Secure, simple and legally compliant - specifically developed for the individual, diverse requirements of the sports, outdoor and cycling industry
Whether for a change in the product range in the online shop or in the merchandise management system or for the latest marketing campaign - retailers always need the correct and updated product specifications and item images approved by the brands!
As a rule, these data are supplied by the brands in a wide variety of formats, which often leads to a great deal of work for the retailer in further processing.
The Stuttgart-based software company OUTTRA, which is well established in the sports, outdoor and bicycle industry, has meanwhile developed from an established single-use tool into a multiple, efficient ecosystem. For Siegbert Müller, founder and managing director of OUTTRA, and his team, the focus is always on efficient data exchange and synergy-rich cooperation between brands and specialist retailers in the outdoor, sports and bicycle industry - and this on an international level.
So far, brands have not only been able to increase their own efficiency in sales and marketing through the OUTTRA Where-To-Buy Local Tool, among other things, but also to support their specialist retailers. The availability of the products at the connected retailers is displayed on the brand website with the help of the plug-in. Now Siegbert Müller reveals what his team has been working on over the last few months in cooperation with retailers and brands in the industry: the OUTTRA Data & Image Hub!
"From now on, brands and retailers can look forward to our new tool, the OUTTRA Data & Image Hub. This new service enables the simple data exchange of all product images, content texts and master data between brands and retailers. After a detailed needs analysis and intensive exchange with brands, such as Vaude, Ziener, Ortovox or Maier Sports, and retailers, such as TRANSA, on an international level, an enormous added value is now also created for all parties involved at this point. We will also discuss the topic of optimised data exchange as part of OUTTRA's membership in the European Outdoor Group (EOG)," explains Siegbert Müller.
The OUTTRA Data Hub is the central platform for data exchange between retailers and brands. It works via a single interface. Brands only have to import their data into the system once and give the retailers access to it - which even works down to EAN level. Retailers can then access this data via an API, a CSV export or the OUTTRA backend - across brands!
In practice, this means simple and fast onboarding for the retailers and, as a result, fast availability of the products in the trade. In addition, on the brand side, the workload and the required support services are reduced throughout the entire process. Both sides thus benefit from increased sales and higher profits.
Data sovereignty and management is the responsibility of the brands. They decide individually or centrally which retailers receive the releases for which product data and images of which products.
Currently, 22 internationally operating sporting goods brands and 1,600 retailers participate in the various services of the OUTTRA ecosystem.
The OUTTRA team is constantly adding to, updating and developing these efficient tools in order to be able to offer further added value to all cooperating brands, retailers and users worldwide and to establish a new standard on an international level.
"We focus on the sports, outdoor and bicycle industry, cooperate and are in permanent exchange with national and international interest groups in order to identify further needs and possibilities. We have the ambition to develop further innovative and practice-relevant solutions and visions in the future and to establish them on the market," Siegbert Müller concludes.