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NEW MEMBER BENEFIT–NOW AVAILABLE
Not a Member? Another Reason to Join the RIA

The RIA Product Data Collaborative is LIVE!

Seamless data sharing across the entire run specialty channel - for brands, retailers and business partners.

If time is money, how much are you losing managing brand product data? 

Securing and managing brand product data (UPC codes, product descriptions, product images, etc) can feel like utter chaos. It is an incredible drain on precious staff resources, and is often fraught with human errors.

The RIA has a SOLUTION

Logo for the RIA Product Data Collaborative

The all-new Product Data Collaborative (PDC) is the first-ever, centralized tool for accessing and managing brand product data.

"One of the most exciting developments I've seen recently is the RIA's Product Data Collaborative (PDC), which aims to centralize and standardize product data on neutral ground in a way that's accessible to all industry participants. While it'll be a big effort, it will provide standards and automation at scale that will save retailers tens of thousands of dollars per year and provide the rails for innovators like Run Free Project and our peers to transform the industry with cool new stuff never thought possible."

How it Works

In a nutshell, the PDC removes the burden of gathering, formatting, and managing brand product data.

  • The platform enables brands to easily input seasonal product data.
  • It uses artificial intelligence protocols to standardize the data.
  • Retailers easily create product assortments for uploads to POS providers, e-commerce and digital marketing solutions.

It includes hard and soft data like model number, SKU, UPC/EAN, color (description and code), size, width, wholesale cost, retail price, and images. MAP and other data will be available soon.

Simply put, the PDC promotes the ‘ease of doing business’.

Animated image of PDC functionality

Powered by Contentserv

RIA chose to partner with Contentserv, a recognized technology leader serving over 300 businesses in 89 countries, to develop the PDC. They have a proven track record as expert software developers who simplify and automate product content management for brands and specialty retailers across the globe. They know data management can waste time and create inconsistencies that hurt the customer experience. Their solutions enable businesses to spend less time fighting fragmented data and more time delivering rich, relevant and emotional product experiences that enhance their brand and ultimately delight customers.

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Why the RIA?

As a neutral entity within the run specialty channel, the RIA is uniquely suited to provide a centralized storehouse for brand product data - creating easy access for all existing platforms or tools that require product data and avoiding potential productization of data.

What the PDC is Not

It is neither a digital product catalog nor a competitor for any online tools provided by brands or third-party platforms. Instead, it is quite simply a ‘single source of truth’: a repository for secure clean, standardized brand data, available to all. In this fashion, the PDC acts to support brand and third-party tools and services.

Key FAQ's

What types of data will be available?

It currently includes hard and soft data like model number, SKU, UPC/EAN, color (description and code), size, width, wholesale cost, retail price, and images. MAP and other data will be available soon.

Can I control if I get push notifications or not?

The RIA is currently assessing the best options to provide real time notifications for PDC users.

Can you set permissions so different team members have different access?

At present, the PDC does not include user permissioning. All users have the same level of access within their own organization. Access is currently based on your individual login to the RIA website and is provided to users that have directly requested access to the PDC. We expect that not every staff member of every organization will require access.

What training is available?

The RIA will provide training through ‘How-To’ videos, user guides, access to support via email as well as ongoing virtual trainings.

How do I sign up for the PDC?

Through the RIA website. If you have not accessed the platform please login into the Member Portal, click the PDC tab and click the "Register for the PDC" teal button. If you have already registered you will find an "Access the PDC" button on this same tab as well as if you hover over the PDC category in the main navigation.

What does it cost to use the PDC?

It is free to be a PDC user through the end of Q3 2024. Subscription access will begin in late 2024. Pricing is TBD, but the goal is to keep the rate as low as possible. The PDC is a member benefit, not a revenue driver.

How does the PDC standardize the data?

All product attributes (ie, size, color code, style number, price, cost, etc) are built into the database. During the import process the columns in the import file are mapped to their corresponding attribute fields in the database, and the data is standardized as much as possible so that it can be exported in different formats.

Have questions or feedbackabout the development process? Shoot us an email.
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Have questions or feedbackabout the development process? Shoot us an email.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.