Taxonomy Management

​Our expertise spans all types of product taxonomies -- ERP, Pricing, Print, PIM, Ecommerce – and we have proven methodologies for each.  The IDA design process is inclusive and leverages state-of-the-art software tools to keep data aligned across systems and with best practices. 

 

While every taxonomy is different, we’ve found that great designs have a few things in common:  clear organizing principles and guidelines, logical upstream/downstream alignment, and great labels.  

 

Schedule a demo today to see how our taxonomy management platform can help streamline your project.

 

Taxonomy Types

There are three primary types of taxonomies that we build and maintain.

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ERP Taxonomy

The ERP taxonomy forms a backbone for operations and reporting.  They often feature key constraints like fixed depth or character count limits on labels, and tend to be more difficult to change over time than other taxonomies, so it’s important to get it right the first time.  A great ERP taxonomy requires a keen understanding of requirements across multiple stakeholders, guidelines for making consistent design choices, and an inclusive design process. 

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PIM Master Taxonomy

PIMs typically contain a master taxonomy that is used to maintain attributes, descriptions, and translations.  The PIM Master Taxonomy is driven by marketing requirements, which can include alignment with ecommerce and 3rd party channels.  We design PIM taxonomies that make it easy to onboard new items, improve data quality, and publish to channels.  We leverage a proprietary approach to PIM taxonomy design that includes ecommerce alignment, autoclassification, variable product design, prioritization by revenue, competitive analysis, taxonomy testing and stakeholder review.

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Ecommerce Taxonomy

Designing and maintaining one or more ecommerce taxonomies requires alignment with upstream data sources like PIM and an understanding of how users navigate.  Techniques like multiclassification, polyhierarchy, and localization allow for greater flexibility to design the perfect user experience, but can quickly spin out of control if not orchestrated carefully.  Ecommerce taxonomies incorporate web analytics, search redirects, search type-ahead, mega-menus, custom landing pages, faceted navigation and more.