Author: Elia Santagiuliana

  • How to disentangle acronyms and technologies for the product

    How to disentangle acronyms and technologies for the product

    How to untangle the various acronyms and technologies that deal with product information

    PIM, CCMS, DAM, DMS, PDM, PXM deal with product information, but differently. EKR Orchestra is the All-in-one solution to manage any information.

    What is PIM

    The ultimate goal of any manufacturing company is to produce good products to sell, to make turnover and earnings.

    But to sell well – but also to satisfy customers – you need to communicate well.

    And communicating well means providing data, providing information:

    • SKUs, codes, names, descriptions, etc …
    • Hierarchy and relationships between products
    • Categories, labels, variants
    • Technical specifications
    • Measurements, materials, ingredients, guarantees
    • Digital assets: images, videos, documents, etc.
    • Marketing specifications
    • SEO elements
    • Prices, markets
    • Testimonials, customer reviews
    • Assembly instructions
    • Competitor product info
    • Translation strings

    The good news is this: our EKR Orchestra® solution brings together most of the features described above.

    What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

  • An indispensable CCMS-PIM

    An indispensable CCMS-PIM

    Why a CCMS / PIM cannot be missing in your technical office

    The technical office must manage a wealth of information, doing it through a PIM / CCMS eliminates the risk of error and drastically reduces the time required for this process.

    You won’t be able to do without it anymore

    The technical office produces a large amount of information every day. Keeping them organized and easily accessible to the rest of the world is often a time-consuming activity.

    One of the first entities that uses this information is the technical documentation office for the production of classic manuals. Companies often produce incomplete manuals and, if not exactly wrong, sometimes ambiguous. The responsibility for the technical manuals lies with the technical department. If the technical office transmits inaccurate or ambiguous information, the technical documentation, in turn, will disclose it to the outside, perhaps with serious consequences.An example. If within the technical office, the same mechanical component is called by a technician in one way, by another with a different name, perhaps by the software developer with a still different name, who will create the document for technical assistance will choose one of these, and perhaps choose the incorrect or no longer current name.

    Good. Adopting a PIM / CCMS system means that all the technicians involved in their work of invention, creation and refinement of the products, once the project is finished, collect the data in a structured and flexible repository, so that other bodies can use it , without any manual copy / paste or replication in generic Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. files.

    EKR PIM, the technological basis of the EKR Orchestra® method, allows you to make your technical office much more efficient, immediately saving at least half of that time now spent organizing and distributing information.

      What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

    • Catalogs with “copy and paste”

      Catalogs with “copy and paste”

      Do you still copy and paste catalogs?

      Copy-paste is an effective command, but it can spread incorrect information. EKR Orchestra replaces it with a centralized system that reduces these risks

      The infamous copy-paste

      What would happen if the copy paste command and the save as command disappear from every program in the company?

      We always ask this question to companies that are starting a journey with Ekr and often the answer is one of total discouragement as the copy paste command and the save as command are among the most used commands in the organization and distribution of information.

      While these two commands are very effective, since they allow you to take information from one document and bring it to another, they are equally extremely harmful for the proliferation of incorrect information within the company.

      A correct process for managing information means that a single owner of the information creates the information in a single repository and all those who have to use it do not go to copy and paste or duplicate it but refer only to that information giving it the coordinates of positioning in a warehouse, a knowledge based. In this way, if the information manager decides to change it or modify it manually without informing others, he will have the possibility to update it for all other users such as in the technical, marketing and administrative fields. 

      These will find updated information simply by requesting an update with a command, without having to interact with the person himself. 

      By extending this concept to hundreds or thousands of information within the company, we understand how precise organization of product information can easily bring efficiency to many business areas.

      Ask now for a meeting with one of our consultants to introduce Ekr Orchestra, the method that allows you to use Ekr Pim technology for the management of product information and to bring efficiency within your technical and marketing sectors, immediately obtaining the results that you expect.

