The shopping trend has changed tremendously as the customers prefer comparing the products available in the market based on their description, technical specifications, costing, etc. For this purpose, the enterprise should provide accurate and true details to their customers across the different channels.

These accurate and real-time details help the enterprise in gaining customer confidence and building brand trust. The product information Management (PIM) system helps in managing the product details efficiently.

Pimcore – A Brief

There are several solutions that an enterprise can engage in for the management of product information. Pimcore is an open-source solution for the management of product information and is based on PHP. It has the additional feature of allowing the enterprise to manage the multiple master data but mainly focuses on the management of product data across the various channels.

It is important to understand what PIM software to gain its maximum benefit is. The PIM system allows for the collection, organization, management, storage, and sharing of product-related details with the different end-users.

It helps in the efficient sharing of product information with the customers, different teams within the organization, collaborators, partners, stakeholders, etc. The Pimcore solution is available in different variants.

The enterprise can select the communication edition that is free of cost, the premium enterprise edition, and the could-included option. The enterprise can select any version based on their requirement.

To explore Pimcore in detail, you must read What is Pimcore and How It Boosts Business Growth where you have all the essential information about Pimcore.

Akeno – A Brief

Akeno has also been an open-source solution for product data management since 2013 and is also based on PHP. It is identical to Pimcore but it majorly focuses on the product data as compared to Pimcore which includes master data.

There are three different versions of these Akeno solutions for the management of product information. These versions include the free community version, the premium enterprise edition having SaaS or PaaS, and the growth edition (SaaS).

The growth version lacks advanced features but has more features in comparison to the free edition. The growth edition is suitable for organizations that want to switch from the free version to the full-fledged enterprise version.

Requirements for Product Information Management

The Product Information Management system is an important software essential for managing the data for the enterprise. To answer the question, what is PIM software? PIM software is the subset of master data management and deals, especially with product-based information.

It allows for automated updates for the product details in the system as well as the external sources like different channels, marketplaces, vendors, etc. This PIM system acts as a single source of truth for the products. The key requirements of the product information management system include:

Pricing and cost

The PIM system acts as a calculated investment thus the organization needs to consider the pricing plans as there are different editions or versions available for the software. This will depend on the budget as well as the requirement.

Features

There are different features and capabilities that the PIM software includes apart from the basic concepts of data entry and data consistency. As the data increases or the reach of the organization towards different channels expands, the organization can include various features of PIM in their system.

Integration and compatibility

The organization implements the use of various applications and software for the smooth functioning of various processes. The PIM Software should be compatible with the other applications and easily integrated with them.

Usability

The PIM system is very useful in keeping the product information updated with several internal and external teams. The software must be user-friendly as the members of the different teams need to update the details. Simple training should guide the different users in how to effectively handle the software.

Long-term support

The software provider should provide future support. The PIM software should be updated and maintained as it leads to efficient data management.

Visit A Brief about The Role of Product Information Management (PIM) For Enterprise to discover every aspect of PIM.

Pimcore vs Akeneo

The standard features of the Pimcore and the Akeneo have similar capabilities while the overall data management requirements. Both of these systems can integrate data from several sources. One can compare the Pimcore vs Akeneo based on the various features it provides in different editions.

The different features of the Pimcore or the Akeneo include

• Management of data quality
• Elimination of data silos
• Unification of product information
• Enrichment of product information
• Translation of product information/details
• Allow seamless collaborations with several teams

The Akeneo is better than the Pimcore system while comparing the following descriptions:

• Accurate data measurement and completeness
• Providing insights for quality data
• Automated completion of product attributes
• Monitoring connections
• Advanced right management
• Workflow validation for controlling the quality of data, etc.

The PIMcore provides an all-round performance with stronger features that are better than Akeneo and the advantageous features of the Pimcore include:

• Create printable PDF product carts
• Hosting product e-catalogs
• Includes built-in photo editor
• Scheduling of product finishing
• Sharing and searching the details across the departments
• Product data syndication, management of product feed for all channels
• Tracking orders on the centralized dashboards
• Automation of print process by using the print publication feature, etc.

1. Pimcore vs Akeneo: Flexibility and scalability

While comparing the flexibility and scalability of these 2 systems, Pimcore allows for modification of the data using the typical APIs. It implements the master data management system that allows for having a resource for various product-related details, media, attributes, products, customers, suppliers, etc.

It enables the organization to easily manage the products at various hierarchies. The data shaping is performed using the convenient graphical user interface.

Pimcore is scalable and can be used in the global environment. It is useful while handling a large amount of data and resources. It can give the best performance even if millions of users visit the site simultaneously without affecting its performance and functionality.

Akeneo does not make use of the master data management but uses the entity attribute value (EAV) for managing the product information. Tus the details related only to the product can be configured using this application.

