Research shows shoppers carefully consider product information when making purchase decisions. According to the latest State of Product Content:
- 89% will leave a site or PDP if they can’t quickly find the information they want
- 91% are more likely to return to brands with readily available product information
- 62% think less of a brand when products aren’t accurately represented online
- 43% recently abandoned a purchase because they couldn’t find the desired product data
Having accurate, consistent and complete product details inspires trust and confidence and directly drives revenue. But organizing the abundance of data and assets needed to meet customer expectations is easier said than done.
PIM 101: From Data Management to Driver of Commerce
That’s why enterprises are increasingly turning to a technology solution to achieve this goal. Product Information Management (PIM) software has become an essential application for modern consumer and retail brands. Centralizing all product data into a single repository and interface, PIM unifies data silos and provides greater control, accuracy, and efficiency in managing product information across channels, teams, and systems.
The challenges of product data management
Managing product information has grown overwhelmingly complex for most enterprises.
Products are sold through a multitude of channels from e-commerce outlets to print catalogs to brick-and-mortar retail to social networks. Feeding the correct product data to each channel represents a monumental challenge rife with complexity: 74% of organizations require some or significant effort to manage their product information.
Exacerbating matters is the fact that product data often lives disconnected across so many critical systems—from ERP to CMS to supply chain and order management systems.
Not only does this fragmentation make it exceedingly difficult to syndicate accurate, up-to-date product information to consumer touchpoints, it also impedes behind-the-scenes workflows. Without a unified view of product data, teams struggle to align and make data-driven decisions.
Many organizations rely on intensive manual processes and rudimentary technology like Excel spreadsheets to manage their product information. Scale and complexity aside, manually managing data inhibits companies’ abilities to comply with regulations and minimize errors that harm their brands.
On top of workflow challenges, organizations without PIM also lack a single source of truth for product data with current management methods. Information discrepancies across systems trigger costly errors which ultimately erode customer trust if inaccurate details reach channels. This represents a significant risk in terms of brand reputation and revenue loss.
How a PIM helps
A PIM consolidates all product data (dimensions, weights, sourcing, assembly information, etc.) from across the organization into a centralized database—a foundation for solving the problems outlined above. Offering a holistic perspective of product information, PIM delivers accurate, unified data streams into all integrated downstream systems that require it.
Related: Of DAMs and bridges: Navigating digital currents with a PIM
With PIM managing master product records, other systems like ERP, CMS, and e-commerce can focus on specialized business capabilities rather than owning the product data management function. System integrations also mean any changes made in the PIM cascade to connected channels ensuring updates synchronize everywhere. This “single source of truth” principle—one of the hallmarks of PIM—keeps data consistent across channels which bolsters consumer trust and the brand.
Another prime capability PIMs provide relates to process automation through workflows and rules. The system codifies rules for data validation, relationship mapping, digital asset management and more based on the organization’s requirements. Complex integrations with other enterprise systems are also predefined and automated in PIM. This dramatically reduces manual overhead for employees by removing the need to carry out tedious product admin responsibilities across individual systems.
Accelerating efficiency with PIM
The greatest value PIM brings to the table is the ability to scale go-to-market efforts from a single reliable, flexible system. There are several compelling benefits spanning technical, operational, and analytical areas that make a strong case for PIM adoption.
Save time through process automation
By serving as an integration hub, PIM systems greatly reduce the need for repetitive manual data entry across different enterprise systems. Automated workflows standardize and streamline processes like new product introductions, data uploads, and product assortment editing for different sales channels.
Based on research by Ventana, 75% of companies realized workforce productivity gains following PIM implementation. The out-of-the-box workflows and the removing of manual tasks enable employees to instead focus on more impactful projects that drive the business forward. One retailer using PIM reported saving over 80 hours per month formerly spent just updating product data in catalogs.
Prevent critical errors
A strong PIM will come complete with a data validation model and rules engine to eliminate errors that slow you down, especially those commonly caused by the manual handling of the data. This prevents expensive issues like incorrect product specifications or conflicting content reaching the market. PIMs can validate formats, digits and units, and relationship rules between data fields, as well deduplicate entries and more based on the configured data model.
These benefits translate to hard cost savings by minimizing returns, eliminating compliance costs from a reduction in technical product details being questioned by regulatory agencies, and increasing your customers’ satisfaction with their purchases.
Accelerate speed to market
Whether you’re introducing an innovative new product or rolling out updated messaging for your existing catalog, success hinges on responsive systems and processes that evolve from idea to launch. Streamlining the flow of information across product teams and IT systems makes new product and content introductions nimbler.
With PIM centralizing and governing product data while automating channel distribution, organizations can greatly accelerate speed to market. Ventana Research found that half of surveyed companies lowered time to market by over 15% after implementing PIM.
Responsive analytics and reporting
The unified nature of data within PIM solutions also unlocks advanced analytics and fast reporting capabilities for strategic decision making. Embedded reporting dashboards offer real-time visibility into product catalog metrics spanning listings growth, data quality metrics, and more that otherwise could take hours or days of dedicated professional time to procure.
Additionally, PIM systems enable cross-analysis of product, customer, channel, and order data to uncover merchandising opportunities. Executives can track key performance indicators like order volume and inventory levels on products to optimize sales and marketing initiatives. With analytics visibility also comes the ability to benchmark progress over time, potentially unlocking even more insights that can improve processes and drive more efficiency.
Companies saving time and driving efficiency with PIM right now
Still struggling to envision the impact PIM could make at your organization? Get inspired by these real examples of businesses getting ahead with smarter, more effective product data management solutions.
Adorama implemented PIM to replace its rapidly aging AS/400 IBMi platform and antiquated process of sourcing product data from third-party vendors. Now it ingests updated product data straight from its suppliers and stores it in a flexible system that enables unique, high-impact buying experiences.
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This grocery coop chain shifted from using Excel spreadsheets to a PIM. The result? A massive improvement in data quality, and a 70% reduction in implementation time!
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Dynamic e-commerce agency BrandJump helps manage product data for dozens of diverse clients. Adopting a PIM led to a 70% decrease in product load turnaround time, leading to far better responsiveness and happier clients.
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