How Proactive Communication Scaled a Product Data Extraction Project for a Dental Supplier

The dental products retail industry is thriving in the online business sector. 

As more dental professionals turn to digital platforms for sourcing products, those who can harness the power of big data are gaining a competitive edge. 

One of the most effective ways to leverage this data is through product data extraction—the process of automatically gathering critical product information from competitors’ websites.

By extracting real-time data on product pricing, availability, descriptions, and specifications from various suppliers, businesses can stay ahead of trends, optimize their inventory, and offer more competitive pricing to customers.

This is a similar case of a dental products supplier that approached Grepsr to streamline its product data extraction projects. 

Continue reading to discover how Grepsr’s tailored web scraping solution enabled efficient extraction of real-time data from competitor websites. As well as how we ensure product listings remain accurate and competitive for the client.

Data to make or break your business

Get high-priority web data for your business, when you want it.

Get started

About Client

The client is a leading dental products supplier based in the United States, specializing in providing high-quality, affordable, and innovative dental supplies to clinics, laboratories, and distributors. 

With a strong focus on customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, the company serves a wide range of clients, from small private dental practices to larger, multi-location clinics.

They also offer a diverse portfolio of products, from everyday essentials to specialized dental equipment, all sourced from top manufacturers. As the e-commerce sector for dental supplies grew, the client wanted to streamline their data collection process to remain competitive in the market.

Data Requirements

The client needed a reliable and scalable way to collect product data from multiple dental supplier websites and consolidate it into a single, structured dataset. Their key requirements included:

1. Multi-site product data extraction

They needed automated data collection across 25 supplier websites, each with different structures, formats, and catalog sizes. The goal was to centralize all product information for internal comparison and customer-facing use.

2. Monthly data refresh

As we know, pricing and availability frequently change in the dental supply market, so they requested monthly runs to ensure that clinics and labs always received up-to-date information.

3. Comprehensive product attributes

The extracted dataset needed to include:

• Product names
• SKU/identifier
• Pricing
• Availability status
• Descriptions and specifications
• Any additional supplier-specific metadata

4. Clean, structured output for easy comparison

They wanted standard data in consistent formats so their platform could easily compare products across suppliers, even when naming conventions or SKU formats differed.

Challenges 

One of the key challenges faced by the client was limited communication. 

While the client maintained communication through emails, they rarely participated in real-time check-in calls, which made it difficult to address issues and clarify requirements as they arose. 

The lack of direct communication led to delays in problem-solving and made it challenging to adjust to dynamic changes or new requirements in a timely manner.

In addition to communication hurdles, the client also faced several operational challenges:

1. Infrequent updates: 

The product data extraction was only performed once a month, meaning that any updates or new products added by suppliers after the crawl date were missed until the next scheduled data extraction. This created discrepancies in product listings and sometimes led to outdated information being presented to customers.

2. Manual consolidation: 

The client was manually aggregating product data from multiple suppliers’ websites. This process was both time-consuming and prone to human error, as the data collected was not always up-to-date or complete, potentially affecting the overall quality of product listings.

3. Duplicate SKUs and inconsistencies: 

With numerous suppliers offering similar products, differentiating between duplicate SKUs became a constant challenge. Ensuring that their data was clean and free from duplicate entries was an ongoing task that slowed down operations and contributed to data inconsistencies.

4. Scaling: 

As the business expanded, they struggled to scale their data extraction operations to handle a growing number of suppliers and product listings. Additionally, their existing processes were not flexible enough to accommodate this growth without facing new inefficiencies or inaccuracies.

All of these made seamless data collection, competitor monitoring and competitive product listing difficult for the dental supplier. 

Solutions

To address the challenges faced by the client, Grepsr implemented a range of strategic solutions. We enhanced data accuracy and efficiency, and also improved communication to easily collaborate in real-time.

1. Regular communication through timely check-in calls: 

Recognizing the critical role of real-time communication in solving issues swiftly, Grepsr initiated a series of check-in calls with the client. 

After a productive initial call, the client appreciated Grepsr’s proactive approach and responsiveness. This led to an agreement to have quarterly check-in calls moving forward. These calls made sure that any concerns could be addressed promptly and new requirements could be discussed in detail. Then, there was faster resolution and smoother collaboration.

2. Automated, real-time data extraction: 

To overcome the issue of infrequent data updates, Grepsr set up automated, real-time product data extraction from multiple suppliers. 

This allowed the client to receive continuous updates, ensuring that their product listings were always up-to-date with the latest prices, availability, and descriptions. 

Thereafter, the real-time data extraction eliminated the need for manual updates and ensured that their platform reflected the most accurate information.

3. Duplicate SKU identification and data cleaning: 

Grepsr’s system incorporated advanced matching algorithms to identify and resolve duplicate SKUs across different suppliers. By leveraging fuzzy logic and contextual matching, the solution automatically filtered out duplicates. So, the client’s data was clean, accurate, and consistent. Thus, manual effort was reduced and ensured that only unique products were displayed in the catalog.

4. Data accessibility:

We streamlined how the client presented data to their customers. 

By consolidating data from various suppliers into a single platform, dental clinics and labs could access all the information they needed in one place. Then, the customer experience improved, allowing dental professionals to make informed purchasing decisions without visiting multiple websites.

5. Scalability: 

As the client’s business grew, Grepsr’s scalable data extraction solution made it easy to add new suppliers and products to the system without disrupting existing processes. 

The flexible data platform enabled seamless expansion, helping the client to keep up with increasing data demands while maintaining data accuracy and efficiency.

Final Impact in Business 

The solutions implemented by Grepsr had a profound impact on the dental supplier’s operations, driving significant improvements in overall business performance.

• Efficiency and time savings: With automated, real-time data extraction, the client no longer had to manually gather and update product information from multiple suppliers. Eliminating hours of manual work and allowing the team to focus on higher-value tasks such as customer engagement and business strategy.
• Data accuracy and consistency: The advanced matching algorithms and duplicate SKU identification system ensured that the client’s product data was clean, accurate, and consistent across all suppliers. This helped to avoid discrepancies in product listings.
• Stronger relationships and collaboration with our Customer Success team: Establishing regular check-in calls improved communication and collaboration with the client. This is helpful for faster resolution of issues and also helps to build trust and transparency. 
• Scalable growth and adaptability: Our solution helped in scaling their projects seamlessly. They later added 35 new websites to their data extraction process. We easily integrated these additional data sources into the existing system without any disruption.

Take the Next Step Toward Streamlined Product Data Extraction
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover how Grepsr can transform your data management processes. Let us help you streamline your product data extraction, boost customer satisfaction, and drive your business growth.

Web data made accessible. At scale.

Tell us what you need. Let us ease your data sourcing pains!

Contact Us