E-commerce websites, marketplaces, and other channels collectively can lead to a complex product management process. On the other hand, this process must also be continuously kept up to date.
Today, specific issues can be quickly resolved through APIs. However, when considering requirements such as stock updates, price changes, testing through images and descriptions, and creating channel-specific offers, the process can become impractical and consume excessive resources. So, what can be done to address such issues? What types of solutions can we leverage?
The focus of our article is Product Information Management, or more briefly, PIM solutions.
Product Information Management (PIM)
Product Information Management (PIM) is a centralized control tool that simplifies operations such as collecting, managing, and enriching product data, and enables the cataloging and distribution of products to various sales (stores, e-commerce websites, etc.) and distribution channels in a specified manner. This distribution can be segmented by language (multi-lingual data) and geographic regions (multiple geographic locations)1 2.
Product Information Management (PIM) systems efficiently execute changes across source and target systems. For example, your product attributes might be stored as flat-file files. On the other hand, you may be using different data sources for technical product attributes, inventory, and pricing information. You might need to push updated product information to various sales channels outside your e-commerce site (e.g., Amazon, Google Shopping, Hepsiburada, Trendyol), mobile applications, social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook Catalog, Pinterest), sales points, and even printed materials produced weekly. Product Information Management solutions provide the ability to manage these types of requirements through a centralized channel, users, and user groups3 4.
Product Information Management
PIM solutions primarily focus on B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and B2B (Business-to-Business) companies that sell through various sales channels. If any of the following items listed below sound familiar to you, you likely have a strong case for adopting a PIM solution to streamline your operational processes.
- Wide product portfolio and/or complex product data set management
- Frequently changing product attributes (price, variations, description, inventory, etc.)
- Increasing number of sales channels (marketplaces, apps, distribution points, etc.)
- Inconsistent IT infrastructure (multiple data sources and formats)
- Online operations and e-commerce order processing
- Various local and localization requirements
So, what are PIM solutions?
PIM Solutions
Below you’ll find some notable and impactful brands/solutions. The core services offered are typically presented under the Product Experience Management (PXM) framework.
Salsify
Salsify3 is one of the powerful PXM solutions, offering Product Information Management, Digital Asset Management, Product Content Syndication, Global Data Synchronization Network, Enhanced Product Content, Chat, and Social Commerce solutions within the PXM ecosystem.
Akeneo
Akeneo4 is a leading brand in the PXM space, providing global solutions for e-commerce, mobile, print, and retail sales touchpoints. Akeneo simplifies and accelerates product catalog management through intelligent product data solutions while significantly improving product data quality and accuracy. Another key feature that makes Akeneo valuable is its open-source enterprise PIM solution. I will also publish articles regarding the open-source PIM solution known as Community Edition (CE) in the future.
Syndigo
Syndo5 enables retailers, distributors, and manufacturers to access all product data and digital assets from a single, unified platform via the Content Experience Hub Platform. This ensures that suppliers and manufacturers can be confident that all sales channels have access to the same rich product information.
Pimcore
Pimcore6 offers a fully open-source product information management solution that centralizes all marketing, sales, and technical product data. The system allows for the addition, management, and sharing of any digital content and integrates seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure.
Others
Below is a brief list of other potential alternatives for your reference and comparison.
Forward Lookings
- What is PIM? Objectives and advantages
- How 3 Global Brands Scaled Using an Ecommerce Product Information Management (PIM) Solution
*[PIM]: Product Information Management
Footnotes
- What is a PIM? Akeneo ↩
- Product information management. Wikipedia ↩
- Salsify. Commerce Experience Management for the Digital Shelf ↩ ↩2
- Akeneo. PIM and Product Data Intelligence solutions. ↩ ↩2
- Syndigo. Product Information Management & Syndication ↩
- Pimcore. Open Source Product Information Management Software ↩