The biggest problem with printed catalogs is that once they're printed, they're locked in place. Price changes, product discontinuations, and specification updates mean the information in your catalog becomes outdated instantly, and customers end up with stale data while your sales team has to explain everything separately. A digital catalog lets you update prices, inventory, and specs in real time, and you can add images, videos, or even 3D displays. Customers get the latest information just by looking it up themselves.
You don't have to make a hard switch all at once. In the short term, keep your printed catalog focused on brand identity and broad product categories, then guide customers to your online platform for detailed specs and quotations. At trade shows or client visits, instead of handing out a catalog, demonstrate how to find what they need on the platform right then and there, and help them build the habit of self-service queries. Once clients start using the online channel for inquiries and transactions, your sales team can finally stop answering the same basic questions over and over and focus on issues that actually need human judgment.