Product-related data often gets scattered throughout the systems landscape – redundant, inconsistent, and siloed within various business units. This is especially true for system landscapes built up over time. Implementing a PIM offers a major advantage: centralizing product data management. We break down silos, enhance data quality, simplify data maintenance, create workflows and permissions, and enable the management of all assets.

Data governance plays a crucial role in product data. PIM systems allow the definition of rules and validation of values, ensuring consistency across systems. A PIM provides a comprehensive overview of the quality and completeness of all products, creates entry points for editing, and significantly contributes to the gradual improvement of data.

Closely linked to product data management is Digital Asset Management (DAM). After all, product data is most useful when enriched with images, user manuals, and other assets. PIM providers differ significantly in terms of functionality and integration with external CDN systems (Content Delivery Network).

Access to data management remains central and easy to handle. Modern PIM systems offer options to automate recurring tasks, perform batch processing, and use various tools to structure editing according to individual needs.

PIM systems allow fine-grained control of data across different channels – from printed catalogs to country-specific commerce platforms. Not only can categorization differ between channels, but all data fields can be individually populated or translated as needed.