10 Best PIM Software To Manage Product Information In 2020

This article will help you quickly compare and evaluate the best PIM software and other master data management (MDM) solutions.

PIM software is a tool or set of tools that help retailers, including ecommerce retailers, produce and manage the product content needed across various digital channels (not to be confused with personal information managers, another “PIM” acronym). For example, you may need a single source for product meta descriptions or you may need a catalog maker.

The types of product information typically compiled in PIM software may include:

• Technical data: size/measurements, color choices, ingredients, etc.
• Usage data: How, when, where to use it, etc.
• Emotional data: product stories, metadata descriptions, etc.
• Media files: images, text files, videos, etc.
• Digital catalog platform data: Number of products, variations of products, seasonal listings, etc.

You might be wondering: Which PIM software is best? It will depend on your specific use case and what exactly you need out of the tool in question. That’s why I’ve written this article to help you suss out which PIM tool may serve your needs the best.

In this post, I’ll highlight a few of the best PIM software and explain how they can help manage all of your product information in the context of the ecommerce sales and marketing pipelines. I will also provide a quick evaluation of some of the highest performing PIM software on the market today.

Quickly Compare & Evaluate The 10 Best Tools for Enterprise PIM

The product information management market is an $11.4 billion industry and it continues to grow. If you don’t currently use any PIM tools, you most likely will have to reassess that thinking as it becomes the ecommerce industry standard.

The Best PIM Software List

Here’s a shortlist of the best PIM tools:

1. IBM Product Master
2. Informatica
3. Feedonomics
4. Productsup
5. Agility Multichannel
6. Pimcore
7. Syndigo
8. inRiver
9. Akeneo
10. Stibo Systems

Product Information Management Software FAQ

If you are still flush with questions about PIM software, then this handy FAQ is a great place to start.

What is PIM software?

PIM software is a specific type of information management system used to track the details and data for commerce products. It is sometimes offered as a standalone product, but it’s commonly part of a bigger suite of tools comprising a product lifecycle management system or retail operations platform.

As stated in the introduction to this article, PIM software is a one-stop-shop for product information like technical data, usage specifications, product stories, media files, and cataloging details.

Why use PIM software?

Using PIM software has lots of advantages, like:

• Transparency of data and information accuracy
• Increase the quality of product data
• Maintain data standards across all product information
• Streamline onboarding of new products
• Improve customer experience with standardized data
• Easier integration with other systems such as your existing CRMs, warehouse management systems, marketing software, and others.

Is PIM the same as product catalog management software?

Not quite. PIM is often internal-only data whereby a controlled set of information points are available for customer perusal. On the other hand, catalog data management usually involves the consolidation of ALL data into a single point of reference for both the merchant and the customer. These two types of systems may share some of the same features, like the storage of product images and metadata descriptions.

How much does PIM software usually cost?

While certain entry-level PIM software is free to use, most of the time a good product management system comes with a cost. Companies can expect to pay anywhere from $199/month all the way up to 1000+/month. Your price will often depend on the number of SKUs, number of users, number of distribution channels, etc., that your company needs.

PIMS Systems Comparison Criteria

What are we looking for when we select a product information management platform for review? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:

1. User Interface (UI): Does the software have a clean, modern aesthetic? Is the interface intuitive and informative? Can you find all of your “must-haves” (dashboards, help sections, and so on) with a minimal number of clicks?
2. Usability: Does the software offer in-app training features? Are there plenty of tutorials and training on the company’s websites? Is the customer service desk responsive and helpful? Is there an active community forum?
3. Features & Functionality:

• Catalog management software — Does the tool offer some sort of catalog management tool or does it integrate with popular catalog management systems?
• Data Import — Does the tool make it easy to import data from external sources with minimal manual intervention? Does it speak to common platforms and file types for easy data importing?
• Editing Ease — Does the software accommodate bulk editing capabilities, version restoration, and other tools to make editing internal product information a breeze?
• Category Management — Is creating and assigning product categories easy to do? Are there pre-built categories for quick uploads? Can categories be changed, searched, and sorted?

4. Integrations: Does the tool offer any first-party extensions or apps to improve capabilities? Does the tool connect with commonly used third-party apps, like Microsoft and Google tools?

5. Value for $: Is the price affordable, flexible, and transparent? Is there a free trial for new users? Is the pricing scheme accommodating to both large and small companies alike?

Keep reading to see 10 Best PIM Software To Manage Product Information In 2020

Originally published at https://theecommmanager.com on July 10, 2020.