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eCommerce Catalog Management for a Multi-Category Online Marketplace Seller
Service:
eCommerce Catalog Management
Engagement Type:
Monthly Retainer
Platforms:
WooCommerce + Amazon Seller Central
Region:
Africa-focused marketplace with cross-border sellers
Catalog Size:
1,200–1,800 SKUs (variable)
Client Background
The client operates an online marketplace built on WooCommerce, onboarding multiple independent sellers and managing a diverse product catalog across categories such as electronics, home goods, and lifestyle products.
Key operational characteristics:
- Seller-managed product submissions
- Centralized catalog governance by the platform
- High SKU churn due to seller onboarding/offboarding
- Limited internal ops bandwidth
The Operational Challenge
As the marketplace scaled, the client faced catalog governance and execution challenges, including:
- Inconsistent product data submitted by sellers
- Missing mandatory attributes (brand, GTIN, dimensions, material, etc.)
- Poorly structured variable products (size/color variants)
- Category misclassification impacting navigation and search filters
- High manual effort required to review and approve listings
- Delays in publishing new SKUs
These issues resulted in:
- Slower seller onboarding
- Reduced catalog quality and trust
- Internal team spending excessive time on repetitive catalog corrections
Objectives
The client needed a catalog operations partner who could:
- Standardize product data across sellers
- Reduce catalog approval turnaround time
- Improve listing quality and consistency
- Maintain platform compliance
- Support ongoing catalog growth without increasing internal headcount
Our Approach
Outsure Global was engaged to act as an extension of the marketplace operations team.
Catalog Audit & Gap Analysis
- WooCommerce Admin panel review
- CSV exports for bulk SKU analysis
- Attribute completeness checks
- Manual review of variable product structures
Key findings:
- 30–35% SKUs missing one or more mandatory attributes
- Variants incorrectly configured as standalone products
- Non-standard naming conventions across sellers
Data Standardization Framework
We created:
- Standardized product data templates (CSV-based)
- Category-wise attribute checklists
- Variant structuring guidelines (parent–child setup)
Tools used:
- Google Sheets (validation rules, dropdowns)
- WooCommerce product import/export tools
This allowed:
- Faster review of seller-submitted data
- Reduced back-and-forth with sellers
Listing Optimization & Cleanup
Execution included:
- Rewriting product titles for clarity and consistency
- Cleaning up product descriptions (bullets, specs, FAQs)
- Normalizing attributes for filtering and navigation
- Correcting category and tag assignments
Quality control:
- Dual-review checklist before publishing
- Spot audits on live listings
Variant & Attribute Management
Special focus was placed on:
- Proper variable product setup (size, color, packaging)
- Attribute inheritance at the parent level
- Avoiding duplicate SKU creation
This reduced:
- Front-end catalog clutter
- Inventory sync issues
- Customer confusion
Ongoing Maintenance & Governance
Under the monthly retainer, we handled:
- New SKU onboarding
- Seller catalog submissions review
- Pricing and stock updates
- Periodic catalog audits
Tools used:
- WooCommerce Admin
- Spreadsheet-based trackers
- Shared SOPs and QA checklists
Scope of Work
- Product listing creation and correction
- Catalog optimization and cleanup
- Attribute and variant management
- Seller submission review
- Ongoing catalog maintenance
Results Achieved (First 90 Days)
- Significant reduction in catalog errors and rework
- Faster SKU approval and publishing cycle
- Improved consistency across categories
- Lower operational load on internal team
The client was able to:
- Onboard sellers faster
- Maintain catalog quality at scale
- Avoid additional operational hires
