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What is product information management (PIM)?

Product information management, also known as PIM, is a strategy, and supporting system and process for the management of product data. The basics of managing this data includes ways to collate, centralise, store, enrich, manage, and transform it for use in a variety of channels.

What is product information management (PIM) software and why do I need it?

Product information management (PIM) software supports product management, sales, and marketing strategies. It overcomes several common business problems:
- Time wasted maintaining sources of data about a product held in multiple systems.
- Ensuring the integrity of the data held in those systems, and control over who has permission and authority to make changes.
- Data errors caused by conflicting data in different systems. ·         Siloed teams and systems making it difficult for users to get the correct info they need to perform their jobs easily.
- Reworking of data into different formats, for example, turning common product data into content for ecommerce channels.

PIM software collates product data from the various systems and data sources in your business to create a single, complete view of the product. This can be achieved by integrating your systems into the PIM. You can maintain data integrity by using role-based permissions to control who can access and edit the data, reducing team silos in your business. Your teams and suppliers can collaborate on the data to ensure accuracy and completeness. Your completed data can then be transformed to service other sales channels i.e., websites.

What information can you store in product information management (PIM) software?

Information you need to manage products throughout the supply chain, marketing, and sales processes can be stored in a PIM:

- Product Technical Info: Dimensions, weights, dangerous good info etc.
- Purchasing and Supplier Information: Codes, packaging configurations etc.
- Pricing: Cost and sell pricing, margins, and profit calculations etc.
- Marketing Descriptions: Product descriptions, features, benefits etc.  

What are the features of product information management (PIM) software?

As a web-based solution facilitating a process, you can expect a PIM software solution to have the following features:
- Web-based, secure access, anywhere in the world 24/7.
- Role-based permissions that control user access to view or edit data.
- The flexibility to store any format of metadata related to the management of the product, for example, text, numeric fields, dates, currencies, images.
- The ability to consume data from spreadsheets, DAMs, or ERP systems through integrations.
- Tools that speed up the maintenance of data by users to enrich or edit data.
- Automation to reduce user effort.
- Reporting and quality insights to guide users on the management and use of their content.
- Easily distribute completed data to other systems or eCommerce channels.

What are the benefits of product information management (PIM) software?

Introducing PIM software to your business resolves many common team frustrations:
- Reduces time spent maintaining multiple sources of product data in multiple systems, by centralising this data into a single source.
- Further reduces resource, by providing powerful maintenance tools, allowing users to bulk edit or automate time-consuming tasks. Improves team productivity and efficiency.
- Improves data governance by controlling who has permission to access, view, and edit product data, provides audit reporting to track changes.
- Eliminates team silos, by providing a cloud-based system that approved users can access anywhere 24/7. This supports teams that work in a variety of locations or time zones, if they have an internet connection.
- Flexible metadata support, allowing you to define the data fields held in the PIM software so that it supports your unique business data.
- Improves data quality and reduces errors, by storing data in a consistent format, in a single system, and provides reporting to identify gaps in the data.
- Reduces time to market for new products, by speeding up the creation of product records and collaboration across teams. ·         Protects brand reputation by improving data accuracy and reducing errors that may impact customers.

Who uses product information management (PIM) software?

If you are responsible for managing, contributing, or collaborating on product information in your business, then a PIM could make your life easier:

Product or category management teams managing product ranges and supplier relationships.

Supply chain or purchasing teams managing product purchasing or shipping processes.

Marketing or eCommerce teams managing customer facing descriptions, benefits, and features used to promote products for sale.