How to select a suitable PIM system

A good product information management system can simplify many things.What began many years ago with e-commerce has now culminated in omni-channel commerce. If retailers do not want to lose touch with customers who are potentially constantly online and well informed about products and services, they have no choice but to offer their goods and services via various channels: stationary retail, online store, shopping app, catalog, telephone, etc. However, given the complexity of this undertaking, retailers quickly reach their limits when they try to master the flood of data using Excel lists or ERP systems. To make matters worse, product information such as images, graphics, videos, audio, product descriptions, dimensions, available sizes, etc. are often stored in different IT systems that cannot communicate with each other.Data quality has top priorityA product information management system provides a remedy. This significantly reduces the manual maintenance effort for retail companies, as they can record and manage all product data centrally - especially as the product information is always up-to-date, correct and complete. The manufacturers of the goods are also responsible for ensuring that the product data is up-to-date, correct and complete. A number of people from different departments are often involved in the creation of product information in industrial companies: product management provides information on the technical features of a product, marketing contributes the advertising texts, an external agency supplies suitable image material, etc. If retailers use a PIM, manufacturers enter their product information in an integrated supplier portal. If an automatic check of the data quality is negative, the supplier must correct and/or complete the item information. Only then does the data enter the PIM. In later process steps, the PIM also warns the user if they attempt to output article information that does not meet the quality requirements. This creates the prerequisite for retailers to be able to display their articles consistently and with up-to-date information across all channels.Must-haves I: Input and data managementBut how do companies find the right product information management system? One of the decisive factors is the range of functions. The PIM should have comprehensive functionalities for input and output management, for managing product information and digital content as well as for internationalization. In addition to pure data import, professional input management also takes various data sources into account: Merchandise management, ERP and logistics systems - not forgetting the retailers who enter their item information. The synchronization, consolidation and migration of data to connected target systems as well as the monitoring of data quality including reporting complete the input management. The PIM should also provide similarly comprehensive functionalities for managing product information: In addition to creating and deleting products, users must be able to define relationships between products, add price information and texts, store general, technical and logistical information, manage customer and channel-specific data, define hierarchies and classifications, check data quality and create reports.Must-haves II: Asset, translation and output managementAsset management, in turn, includes not only the creation and deletion of media objects but also the definition of different asset types and categories. It must also be possible to assign media objects to specific products, retrieve and migrate assets and manage the various sources. Companies with an international focus in particular need a reliable internationalization management system with which they can manage translations, translate object and product-related data, handle technical terms, check the need for translations and manage global and local data. Last but not least, there is a need for professional output management with options for providing channel-specific data and checking its quality, managing product ranges and synchronizing data. In addition, users must be able to output product information for a wide variety of channels: for print publications, for e-commerce and mobile commerce as well as for business intelligence and solutions for internal data analysis. To be able to use all these functionalities, the PIM must be easy to use. After all, users from very different areas work with it: suppliers, purchasers, administrators, data specialists, product managers, marketing specialists, sales staff, consultants for e- and m-commerce, customer service staff, print agencies and call center employees.Connection via preconfigured interfacesInterfaces are the be-all and end-all for a smooth implementation. Most companies already have CRM, ERP, merchandise management and logistics systems in place. Due to the large number of these systems, the PIM must be flexible enough to be connected - depending on the sources from which the data enters the PIM and the channels into which it is to be played out. Ideally, it is equipped with preconfigured XML interfaces for output management so that the required systems can be connected via web services using file-based interfaces. The channel-specific display of product information is carried out via wizards. In most cases, however, it is not possible to do this entirely without customization. An individual interface is usually required to connect to the company IT system as well as the merchandise management and media asset management system. In order to keep the programming effort and costs as low as possible, companies should choose a PIM whose components are close to the standard or heavily pre-programmed. The 80/20 rule works quite well: 80 percent of the processes should be mapped in the standard, so that only 20 percent of the processes require customization. A PIM is then quickly ready for use and updates are easy to carry out.With an experienced partner at your sideThere is no doubt that the introduction of a PIM entails many changes and new processes, to which employees often react with reservations. This is why companies should bring a service provider experienced in change management on board from the outset to accompany the implementation and demonstrate the benefits of the PIM to future users in a comprehensible manner as part of on-the-job training. Only an experienced service provider has the necessary market overview, knows the latest technological trends, can draw up a reliable roadmap for the introduction of the PIM and knows what to look out for during the roll-out. They also recognize any difficulties at an early stage and can take appropriate countermeasures. To ensure smooth operation, an internal administrator is required to provide first-level support, answer questions about the operation of the system and make small adjustments - provided the PIM allows this independence.Comprehensive servicesYou can also recognize a good service provider by the services they offer. The implementation of the PIM is cheaper and faster if the service provider can also connect the PIM to an online store or a translation management solution via preconfigured processes and interfaces, for example. For an international rollout, the service provider should have locations abroad, preferably anywhere in the world, and supervise the introduction of the PIM locally with its own employees. Ideally, the service provider should even operate its own high-availability data centers where companies can host their PIM. It goes without saying that the service provider is in constant contact with the PIM manufacturer, installs regular updates and offers 24/7 second-level support.The purest pleasureOnce a company has found a suitable PIM, it will quickly be convinced of its benefits. While users need around 15 minutes to enter a single item in the ERP system, they can do this five times faster in the PIM. Output management is also faster and more flexible: if a price list needs to include product images, for example, just a few mouse clicks are all it takes. Without PIM, the sales department would first have to obtain the required image files from the IT department or an external agency. Brick-and-mortar retailers also benefit from a PIM. For example, it is possible to display matching products for a purchase in the checkout system during the payment process or to plan the stocking of shelves: as the shelf modules usually have standardized dimensions, the product information stored in the PIM can be used to determine which products should be placed on which shelf in which store and in which position. A PIM therefore not only improves efficiency and productivity, but also reduces costs, for example because companies no longer need other systems for product data maintenance and can switch them off. Last but not least, sales increase because customers can get a better idea of an item before ordering thanks to more accurate product information. A welcome side effect is that there are fewer incorrect orders and the return rate drops. Once companies have made their choice, their own product information management is no longer a pain, but pure pleasure.Author: Achim Reupert, Director Sales at arvato Systems S4M GmbH