Product Information Management (PIM) solutions

A company is always as successful as its product information is. PIM becomes more and more important as companies look for basic strategic components to manage their core, their product data.

ERP systems can not tackle media-independent product information. This is one main issue for PIM systems having found their way into global business awareness.

MDM systems (Master Data Management) synchronize one or several ERP and a central PIM system. Also, they validate data, prove their consistency, contain search mechanisms etc. They are not intended for any sales related functionality such as price lists, print catalogues, web shops etc. Market trends show an ongoing approach of both MDM and PIM suppliers towards one shared objective:

management of up-to-date and correct information of article numbers, technical data, marketing texts and supporting information such as prices, product relations, graphical and product documents.

Where is your product information managed today?

Isolated applications contain essential product information – The challenge: They are neither centrally managed nor cross-nationally available. That means that data will be managed redundantly.

PIM solutions strive to end isolated applications in your company.

Concept of PIM

PIM is a business application that stores product information in a central repository. It communicates with any related application – crossing geographical boundaries, operational units und departments such as R&D, production, marketing or sales. It also aims to integrate suppliers and their catalogues and inform customers.

PIM is the platform for all Product Information

Functionalities of PIM

Manage complex products

Companies whose product range is characterized by combinations and varieties are confronted with complex processes what data management is concerned. Those huge amounts of product varieties also pose a challenge to their customer communication. An intelligent product data management yields results in both management and external communication, and moreover boosts a company’s new discovery of its products.

Depositation of object dependencies

Data management is one important PIM issue. Depositation of object dependencies is another. Products often relate to each other as e.g. spare or replacement parts, fittings, varieties, alternatives or historical information of forerunners do. These dependencies can be smoothly displayed in your PIM system.

Industry standards / classifications

Companies nowadays exchange product information using national and/ or international standard classifications such as eCl@ss, ETIM, UNSPSC, InstalNet, EFO Blokknummer etc.So far there is no world wide accepted standard but many local and international ones. A modern PIM system needs to support multiple classifications – often even different versions of a classification.

Translation management

Internationalization is a byproduct of globalization. Nevertheless, selling abroad does not necessarily mean that catalogues and documents are translated into the respective national language. One reason is high translation costs. Another is the organizational aspect of human resources.
A PIM system can facilitate those works dramatically. Translations take place in direct dialog acknowledging workflows that may integrate staff as well as external translation bureaus, and the integration of translation memory systems (TM systems e.g. Trados, Across 3 etc.) that highly automates translations.

Media Asset Management (MAM)

Classical Media Asset Management is today attached to the PIM system. Documents such as pictures, pdfs and videos are stored and any functionality of Media Asset Management is made available, e.g. search and translational functions, cross-reference, data export etc.