In over 25 years of implementing digital commerce solutions at AAXIS, we’ve consistently encountered a key challenge: companies often require customers to navigate product catalogs designed around ERP systems rather than tailored for a seamless, customer-centric experience.
The Hidden Cost of Internal Taxonomies
Your ERP might love SKUs and technical specifications, but your customers don’t think that way. When a contractor searches for “weather-resistant concrete” or “sustainable insulation,” they don’t care about your internal product codes. Yet many B2B companies still force customers to speak their language.
Consider this: According to Statista, 45% of B2B buyers rely on product catalogs for research. How are you making it easy for them?
The Two-Taxonomy Solution
At AAXIS, our experience has shown that the most successful approach is to embrace separate taxonomies for internal operations and customer experiences. Here’s why:
- Marketing needs customer-friendly categories like “Climate-Specific Solutions”
- Operations needs precise SKU-based organization
- Merchandising requires regulatory compliance structures
- Fulfillment demands logistics-oriented categorization
Breaking the Myth
The solution isn’t forcing one taxonomy to serve all masters—it’s maintaining two parallel structures:
- An internal taxonomy for operations and compliance
- A customer-facing taxonomy that mirrors how buyers actually search and shop
Managing dual taxonomies doesn’t need a lot of effort, if done right.
Web Catalog to The Rescue
A Web Catalog can be the ideal solution. While not a new concept, Web Catalogs are often shaped by the specific requirements of marketing and ERP teams, tailored to meet their needs. OroCommerce, however, offers an out-of-the-box implementation that covers about 80% of what most companies require, the remaining 20% can be adapted to fit unique business requirements. With OroCommerce’s web catalog feature, you can retain your master catalog (ERP structure) while offering a customer-friendly navigation experience through intuitive content nodes. You can:
- Preserve existing ERP categories
- Create customer-focused product collections and categories
- Customize product organization by customer segment
All of this can be achieved without duplicating product data or requiring complex integrations.
Simple Implementation
Here’s how marketing teams can create customer-centric navigation while preserving the master catalog:
- Start with a Navigation-First Approach:
- Design a tree structure based on how customers shop
- Mix different types of content within the same navigation structure
- Create customer-specific views without disrupting the master catalog Build Your Navigation Using:
- Product Categories: Reorganize master catalog categories without changing product relationships:
- Product Collections: Create dynamic groups based on rules (e.g., “All Weather-Resistant Products”)
- Landing Pages: Incorporate content pages directly into your navigation
- System Pages: Integrate functional pages like quick order forms and account pages
- Featured Products: Highlight specific products within the navigation structure
- Enhance with Smart Features:
- Exclude or include specific products from collections
- Create reusable product segments
- Mix content and product pages in the same navigation tree Customize views for different customer segments
The Final Word
In over 25 years of helping companies succeed in digital commerce at AAXIS, one truth has remained constant: your product catalog structure should prioritize customer experience, not just internal requirements. Forcing buyers to navigate ERP-oriented catalogs leads to confusion, lost sales, and a disjointed buying experience. With nearly half of B2B buyers relying on product catalogs for research, it’s essential to make product discovery seamless and intuitive.
The solution?
Embrace dual taxonomies. An internal structure supports operational needs, while a customer-facing taxonomy mirrors the way buyers think and search. With tools like OroCommerce’s Web Catalog feature, implementing this two-pronged approach can be straightforward, preserving the master ERP catalog while allowing marketing to create customer-friendly navigation—all without duplicating data or complex integrations.
Take action today:
Reassess your product catalog strategy and commit to creating a customer-centric experience. Empower your buyers to find what they need, increase engagement, and drive revenue growth. Your catalog shouldn’t be a barrier—it should be the gateway to long-lasting customer relationships. Make it work for them, and success will follow.
Contact us today to reassess your product catalog strategy.
