aware of changes, so they can keep processes running seamlessly to maintain revenue flow.

3. Increase productivity

Automation streamlines workflows and improves collaboration across all touchpoints. As a result, users are freed up to take on other higher-value tasks. When powerful automation is in place, it takes less effort for each department to do its part. As a result, when a product is pushed to the correct template, the product data is automatically populated, the older spec and sell sheet is overwritten with a new PDF and saved to your digital asset management system (DAM).

In essence, what was once a tedious process feels completely intuitive with a PIM managing your workload. Product attributes are updated, and the latest information is ready to share.

4. Using a PIM to automate spec and sell sheets

Pimberly focuses on every aspect of your product information throughout all lifecycles and workflows. You can track changes made to a spec and sell sheet and report and/or seek approvals or inputs from other departments before going live. PIM monitors and manages changes, determining which information, formatting or images are needed for a specific spec and sell sheet.

With custom channels for each template, you can publish your product data directly into your templates and release the product for that template. Pimberly Print then populates the templates with the relevant product data and generates a PDF spec and sell sheet. The PDF then passes back into the PIM and attaches directly to the original product record, whether you want it overwritten or archived.

Spec and sell sheet automation ensures all team members remain efficient because time-consuming workflows no longer exist. Errors are reduced, everyone becomes more productive, and your marketing team can focus on more important tasks that drive revenue.

Additional benefits

Share important product insights

If you don’t know what is a spec sheet for a product for automation, then know that the specification sheets offer comprehensive product details, facilitating effective communication between suppliers, the procurement team, and other relevant parties. Defining the materials, parts, and quantities required helps to expedite the procurement process, lower errors, and save time. Additionally, it facilitates the sourcing and acquisition of production-related goods by businesses.

Amplify product sales

Manufacturers can use specification sheets as a point of reference for product descriptions updates and additions, making them a benchmark for continuous product data innovation and improvement. Furthermore, they offer a point of reference for documentation at every stage of a product’s lifecycle to ensure and improve and increase product sales and profit.

Ensure consistency and accuracy

A spec sheet may guarantee that everyone is aware of the needs and specifications of your product. This lessens the possibility of miscommunications or erroneous interpretations. Customers can clearly understand what your product provides and what customers are getting if you provide them with precise information.

Minimize Risk and Ensure Compliance

Spec sheets serve as a point of reference for quality control checks by quality assurance teams. To find inconsistencies or flaws, they compare the real product to the specs. Establishing clear guidelines and requirements that your product spec must fulfill, will assist you in maintaining quality and performance consistency.

Simplify product comparisons

Spec sheet automation can be used in consumer markets to emphasize special qualities and benefits of your product, making it stand out from rivals. By providing customers with spec sheets that include product characteristics and benefits, you can assist them make educated purchasing decisions.

Furthermore, a well-written product specification sheet can demonstrate a company’s dedication to excellence, creativity, and openness. Customers and colleagues in the industry can develop and strengthen a brand’s identity and values by being exposed to such a high degree of specific information.

Elevate Collaboration and Informed Choices

Specification sheets offer comprehensive product details, facilitating effective communication between suppliers, the procurement team, and other relevant parties. Defining the materials, parts, and quantities required helps to expedite the procurement process, lower errors, and save time. Additionally, it facilitates the sourcing and acquisition of production-related goods by businesses.

Streamline updates with dedicated software

By providing technical information on materials, measurements, and features, technical specifications sheets direct the design and creation process and give product designers a consistent point of reference. On the other hand, spec sheets support project managers in tracking progress, ensuring quality control, and coordinating duties for engineering or building projects.

How to make a spec sheet for a product

If you are still wondering what is a spec sheet for a product, then the below-mentioned factors are important for spec sheet automation for a product to include:

• Describe how the company will profit from the development of this product. Provide an estimate of the resources and budget you’ll need for creating the product.
• Clearly and succinctly state the essence of the product, together with its intended use, target market, key features, and estimated development time.
• User narratives that are succinct summaries of the features as perceived by possible users.
• Give an overview of the product’s features, including its architecture, database, integrations, and modules.
• List the precise features that your product has to have to be released.
• List the standards by which the product’s performance will be evaluated. Reliability, storage capacity, response time, and execution time are some examples of this.
• Add user interactions, ergonomic details, diagrams, pictures, and product drawings. Describe the navigation, layout, usability, accessibility, and other elements of the ideal user experience (UX).
• Provide a list of possible risks and difficulties that might arise while the product is being developed.

Bottom line

If you’d like to learn more about automating your product data sheets, check out Pimberly for one of the best Product Information Management solutions around.