The e-commerce market is growing dynamically, that means it becomes stronger and competitive. E-commerce is not just small and large enterprises, but also producers whose distribution network has expanded. They prefer to use the D2C (direct to consumer) sales model.

Increasingly, those are them who are expected to master the e-commerce strategy, an essential element of which is the digitization of data management to consolidate dispersed information about products. A tool supporting manufacturers’ activities is PIM, which introduces order in product data, improves daily operations, and provides better cooperation not only between departments, but also with contractors.

What is the PIM system?

PIM (Product Information Management) is a solution for managing product information. It provides a possibility of easy and quick control all the data concerning the assortment.

It is a solution that allows for administering data efficiently in the business and technological process.

The PIM system collects information about their offer in one place. It provides a possibility to use the collected product information for distribution in various communication channels - promotional catalogues, websites, social media, and e-commerce platforms.

The main advantage of PIM is an easy integration with external IT systems. With this tool, one is able to create a database for managing all data on products.

What are manufacturers struggling with and how the PIM system solves their problems?

Administration of many different data and sales channels. A significant part of the producers stores a huge amount of product data from many sources and in different formats.

Creating one database can be important for brand coherence, strengthening relations with customers, and improving internal communication. Collecting data in a traditional, manual way becomes a very time-consuming task, which increases the risk of making mistakes.

As the demand for products increases, it is necessary to automate this process. It is to facilitate the work of the entire team. The PIM system enables data centralization by integrating with other systems. It provides a possibility to collect, manage and distribute all product descriptions, whether they come from an ERP system, from a provider, or from Excel.

The option to configure specific formats means that one can adapt the content to the specific requirements of each sales channel and meet the needs and expectations of B2B, B2C or D2C customers. Providing a positive customer experience will ensure their loyalty and success of your company.

Thanks to the possibilities offered by PIM software, you have a chance to:

• reduce costs through the introduction of a single, multifunctional platform,
• guarantee uniformity and validity of product descriptions in all distribution channels,
• increase in the reach of products through easier access to new markets,
• acceleration in the development of your company,
• increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of employees,
• improvement of communication and information flow.
   

Product lifecycle management process

Thanks to the production, there is a possibility to observe the creation of a given product from the beginning to the end. The entire process should be monitored to ensure smooth introduction to the market. At various stages of the product life cycle, there is a lot of data.

It is important to be able to properly collect and catalogue the available information in this process, including product data, technical specifications, multimedia, and marketing resources, as well as sales information.

The PIM system supports this process at every stage. It helps to organize the knowledge on products in a way that is easily accessible to employees and useful at a given level of the life cycle. An undoubted advantage of this solution is the possibility to configure attributes, assets, and product data before moving on to the next stage.

Full automation of the process will save time and insight into the current stage of the product life cycle. The control of access to product data and the assets. Customer trust in a given brand is especially important, and sometimes even decisive in the purchasing process.

Therefore, when sharing information across multiple channels, make sure that all product messages match the brand identity. You need to be sure that the product descriptions are up to date, and the photos are in the right place. Data access control in the PIM system plays a key role.

As a result, only designated departments in the company have access to edit specific information. The advantage of the PIM system is the ease of integration with external and internal IT systems of the organization.

This allows for importing data from channels such as ERP, web portals, and cloud applications, and exporting them to marketing channels, sales systems, customer and partner panels, most popular e-commerce systems, and many other information distribution channels.

All these activities are performed with full security and a guarantee that the introduced changes are updated in the central system. At the same time, it guarantees work on the most up-to-date versions of files, regardless of the interconnected system.

Read more about PIM (Product Information Management) systems


 

Rich descriptions bring you closer to better sales results

Customers of online stores cannot touch the offered products and check their quality. Therefore, detailed, accurate and rich descriptions are particularly important for the purchasing path. It is their quality that determines whether a given product will be bought.

The unique information, appropriate photos, and aesthetics allows for gaining a competitive advantage. Customers notice and appreciate this form of presentation - as a result, they are more willing to make purchasing decisions.

PIM software supports the creation of content to be post on various channels presenting products. Moreover, adding keywords to descriptions improves the SEO rankings.

This translates into increasing the chances of a consumer to notice your product. Thanks to the PIM system, there is a possibility to optimize all digital resources and integrate them into the SEO strategy.

From the point of view of positioning in search engines, PIM also supports the preparation of many ways of presenting a given description dedicated to individual distributors. Automation of these processes will reduce the occurrence of errors, and duplicates of content that may adversely affect positioning. 
 

Fixed cost reduction

What most supports the automation of processes within a company is the reduction of fixed costs. The PIM system provides the opportunity to generate savings while improving the quality of work.

So, what are the benefits of introducing the system to the organization?

• Data control – thanks to PIM solutions, you have full control over the content that reaches customers.
   
• Time saving – automation of activities which were performed manually; the entered data is updated automatically.
   
• Data export and import – PIM tool allows for exporting and importing data to and from multiple channels, which significantly improves cooperation with service providers and consumers.
   
• Central database - all data is in one place, always up-to-date, and easy to find. It protects against loss or deletion of files, ensures that employees do not duplicate their work.
   
• Data security – giving access to information (both in terms of downloading and editing) only to specific employees.
  
   

Business benefits

Using PIM systems increases incomes and reduces costs. Let's see what the business benefits for a provider are.

• Faster product introduction into the market – by using PIM, you can deliver product information to all sales channels faster and thus stay ahead of your competition. This guarantees higher sales, increased conversions, and adaptation to seasonal changes. It also facilitates access to digital resources and communication between teams.
   
• Expansion into new markets - a key sales development strategy. PIM supports the translation and localization of descriptions and the efficient delivery of such product information to many different sales channels.
   
• Expansion of the assortment – automation provides assets, which give the possibility to expand the number of products available in the offer, without the risk of decrease in quality. Support for integration into providers' systems facilitates and accelerates the management of subsequent product datasets.
   
• Increase in conversion – thanks to PIM, you are able to easily view and manage content, photos, and other assets.
  
  One of the benefits is the possibility to modify and optimize the content of descriptions in terms of strengthening conversion. What is initial, such optimization is performed simultaneously in all sales channels, without the need to involve distributors in the process.
   
• Better positioning – the optimization of the store website in terms of search engines is crucial in today's e-commerce. The higher we are, the greater the probability that a customer will make a purchase on our website is. Valuable content enriched with keywords will improve SEO rankings and bring us closer to success.
   

PIM enables providers to take full control of their product data. Storing them in one place makes it easier to edit and enrich them with marketing content.

Due to the progressive development, providers are increasingly moving to B2C and D2C markets. This change requires a completely distinct set of product information than when operating only in the B2B market.

The PIM system for manufacturers provides an opportunity to easily meet the needs of both groups of recipients. The provider makes the information on his products available to distributors in the form in which they need it.

Thanks to this solution, recipients receive information in accordance with their own needs, which makes them more willing to cooperate with a given supplier. Providers increasingly place emphasis on the time of introducing the product on the market.

What we need to achieve competitive efficiency in this respect is digitization. PIM provides control over all information and the assurance that employees act in a consistent and unified way. It gives you more time to analyse the market and meet the needs of current and potential customers.

Together we will analyze your needs and advise you on how to implement a PIM that will increase the efficiency of your e-commerce. Make an appointment for a free consultation.