The scalability of Akeneo is very high and allows for easy management of the product catalogs. The only limitation includes the modeling and data processing to a certain limited extent.

2. Pimcore vs Akeneo: Features Comparison

The key takes away from the comparison between the Pimcore and Akeneo is based on certain features as both systems have some common features that form the basis of these systems for having the PIM functionalities.

The advantageous features of Akeneo over the Pimcore system include:

• Akeneo provides support for collaboration and teamwork that allows for creating projects, teamwork assistance, etc.
• It provides the workflow for description
• It enhanced communication between the various users
• It helps in measuring the completeness of data
• It provides insight for enhancing the quality of data by improving consistency and enrichment
• It allows for improving and monitoring the connections

The advantageous features of Pimcore over Akeneo include:

• It allows for the hosting of the e-catalogs
• It has the provision for a built-in photo editor
• It enables the creation of the printable PDF product catalog or card
• It enables the enterprise to publish the product on their set date
• Both the systems have similar ratings and are used for product information management.

The organization can select any of these systems based on their needs and feasibility based on their case

3. Pimcore vs Akeneo: Benefits

While looking deeper Pimcore Vs Akeneo both have some common features. However, each of these systems has its benefits based on the additional features.

Pimcore is designed for storage, management, integration, and unification of different types of digital data including product information. This tool is extensively used by most enterprises to enhance their business efficiency.

This system is used by large companies that have several products, larger product information, the number of channels for sales and distribution, etc. It is extremely flexible and can easily adapt to complex business requirements.

The benefits of the Pimcore system include:

The feasible solution

Pimcore helps in providing the solution to over hundreds of partners across the world for enabling their business to spread faster in the market. It is an open-source system and thus does not include the cost of licensing. The cost of the enterprise version is reasonable for implementing the system.

Robust system

Pimcore system is said to be one of the most robust systems for managing product information. It can easily handle a large amount of data with ease. It also allows for efficient integration with various systems used in the organization for their flawless performance. It enables eliminating the potential errors and enhancing the performance.

Centralized data storage

Pimcore allows for the storage of data centrally and also provides access to the different internal and external teams for enhanced communication. The different teams can access the data from any remote location. Pimcore allows in managing the data coming from different sources.

In Akeneo there are three different versions of this system available that include community, enterprise, and cloud-based. These tools are designed for their simplicity and user-friendly nature.

The benefits of the Akeneo system include:

• Userkeneo has many features that can be incorporated for providing out-of-the-box functioning.
• It is extremely flexible and allows us to manage the product catalog and product data.
• Third-party integration: Akeneo has been equipped with the REST API that allows for easy integration with the various third-party applications that are essential in the organization for the smooth functioning of various functions and processes.
• It allows for easy import of data and its distribution.

4. Pimcore vs Akeneo: Pricing & Cost

The cost of the Pimcore system is associated with the paid version of the enterprise edition that has yearly costs. This provides full access to the Service Level Agreement (SLA), Long term Support (LTS), consulting, etc.

The different features of the open-source edition include the provision of omnichannel support, unlimited users, unlimited products, workflow management, Product modeling, Digital asset management (DAM), Content Management System (CMS), etc.

The open-source edition is free of cost and the cost increases if the organization needs to have additional features. The cost of the enterprise edition starts at around 7200 EUR/USD per year.

The Akeneo system’s enterprise edition costs around 40000 EUR/USD per year and allows one output while supporting 10 users. Akeneo also has an open-source system that is free of cost but it has limited functionality.

In the case of the free version, it allows only two users while using simple directories. Akeneo is available with the DAM functionality in the paid version and it does not support the MDM in either of the versions.

5. Akeneo & Pimcore – Why and when to choose?

For making the business future-proof, the organization needs to implement the best system for product management. Akeneo is the best option when the company wants to look for some out-of-box option for PIM.

Akeneo has several ready-to-install extensions that work well and enhance its efficiency. These extensions help in the integration of Akeneo with different systems for printing catalogs, eCommerce, POS, and others.

Akeneo is simple to configure, has ready-made connectors, reduces the time of implementation, is user-friendly, convenient, etc.

Pimcore is a widely used system for product information management because of its vast capabilities. It has MDM capabilities that make the data available centrally for all the information including the product information.

Pimcore provides the framework for building various and easily connectable systems. The key components of Pimcore include digital asset management, customer data platform, etc.

Final Verdict

Akeneo and Pimcore both have a similar set of comparable features. The free version of the Pimcore system has some additional features that are beneficial to its users. The Pimcore system, when compared to Akeneo, is fast and easy for organizing product information.

If the organization has a complex product, it will need a stronger system that is capable of handling the data efficiently.

In this case, the Pimcore system is preferable as it will enable the implementation of features of PIM as well as MDM. Comparing Pimcore vs Akeneo, the Pimcore system has a higher edge and is more comfortable with the users.

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