10 tips for fasting

Introducing a 3D catalog is a big project - for your team and ours.

Our team of technical consultants has a combined 30 years of experience in developing and maintaining 3D parts catalogs. They have seen projects take anywhere from two months to more than two years, depending on the scope, readiness and accuracy of customer data.

How can you ensure that your project stays on schedule?

The truth is that any manufacturer can achieve a quick and successful catalog launch - no matter how big or small the catalog is.

When you choose to publish your product catalog with CADENAS USA, we establish a process, timeline and communication agreement to ensure your project stays on schedule. This is a collaborative process that requires both our team and yours to meet deadlines and provide accurate data.

Here are 10 pieces of advice from our technical consultants to ensure your catalog launch goes smoothly:

Before you get started:

1. provide all the correct product data from the outset.

By taking the time to check your data before you send it out for production, you can avoid rework and delays in corrections later on. This takes the pressure off your development team throughout the process as we will find fewer issues with the data and have fewer questions as we work. Having all the data for the work upfront means the project can be done efficiently and there are no delays while the modelers wait for additional data.
- Dan Koivisto, Project Manager, 10 years with CADENAS USA

2. plan enough time in advance to review your new catalog data.

Be prepared to spend some time reviewing the models. We will not publish anything without your approval, so it is important that the models are reviewed quickly. While this review doesn't take a huge amount of time, it is important that it is done in a timely manner, and allowing a little time for this can help the project move forward.
- Jeffrey Abell, eCATALOG Development Manager, 6 years at CADENAS USA

3. you don't have to provide all the product data for each part at once.

The main area that slows down the catalog process is getting good data from the beginning. If the customer has good data and describes their products very well, the process goes very smoothly. If you are launching a 3D parts catalog with multiple product lines, you should review your data for one product line and submit it before moving on to the next.

2D dimensional drawings, 3D models and relevant product information help our team create the recipe in our software and usually lead to a fantastic start to the 3D digital catalog!
- Ryan Boyd, Project Manager, 8 years with CADENAS USA

While we create the 3D catalog:

4. meet with us regularly and ask us questions.

Set a regular meeting schedule to discuss the progress of the catalog! Our most successful projects are the result of collaboration between our teams and yours. A simple 15-minute web meeting every two weeks can be very helpful in maintaining the flow of communication and establishing accountability for both teams. If we can discuss issues person-to-person, it helps to avoid confusion and move the project forward quickly.

Don't hesitate to ask questions! We are here for you to answer questions, give status updates and do whatever it takes to create a great catalog for your users. Use us!
- Erik Clark, Project Manager, 1 year with CADENAS USA

5. you should designate one person to handle the day-to-day interactions with our team.

We have a project manager on our side to keep communication simple and clear; it is beneficial if you do the same on your side. This ensures that our questions are routed to the right person to get quick answers and avoid confusion during the project.

For larger projects where several different product types are being modeled, you may choose to designate more than one person to be responsible for specific products, depending on your technical expertise and product management. In this case, it is recommended that these people communicate with each other regularly to ensure consistency of data and final results. We help you with coordination by convening regular status meetings attended by all necessary parties.
- Dan Koivisto, Project Manager 10 years at CADENAS USA

6 Involve your website developer earlier.

In our experience, many details and ideas only emerge during the implementation of the website. Don't wait until the modeling is complete to find out that your web team has a suggestion on how to add to the models to improve the user experience when we can start those conversations early. If changes need to be made to the models or data to support a web feature, it's usually easier and more cost-effective to make them right at the beginning rather than revising them after completion.

However, when we create a catalog, it's not meant to last forever, and we will always work with you to improve and evolve the content. The larger your audience and feedback group becomes, the more ideas and suggestions will flow in, but it's a good idea to coordinate your technical, marketing and web teams early on.
- Dan Koivisto, Project Manager, 10 years with CADENAS USA

7. keep your champion engaged throughout the process.

Champion engagement also helps keep the project moving forward. Catalog creation slows down when your champion either slows down the review or can't provide us with the data we need to provide an appropriate 3D configurator. The more engaged our champion is, the faster the catalog creation will be.
- Ryan Boyd, Project Manager, 8 years with CADENAS USA

The launch date is approaching

8. try for a soft launch with a window of time to make adjustments and tweaks.

Getting a product line LIVE as quickly as possible helps everyone involved realize that not everything has to be perfect on the first launch. Many of our customers get stuck on little things that can be corrected after the launch. While we want the project to be in its best shape at the start, we can always make small improvements as we go along.

We've had clients not launch their catalog for years (yes, plural) because the project wasn't perfect, even though most end users didn't even know there was a problem. Get something out of your investment as soon as possible, and we can help you make the optimizations you need!
- Ryan Boyd, Project Manager, 8 years with CADENAS USA

9. you don't have to eat the whole elephant at once.

With a large catalog, it's easy to get overwhelmed - it's best to divide and conquer. Set staggered deadlines for specific product lines or families to break the project into more manageable phases. Consider releasing the catalog when the first major part is ready, rather than waiting until everything is ready. Continuously launching new products is also a great way to keep visitors coming back to your site.
- Jeffrey Abell, eCATALOG Development Manager, 6 years with CADENAS USA

10 Promote your catalog once it's online and make it easy to find.

Make your catalog easy to find! The best implementations of our configurators have multiple access points on your website. Your catalog can be integrated on all levels of your website. The more entry points and paths you offer users, the more success you will have.

Also, be sure to mention your catalog on all of your marketing platforms. This great new tool is a perfect reason for people to visit your website, but they will only come if you tell them about it. We can help you with that too - use our expert marketing team to make a bigger impact with a press release, success story, video, etc.
- Erik Clark, Project Manager, 1 year with CADENAS USA

Is it time for a demo?

Get a quick live demo with our team and see how we can help you.