Registration has opened for the online conference “Formula of Retail: from Production to Shelf,” scheduled for October 29 and organized by Kontur. This event targets all participants in the FMCG retail supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. The agenda features over 20 speakers, comprised of market leaders and industry experts. The program will address current FMCG trends, updates in legislation and retailer requirements, business process automation, and the latest retail technologies. Attendance is free upon registration through the official event platform. Attendees will benefit from live Q&A sessions and on-demand access to recorded presentations.
A key focus of the conference is preparation for mandatory digitalization measures: speakers from “Chestny Znak” and leading industry associations (ROSEU and ACTL) will provide practical guidance on transitioning to electronic shipping documents and the introduction of new product label requirements. Kontur’s experts will present approaches for cyber risk mitigation, compliance in state veterinary documentation (Merkuriy), and HR e-document management adoption. Notably, market leaders will present case studies on their transitions to electronic transportation documents, ecosystem approaches, and automation of veterinary supporting documents.
The Significance of the Event for E-Commerce and Content Infrastructure
The announcement reflects a broader transformation in the Russian retail sector, driven by regulatory digitalization and rapid technological advancement. High penetration of electronic document management (EDM) is fundamentally reshaping how retail information circulates, not only for large players but increasingly for small enterprises. Kontur’s data show that about 74% of Kontur.Diadoc users are microbusinesses, indicating that digital B2B integration is no longer the exclusive domain of major retailers. EDM is expanding across logistics, HR, and cross-border supply chains, establishing digital traceability as a default standard.
This transformation directly impacts the product feed infrastructure Product feed - NotPIM central to e-commerce operations. Automated information flow through EDM and labeling systems (such as Chestny Znak and Merkuriy) enables structured, timely, and reliable population of product feeds. It minimizes the risk of outdated or incomplete product data entering marketplaces, which is especially critical in FMCG where product lifecycle and compliance requirements are high.
Standards for product data cataloguing are also being raised by regulatory-driven digitalization. As mandatory electronic labeling and transport documentation become universal, structured data must comply with harmonized standards set by national regulators. For e-commerce and retail content managers, this means integrating serialization, traceability, and compliance information into product cards at earlier and deeper stages of the supply process.
Quality, Completeness, and Speed of Product Card Creation
Data quality and completeness Data Integration Challenges: What’s Holding Your Online Store Back? - NotPIM are natural beneficiaries of this transition. Digital traceability requires rich metadata — expiration, origin, certification, logistics details — which, once standardized in upstream logistics documentation, can automatically populate e-commerce product cards. Over time, this reduces manual rekeying and error risks, streamlining assortment onboarding and improving compliance, especially for regulated categories like food, pharmaceuticals, and children’s goods.
Speed to market is directly enhanced by automation throughout the retail chain. Electronic workflows between manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers reduce onboarding time for new SKUs, synchronizing logistics, legal, and content teams. As electronic documentation becomes the norm, assortment expansion and change management accelerate, enabling faster reaction to shifting market demand and regulatory updates.
The Role of No-Code and AI in Retail Infrastructure
The ongoing digitalization trend is creating new opportunities for no-code automation Artificial Intelligence for Business - NotPIM and AI-driven process orchestration throughout retail content management. With a growing foundation of machine-interpretable data from digital documentation, no-code platforms now enable rapid deployment of rules for content enrichment, validation, and classification — previously the realm of IT specialists. AI tools can automate extraction and verification of product attributes, suggest enhancements to product descriptions, and even predict compliance gaps before listing.
Recent expert commentary highlights that integration between state labeling systems (like Chestny Znak) and retailer back-office platforms is already being accelerated by AI-powered connectors, helping suppliers avoid manual reconciliation and improving data accuracy for end-customer product feeds. At the same time, legislative updates continue to mandate structured data inclusion in logistics and product documentation, creating an environment where investment in no-code and AI infrastructure is not just beneficial, but strategically necessary.
Implications for the Industry
For e-commerce and content leaders, this event underlines several urgent priorities:
- Build or strengthen direct integrations with digital logistics and labeling platforms to improve data accuracy and readiness for legal changes.
- Revise internal standards for product card completeness to incorporate new regulatory data points at source, minimizing the need for downstream manual supplementation.
- Leverage automation tools — especially no-code platforms and AI solutions — to scale catalog operations and ensure compliance at speed.
- Monitor legislative changes impacting digital documentation workflows, as these will increasingly dictate the permissible structure and content of product data supplied to market.
By convening experts, practitioners, and regulatory representatives, the “Formula of Retail” conference offers a high-value lens into how legislative and technological change are converging in Russian retail. The growing universality of EDM, mandatory digital labeling, and the proliferation of AI- and automation-driven content processes mark a decisive shift: product information infrastructure is becoming both more regulated and more automatable. This structural evolution will define competitive advantages in speed, compliance, and customer trust across the Russian e-commerce landscape in the medium term.
For additional background and assessments of these trends in the Russian and global context, see Kommersant’s reporting on recent digitalization law updates and Retail.ru’s industry analysis.
The shift toward mandatory digital labeling and EDM is a significant trend, creating both challenges and opportunities for e-commerce businesses. The need for high-quality, compliant product data is more critical than ever. At NotPIM, we understand that challenges with product information can slow down business and damage customer trust. Our platform helps retailers, suppliers, and manufacturers automate product data processes, from feed conversion and enrichment to compliance checks, ensuring that they're ready to meet the demands of this evolving digital landscape.