Operations
Part of Plan shopping feeds operations before peak season
Shopping feeds team roles explained for data and sources
A practical look at shopping feeds team roles, covering who owns product data, source systems and compliance checks across catalogue operations.
What to take away
Shopping feeds team roles are the named ownership of the data, files and checks that keep a product catalogue valid across channels. A feed is only as good as the source system behind it. Decide who owns each source before you buy tooling.
- Data ownership is not a single job. Product data, imagery and pricing usually sit with different people.
- Source systems set the ceiling on feed quality. If the PIM or ERP is messy, no feed tool fixes it.
- Compliance checks need an owner, not a shared inbox. The ICO direct marketing checklist is a useful starting point for consent and contact data.
- Crawling and indexing sit outside your feed file. Google's crawler documentation explains how its infrastructure fetches pages.
- Write the roles down. Verbal ownership breaks at peak.
Who owns the product data
Product data steward
The steward owns attributes: titles, GTINs, categories and variants. They decide what a complete record looks like and reject incomplete ones. This is a data quality role, not a marketing one. Give them authority to block a SKU from going live.
Steward vs source system owner
Product data steward
- Owns
- Attributes and images
- Controls
- Record completeness
- Accountable for
- Blocking incomplete SKUs
- Key risk
- Incomplete records live
Source system owner
- Owns
- PIM, ERP, spreadsheet
- Controls
- Field mappings, exports
- Accountable for
- Price sync failures
- Key risk
- Fields with no owner
They also own image requirements. Google's help page on the additional image link attribute sets out how extra images are submitted, so the steward should know which slots are filled and which are empty.
Source system owner
The source system owner runs the PIM, ERP or spreadsheet that feeds the catalogue. They control field mappings and export schedules. If a price changes in the ERP and not in the feed, this role is accountable.
They should document every field's origin. A field with no owner is a field that will drift. The operations and delivery guide covers how those mappings survive a replatform, which is when most feeds break.
Who owns feeds and channels
Feed operations lead
The feed operations lead owns the file, the schedule and the error queue. They monitor disapprovals and fix them daily. They do not invent product data; they escalate gaps to the steward. This separation stops the same person both creating and approving records.
Feed, channel and compliance owners
Feed operations lead
- Owns
- File, schedule, error queue
- Daily task
- Fix disapprovals
- Does not
- Invent product data
- Escalates to
- Steward for gaps
Channel manager
- Owns
- Channels, products, prices
- Daily task
- Check discounts land
- Does not
- Hold sole requirements
- Escalates to
- Feed ops for rules
Compliance owner
- Owns
- Consent and contact data
- Daily task
- Run marketing checks
- Does not
- Wait for complaints
- Escalates to
- ICO checklist schedule
They also own the crawl relationship. Google's crawler overview explains how its crawlers fetch and index pages, which matters when feed links and landing pages disagree.
Channel manager
The channel manager owns the commercial side: which channels get which products, and at what price. They set promotional rules and check that discounts land in the feed before the sale starts. They should not hold the only copy of channel requirements.
Compliance and contact data owner
Someone must own consent and contact data used in retargeting and email. The ICO's direct marketing checklist sets out the checks to run, and this role should schedule them rather than wait for a complaint.
How to assign roles without overlap
Use a decision table
Choose
- Single channel, small catalogue
- One steward who also runs feed ops
- Multiple channels, shared SKUs
- Separate steward and feed ops lead
- Regulated or contact-heavy products
- Named compliance owner
- Peak trading ahead
- Documented escalation path
- New source system
- Source owner with mapping sign-off
Avoid
- Single channel, small catalogue
- Three part-time owners
- Multiple channels, shared SKUs
- One person approving their own data
- Regulated or contact-heavy products
- Shared inbox
- Peak trading ahead
- Ad hoc Slack fixes
- New source system
- Feed team guessing fields
Set the escalation path
Write down who is called when a feed fails at 6pm on a Friday. Name a deputy for each role. Review the list quarterly, because people leave and tools change. The service standards article explains how to turn those expectations into checks a team can audit.
Common questions
Who should own the product feed file itself?
The feed operations lead, with the data steward owning the records inside it. Keeping those roles separate prevents one person from both creating and approving data. Small teams can combine them, but should still log changes.
Do we need a separate compliance role?
Only if you use contact data for marketing or sell in regulated categories. Otherwise assign the checks to an existing owner and review them on a schedule. The ICO checklist is a reasonable starting point for the tasks involved.
How do roles change at peak season?
Escalation paths matter more than job titles. Name a deputy for each role and agree response times before the busy period. Documented owners resolve feed errors faster than a shared inbox.
Where should source system changes be approved?
The source system owner signs off field mappings, with the steward confirming data quality. Any change to a mapped field should trigger a feed test before it goes live. Record who approved it and when.