        What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

      • Catalogs in language without errors

        Catalogs in language without errors

        Multilingual catalogs without errors thanks to EKR’s PIM

        EKR Orchestra drastically reduces the time lost by the marketing department in correcting drafts and seeking information, increasing its efficiency from 5 to 10 times.

        Multilingual catalogs from true professionals

        The task of the marketing department is to make sure that the world knows the products created and developed by the company better.

        To achieve this it is necessary to distribute information such as texts, images, tables, videos, which speak of our products, in a varied set of media: catalogs, brochures, price lists, technical data sheets, websites, aggregator sites or international distributors, up to marketplace like Amazon.

        Customers today expect content that is not only relevant to what they are looking for or doing, in the format, and on the device of their choice, but more importantly in their language. Their customer experience demands it.

        If you are not prepared with organized data and information, the translation costs that you will have to bear will become a deterrent to coping with publishing in that would lead you to new markets.

        In EKR projects, the versioning of the document in any language (it can be the catalog or the brochure or the data sheet) can be done with a click, by having translation memories.

        The procedure is as follows: once the document has been assembled in the native language (usually Italian), the same tool used to assemble the document is able to show what you get on the page with a different language. If translations or parts of them are missing in one or more languages, the system is able to extract every single sentence in an XML file, very easy to deal with CAT (Computer Aided Translation) systems, which can be sent to the translation agency .

        When the translator returns the XML file with the translations, the EKR platform will associate the sentence in the basic language (Italian) with the translations just obtained.

        At that point your document will appear ready to be published in the languages ​​you need.

        Gradually your language database will grow – as the system recognizes sentences 1: 1 wherever they are in any document you want to use them – you will need less and less translators.

        The translation savings that our customers are able to achieve is in the order of 70% less!

        Then facing the publication in a new language will be less expensive, faster and easier to amortize.

          What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

        • A PIM-CCMS for Amazon

          A PIM-CCMS for Amazon

          Do you want to sell on Amazon? Stop if you don’t have a PIM / CCMS

          Amazon for Business is a great opportunity for businesses, but for large catalogs it presents significant challenges. With EKR Orchestra dealing with them is quick and simple.

          Enhance the interaction with the marketplace with a PIM / CCMS

          Since the summer of 2018, Amazon has opened its scenario with the Amazon for Business portal.

          Therefore, a huge opportunity has opened up for Italian and European companies to distribute their products B2B with a series of interesting commercial options, but for producers who have thousands of products in their catalog it is not easy to enter the Amazon Marketplace while keeping the structure updated. of product if there is no organized system of Product Information Management behind the scenes. Ekr proposes the Ekr Orchestra method which is based on the use of Ekr Pim. When a company begins the Ekr Orchestra path, the entire product data management chain from the Technical Office to the Marketing Office begins to collect information in a single Ekr Pim Repository. Getting the Amazon Marketplace to talk to, both B2C and B2B, with Ekr-Pim is simple. A company that has already walked the Ekr Orchestra path and is organizing its product data is set up and ready to enter the Amazon Marketplace and make its products known to an ever wider and wider circle of users.

          If you want to be successful in Amazon for Business, choose to meet an Ekr consultant who introduces you to the Ekr Orchestra method in preparation for your presence on Amazon.

            What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

          • The globalization of markets with Ekr

            The globalization of markets with Ekr

            Face the challenges of market globalization with a technology that makes the localization of documents that talk about your product fast and cheap.

            Globalization brings with it significant challenges, such as the need to translate texts. EKR Orchestra allows you to manage this process quickly and accurately.

            How to optimize this activity avoiding waste and capitalizing on efforts?

            Maybe your business is growing, expanding its business into new markets.

            You may be prepared for the new challenges that come your way, but language barriers could be an obstacle.

            You will have to translate a large amount of materials: catalogs, technical data sheets, web pages, brochures, user and maintenance manuals. Perhaps it will be necessary to locate the interfaces of the displays of the machines as well.

