When Does Your Shop Need a PIM System?

The abbreviation PIM stands for Product Information Management, describing the maintenance of product data. A PIM system aims to centrally manage a company's product information, standardize it for all channels, and synchronize it directly when changes occur. This tool is closely linked to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. It also ensures that product data can be exported upon request. This can be useful when creating a catalog, for example.

The definition of what a PIM system actually is essentially outlines its use cases. At the latest, when several of the following points apply to your company, it might be worth considering a PIM solution.

You Have a Large Number of Products

The simplification of product data maintenance through PIM can only be effective when there is actually something to simplify. In other words, if you have a small range of products with few changes in their information, you probably don't need such a system. Conversely, these tools are often beneficial for retailers who distribute a wide range of items across multiple product categories. It's challenging to set a specific threshold for the number of products where a PIM system becomes recommended. Alongside the quantity of items, it's also important to consider how frequently product information changes and how complex it is to input each individual item. Therefore, your decision to adopt or not adopt a PIM system should primarily depend on the time and resources required for data management.

Note: A PIM system can also be valuable for manufacturers who produce a large number of items and wish to present uniform product information to their customers.

You Sell Across Various Channels

Increasingly, companies are entering the e-commerce space in addition to their local point of sale. If you sell across different channels, a PIM system can centralize product data maintenance, requiring updates only once for all sales platforms. This saves time and reduces sources of error, leading to cost savings. Moreover, it's relatively easy to provide product data on marketplaces like Amazon and thus explore new sales channels.

You Operate in International Markets

PIM systems allow you to adjust your assortment based on legal, technical, or linguistic requirements for different target countries. So, if you're planning to internationalize your business, a Product Information Management system can assist you in entering new markets.

You Use Your Data for Media Creation

Many retailers utilize product information to create media content. PIM systems facilitate data export, making it easier to generate catalogs from the information. Manually, this would be very time-consuming for a significant product portfolio, especially if you regularly produce catalogs for your customers, such as on a quarterly basis.

You Want to Organize Your Portfolio by Target Audience

Especially in online commerce, providing a personalized shopping experience is becoming increasingly important. With a PIM system, you can assign your assets to suitable target audiences and user profiles, significantly streamlining audience-specific content creation.

You Aim to Implement an Effective SEO Strategy

According to a survey by the Content Marketing Institute, 61% of marketing managers consider a successful SEO strategy to be the most important tool for increasing visibility. A PIM can assist here as well, as it's much easier to incorporate relevant keywords into product information using PIM tools. Through centralized data maintenance, SEO efforts automatically apply to all channels.

Perfion has proven to be a reliable PIM system in many use cases. As a Solution Partner, ESYON GmbH possesses the necessary expertise to integrate the solution into your system landscape. With our in-house Perfion-2-OXID interface, we connect Perfion PIM with OXID eShop. Furthermore, we have years of project experience in the ERP environment, enabling us to create a comprehensive commerce platform for you.

Interested? Contact us to learn more!