56. “It Just Worked:” The Howard Elliott Experience with PIM | Derek Foster

E-Commerce with Coffee?!

Derek Foster, Director of Ecommerce at The Howard Elliott Collection, joined Nate Svoboda on this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! to talk about the brand’s experience implementing the next-gen Amber Engine PIM. When Derek says that he has “no shortage of words” on the topic, it’s true! He speaks with precision and leaves no stones unturned. He answers questions in relatable terms, that many brand manufacturers will appreciate.

Listen to the full episode for Derek’s insights on product data management, multiple sales channels, partnership in the B2B world, and a behind-the-scenes look at Howard Elliott’s implementation of the next-gen PIM.

What to listen for:

• One of Nate’s first questions to Derek is about the number of sales channels and partnerships that The Howard Elliott Collection has. Derek says about 25, but notes that the type of relationship varies a great deal. Some partners offer simple, single-point uploads for product data, but others have complex processes requiring multiple portals.

• Managing all those partnerships was a chaotic process before the implementation of the next-gen PIM, Derek says. Howard Elliott was introducing a swath of new products every month, and the previous system was an endless round of hot potato with spreadsheets passing through multiple departments, “hoping [the data] made it back into our system,” Derek describes.

• At that point, getting product data ready for market felt like taking several steps backwards as multiple departments were pulled back in, starting with product development. The spreadsheet would also pass through the president’s inbox and the vice president’s, then by the director of e-commerce, the operations manager, and the website manager. Six people were involved, all of whom cumulatively spent hours adding product data. After implementing the Amber Engine PIM, those hours were reduced “to minutes,” says Derek, with only two people managing data today.

• Using the Amber Engine PIM was beneficial from the start, Derek explains, because it enabled the team to “check on products quickly” and get their heads around product data across channels. “The tool gave us the opportunity,” he says, “then the right tool gave us the speed.”

• Nate then asked about the transition to Amber Engine. Derek replies, “what brought us to Amber Engine was really the customization and the fact that it was nimble enough to be our size.” Listen to the full interview for examples of how the team has used the PIM in creative ways.

• One such example comes from the catalyst for the Howard Elliott team to start working with the PIM. Derek tells the story of how the team tried to create one master list of what SKUs were where, and “most of [the data] was still missing. What was there was chaotic, and what wasn’t there was critical. And it was mission-critical to get it loaded very, very quickly.” Before the Amber Engine PIM, the team had no method to see where products were. That changed as soon as the PIM was implemented.

• Derek and Nate then speak openly about the partnership The Howard Elliott Collection team has had with Amber Engine. Derek shares his own experience with the “open door for feedback” he’s enjoyed since partnering with the AE team. He speaks to AE’s transparency with the development roadmap as well as the constant focus on what clients need. It’s about “what can Amber Engine do for you,” Derek states, not just “what can Amber Engine do.”

• Implementation of the PIM was “surprisingly easy,” Derek adds. He even describes how the team spent “a year and a half waiting for the other shoe to drop.” That is to say, they were waiting for the PIM to get harder as they onboarded. But it never did. The team never ran into hurdles. It was far easier than intended. “It just worked,” Derek muses. Listen to the full interview for more!

💬 Get in touch with Derek at:

• Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-foster-1b636256/