The Gist

• Need for consistency. Customers expect brands to maintain consistent product messages across various channels. 
• PIM’s role. Product Information Management (PIM) centralizes and manages product data, ensuring accurate information across digital and sales channels. 
• PIM benefits. The right PIM system can streamline operations, enhance customer experiences and boost a brand’s digital standing. 

With an increasing number of channels coming into play, brands must ensure they deliver a consistent message about their products across all channels. One way to achieve that is to use a product information Management (PIM) solution. 

What Is Product Information Management (PIM)?

In today’s rapidly changing ecommerce landscape, maintaining accurate, up-to-date and consistent product data across various channels is essential. Enter the world of product information management, commonly known as PIM. Product information management serves as the backbone for businesses, big and small, to centralize, harmonize and control all of their product data. 

By focusing on efficient product data management, PIM ensures that accurate product information is available across all sales and digital channels, providing customers with consistent product details and improving overall sales and marketing performance.

What Is a Product Information Management (PIM) System?

A product information management (PIM) system provides a platform for managing information that is used to market and sell products via various distribution channels such as websites, product catalogs, ERP systems, digital signage, third-party distributors and reseller channels.

Typically, a PIM system leveraged by retailers falls into one or more of the following categories:

• They possess a vast and expanding list of products with multiple variations.
• They have a large number of partners, suppliers, distributors, resellers and franchises.
• They are a multinational retailer needing to deliver product content in various languages.

The information drawn from the PIM system can be used for calculating freight prices and product descriptions with the relevant images and pricing information.

Related Article: 9 Principles of Good Customer Data Management 

The Top Product Information Management Systems 

Now lets take a look at some of the top PIM solutions on the market. 

1. Agility PIM 

Agility’s PIM solution comes with Agility Modular Interface, a feature that enables users to optimize their product in a straightforward manner and tailor user permission based on individual roles. It features a dynamic workflow for better collaboration and allows you to control how the content is presented on each channel, including search engine optimization and visual presentation.

2. Contentserv Product Experience Platform

The PIM platform provided by Contentserv allows for flexible and scalable product experiences across multiple channels. Contentserv PIM utilizes multiple data management technologies for facilitating the collection of data from various suppliers. The platform then uses this data to help users develop high-quality personalized content.

3. Precisely EnterWorks 

EnterWorks is an enterprise PIM solution that provides a single view platform for acquiring, managing and syndicating all product data across different channels. In addition, the platform features an automated workflow that promotes collaboration between different personnel and systems. Furthermore, this PIM solution allows users to orchestrate complex B2B2C relationships throughout your content value chain.

4. IBM’s InfoSphere Master Data Management

The InfoSphere MDM provides a platform for PIM and collaborative data management. The platform’s user-friendly interface allows you to build a central repository for all of your products. It also aggregates product data from upstream systems and can enforce business process to achieve accuracy and synchronization. In addition, it can integrate with other MDM applications and comes with a collaborative workflow.

Related Article: Maximizing the Impact of Product Content: A Prioritization Plan for Enrichment

5. Informatica MDM — Product 360

Informatica’s PIM solution comes with an intuitive user interface that can be configured to both role- and task-specific user permissions. It features built-in digital asset management that can handle both product and large media assets (in any format). In addition, the PIM platform provides editable channel previews and can integrate with major platforms like Salesforce, Google Manufacturer and Hybris.

6. inriver Product Marketing Cloud

inriver provides a scalable and flexible PIM Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that consists of four core applications: Supply, Enrich, Plan & Release and Publish. Product data can be supplied to the platform from existing external systems such as ERP and product lifecycle management (PLM), and you can use that data to develop engaging product descriptions that can be pushed to any sale channels, including ecommerce, print catalogs, e-catalogs and more.

7. Syndigo Product Information Management

This PIM solution offers both product information and digital asset management capabilities. It can manage and expand new sales channels with accurate product data, increase conversions with intelligent automation and analytics and establish change control and improved data governance.

8. Salsify Product Experience Management Platform

Salsify delivers a unified product data management paltform that brings together content management, publishing, syndication and analytics. The PIM system can amalgamate and centralize product data from a variety of sources to develop a single source of truth, including Amazon and other big-name resellers. The analytics platform can help improve brand presence and discoverability.

9. SAP Commerce Cloud

SAP Commerce Cloud is a cloud-native enterprise resource management system for B2B, B2C and B2B2C companies.  It’s on the list of PIM solutions able to harness real-time insights to deliver personalized and relevant customer experiences. It ensures product data quality through capabilities designed to manage large and complex catalogs.

10. Stibo Systems Product Master Data Management

This PIM system provides users with the capabilities to acquire, manage and share product data across the organization. In addition to creating a single source of truth for your product data management, the platform allows you to share that content with your audience in real-time. It also comes with data governance protocols to maintain operational efficiency and integrity.

Related Article: Is Generative AI the Future of Product Content Generation?

Navigating the PIM Solutions Landscape

Product information management solutions extend beyond mere data storage. They encapsulate a harmonious balance of channel optimization, product data synchronization and consistency across touchpoints.

In this digital age, PIM systems have become essential for businesses striving to maintain a consistent and powerful product narrative throughout their online platforms. By selecting the right PIM system, companies can streamline operations, enrich customer experiences and elevate their digital prowess.