            You will have to rely on translators, facing non-negligible costs.

            A real headache!

            • The machine is made up of pieces (components).
            • The pieces are made by various suppliers.
            • The pieces arrive from the suppliers in the warehouse and are coded and stored according to a certain logic, so that they can be perfectly identified and found.
            • Based on a project (a bill of materials), the pieces (components) are assembled to produce the artifact.
            • Some components are common to many artifacts, think of screws and bolts or handles and switches, but they are assembled differently depending on the BOM.

            What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

          • 5 advantages of a PIM

            5 advantages of a PIM

            5 advantages (+1 bonus) of a PIM

            EKR Orchestra improves product data management, customer experience, time efficiency, data and process integration and guarantees savings

            There is actually a simpler and more effective way to manage all this.

            PIM is the acronym for Product Information Management.

            It is a software that allows to manage all information relating to products (both marketing and technical data) in a centralized and complete way .

            Until now you have probably always managed data of this kind with dozens of folders on your hard disk and with an infinity of Excel sheets .

            • Improve product data management: with the growth of the company, the offer of new products will certainly increase and with this the difficulty in keeping track of all product information will increase. This leads to disorganization, which in turn affects the customer’s final experience.
            • Improves the customer experience: the PIM solution allows you to organize and therefore have more correct and updated information, to the benefit of customers. All this consequently leads to a reduction in requests for returns or product complaints. Finally, a PIM allows to reduce the time-to-market by making the publication of all informative materials for customers and sales force much faster.
            • Guarantees cost savings: the implementation of a good Product Information Management system reduces operating and supply chain costs. More accurate information, reduction of management risk and reduction of the cost of incorrect product data.
            • Increases time efficiency: the software reduces the work of manual and constant data entry, simplifying the search for products and updating information. As a direct consequence, employees have more time to solve other issues, making the business process more efficient and optimizing time and resources.
            • It offers greater integration: compared to a traditional management software, the PIM has a unique flexibility, which allows you to customize and better manage your processes and your data even across different areas. This flexibility will in turn make it possible to reduce management costs and significantly improve communication between different departments (marketing and technical department).

            a PIM that takes into consideration an unconventional data management, in which information is managed in blocks, in text or number chunks which can then be managed and organized at will.

            What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

          • Harness the Potential of Enterprise Knowledge Management with RAG Technology and the ChatGPT Model

            Harness the Potential of Enterprise Knowledge Management with RAG Technology and the ChatGPT Model

             Generative Artificial Intelligence (IAG) is making its way into our lives, ways of living and communicating, but how can we truly exploit its revolutionary potential to the full? 

            Harness the Potential of Enterprise Knowledge Management with RAG Technology and the ChatGPT Model

            Corporate knowledge management is a key element to the success of any modern business. Well-structured, accessible and reliable knowledge can make the difference between a company that thrives and one that struggles to stay competitive. 

            In this article, we will explore an innovative solution based on RAG technology (Retrieval Augmented Generation) and the ChatGPT model, which promises to revolutionise the management of relationships between corporate knowledge and internal and external users.

            The Basics: What is the ChatGPT Model?

            The heart of this solution is the ChatGPT model, a member of the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) family. These artificial intelligence models have proven to be extraordinarily capable in understanding a request and generating coherent text to answer questions based on the provided context. The ChatGPT model has been specifically trained with thousands of GB of knowledge acquired from everything that was digitally accessible.

            But what really makes this solution unique? Let’s look at some of its distinctive features.

            The Power of Vector Databases

            At the heart of this solution is the use of a vector database. This database represents words and phrases as points in a multidimensional space. Why is this so important? It allows the ChatGPT model to calculate the similarity between word vectors and select the most appropriate words to answer a question. Imagine needing to find specific information in a vast ocean of textual data; the vector database acts as a compass, guiding you to the desired answers.

