WHAT IS PIM AND HOW TO INTEGRATE IT TO YOUR BUSINESS

This article would be of a great deal for brands, retailers, and others connected to e-commerce. Found yourself on this list? Go ahead. Expect to get a review of PIM basic functions, mechanisms, discuss the benefits and common issues to deal with while using PIM tools.

What is PIM?

That is Product Information Management. Let’s take a look closer. Each marketplace or online store has different requirements. For example, e-commerce platforms that cover several geographic locations need to manage PIM data in multiple languages and formats via a centralized catalog. There are special PIM software tools to do the automation of such processes as the collection, enhancement, corrections, and savings of product info. And this is the grounds of online retail when it comes to product content.

What kind of info PIM system stores?

That is, generally, all the info needed about the product: description, configuration, taxation, composition, technical information, hardware version, etc. And, of course, such media as images, videos or documents.

PIM systems: for whom and for which areas?

When to use and when not to use PIM?

To use or not to use..? A nicely arranged PIM system can push forward the company’s product listing process and other aspects of an online retail business. But the question is, do you need this tool in all cases?

YES to PIM

• need data-rich information?
• need SEO adaptation for descriptions?
• dealing with multiple suppliers and sources of distribution?
• updating the price and product catalog often?

NO or NOT REALLY to PIM

• using only one platform or one distribution channel?
• list of products has less than 1000 positions?
• working with one or two manufacturers?
• product line does not require data-rich descriptions?

How to choose a PIM system

Work nicely and patiently on a list of requirements. Do a proper research. Here’s what you should consider before selecting the right software:

• Research if the system is compatible with the platforms you sell and gather data on. If not, the system should have a feature to connect with your third-party services manually.
• Bet on flexibility. The system has to support business growth and unexpected repositioning.
• Multiple language support is a great feature to be counted in. Even if there’s no need for it now, you might still find it important in the future. PIM system has to be easy-to-use and easy-to-learn not only to save your time but also to make sure your employees would be comfortable with it daily.

Best PIM solutions

Not the easiest thing to pick product information practices on the market, so let’s rely on professionals from The Forrester Wave, who have made research on the PIM systems and here are the tools they find qualified.

EnterWorks
An all-in-one platform consisting of PIM, Digital Asset Management and MDM for the B2B2C market.

”The solution has excellent reporting capabilities, allowing users to easily view, track, and manage the products for which they’re responsible. It includes dashboard widgets that enable users to scorecard vendor quality and performance, which the tool’s vendor portal also exposes.” — says the report.

Contentserv
Having a regular PIM, DAM, and MDM as well as additional marketing tools such as SEO, campaign management and budgeting making this suite the most extensive on the market.

“Contentserv has earned its leadership position by delivering the powerful combination of a full-suite product experience management platform coupled with “very intuitive and modern” business user interfaces. … Contentserv is best for brands and retailers that want to focus on content creation and management” — Forrester Wave on Contentserv

Stibo Systems
Their STEP platform supports multiple domains of data by delivering common UI and data layers (inc. PIM, PMDM, and CMDM). It releases new functionality as cloud services.

“The solution boasts an in-memory data option as a performance differentiation. Customers report that Stibo Systems is a rock-solid platform but also caution that it delivers performance only with significant hardware investments … Stibo Systems is a best fit for businesses looking for a leading multidomain data management platform with an outstanding vendor portal and data governance model. “

inRiver
SaaS (service as a software) PIM product with its own Product Marketing Cloud. Supports live editing of product content creation and visualization. Has rich content-creation tools and focused more on product experience management.

“ …it can introduce new products in as little as seven days, deploying content to more than 30 locales and websites with speed and consistency. inRiver is a best fit for global brands looking to drive product experience with engaging content.”

Salsify
A combination of product content management & analytics tool. Provides insights on how marketplaces search engines work and adapt retailer’s product descriptions in accordance with these insights.

“The solution’s true multitenant platform delivers the fastest time-to-value of any PIM solution in this evaluation: Customers have loaded catalog data as soon as week 2 into an implementation and have completed integrating with digital platforms in under 12 weeks … Salsify is a best fit for brands that need a PIM system to manage the rapidly changing content requirements of digital channels.”

Challenges you may encounter while implementing a PIM system

Does the content delivery from the PIM system to an endpoint marketplace sound easy? Not if you face it. This process is called content syndication. Some of the PIM solutions have a built-in syndicator, although, it’s often not enough. Each marketplace and e-commerce platform has its own mapping rules which might go contrary to the settings of your solution. This problem can be solved either manually spending hours on making sure data will be consistent and uniform, or with the help of dedicated syndication solutions such as our Gepard content syndication software.

How could Gepard help with product content?

Gepard Syndicator automatically aggregates, transforms and delivers product content to the client’s endpoints in the required taxonomy. Moreover, it integrates with the PIM solution, providing the ability to set up semi-automated content delivery, if any manual corrections of data are needed.

Conclusion

Product Information Management system is a powerful tool for e-commerce business development. Just keep the fact that PIM requires lots of attention to details. But once you did proper research — it’s 50% of your success. Define your business needs and analyze if it’s going to be beneficial. You think it is? Just drop us a “hello” and we’d help you out with gathering info and implementing a PIM system.