            Similarity Search: Finding the Needle in the Haystack

            One of the most important tasks of this solution is similarity search. This functionality allows the ChatGPT model to find similar words or phrases based on the input provided by the user. Imagine searching for a needle in a virtual haystack of business information. Similarity search is like a magnet that attracts the needle, helping you to easily identify relevant information.

            The Construction of Context through Prompts

            Another crucial element is the construction of context through prompts. The user provides a prompt or a question, and the ChatGPT model uses this input to generate a response. The context provided by the user plays a fundamental role in determining the response generated by the model. This means that the formulation of clear and specific prompts is essential for obtaining accurate results.

            High-Quality Data: The Cornerstone of Knowledge

            The quality and quantity of available data are fundamental to the success of the ChatGPT model. Imagine building a house: high-quality data are the cornerstone on which everything is based. A vector database, populated with structured information, is the key to achieving accurate and reliable results.

            Differences between relying on generic knowledge and your own business data: the RAG model

            Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) represents a key solution for addressing two crucial aspects in business information management and response quality.

            the protection of sensitive data

            the provision of accurate and exact answers without the risk of “hallucinations”.

            Business data protection: A fundamental aspect of enterprise knowledge management is the protection of the company’s sensitive or confidential data. With the use of AI models like OpenAI’s Chat GPT, there is concern that business information could be exposed or shared with third parties. The RAG solves this problem as it maintains full control over business data. In particular, the vector database, which contains the company’s structured information, is hosted internally (“on premise”), ensuring that business data remains secure and is not shared with external vendors or third-party platforms.

            Providing accurate answers without hallucinations: Another crucial aspect is ensuring that the answers provided to employees or business clients are accurate and free from errors or “hallucinations”. The RAG addresses this challenge through a rigorous process. When a user asks a question, the system uses an intent definition engine and compares the question with the vector database. This comparison is based on the logic of similarity search, meaning that the answers are selected based on how similar they are to the information present in the company’s structured database. This ensures that the answers are accurate and relevant to the business information, minimising the risk of incorrect or misleading answers.

            Inoltre, il RAG consente di sfruttare appieno la conoscenza aziendale strutturata di EKR, la stessa precedentemente utilizzata per creare documenti tradizionali come cataloghi, listini, data sheet, manuali e troubleshooting. Questi dati strutturati sono fondamentali per il processo di risposta generata dall’IA, poiché forniscono la base per la costruzione di risposte accurate e contestualmente rilevanti. Utilizzando queste informazioni già vettorializzate e organizzate dalla Knowledge base strutturata dell’azienda, il sistema può generare risposte precise e coerenti che riflettono fedelmente le informazioni aziendali.

            By leveraging vector databases, similarity search, well-constructed prompts, and high-quality data, companies can obtain accurate and reliable answers to their questions posed to AI, as if they were asked to a DIGITAL EXPERT.

            But remember, knowledge is the key, and the road to business success passes through intelligent knowledge management. EKR has been helping companies manage knowledge in a structured way with the EKR Orchestra method for 15 years.

              What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

            • The new energy label has started!

              The new energy label has started!

              Energy labels 2021!

              The legislation in force since March 2021 makes the new EU Energy Labels mandatory for household appliances and other equipment, with new energy efficiency classes.

              Let’s explore

              EPREL stands for European Product Database for Energy Labelling.

              As of March 2022, all manufacturers and distributors of electronic equipment are obliged to confirm their identity on the EPREL (EU Product Database for Energy Labelling) website, the European Union’s database containing information on products to be labelled according to their energy efficiency for which all manufacturers and distributors must register electronic equipment for the energy label. There are seven energy efficiency classes, from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient).

                What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

              • EKR FAQ

                EKR FAQ

                EKR FAQ

                But is EKR a PIM or a CCMS?

                EKR combines both technologies. It can be used seamlessly as a PIM to support e-commerce and to produce offline marketing documents (graphic brochures, catalogues, price lists), and at the same time, it can be used to produce technical documents (user manuals, installation manuals, technical sheets, etc.).

                What are you waiting for? Contact us for more information!

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