ABSTRACT: This article explores how Product Information Management (PIM) helps manufacturers and retailers manage rich product data through phased attribution and collaborative workflows.

Read time: 5 mins.

Product Information Management (PIM) is a specific flavor of Master Data Management (MDM), used by enterprises looking to master and standardize product data. While MDM primarily focuses on de-duplication and creating a single source of truth for multiple data domains, PIM is used exclusively for product data. In addition to being used for de-duplication, PIM is used to maintain a rich set of attributes that span from when the product is designed, manufactured, and shipped through to the end customer. 

By its specific nature, PIM is primarily used in companies that are most typically manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, as having rich product data is key to the success of companies in these sectors.

PIM in the Real World

One of my most successful clients, a global retailer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories, had ended up tracking more than 700 attributes about sneakers in their PIM installation. This doubles the GS1 standards for footwear because the company has specific needs to track data elements that originate from manufacturers and distributors. 

Initially, this retailer had product data for sneakers with about 300 attributes, primarily based on the GS1 standard. During requirements gathering, by talking to all the key stakeholders from the manufacturer, distributor, and others in the supply chain, it swelled to over 700 attributes. 

The growth from 300 to 700 attributes was done through a phased approach because it’s one thing to identify the attributes and another to source them and maintain them with high accuracy. 

Enterprises should first identify the standards-based attributes that have the most impact on business value. They should not try to build a PIM system with all attributes at once as it delays near-term value and introduces significant risk. This phased approach is needed when it comes to tackling such a significant attribution model.

It’s important to note that a PIM’s job is not just storing attributes. A solid PIM system must allow for simple ways to create and maintain attributes, ingest them, and transmit them to downstream systems. A vendor portal was set up for the vendors to update certain attributes that might not be ready the first time a product is created. Using a vendor portal gives the flexibility to enter the data at their convenience without having to rely on the Enterprise team members. Additionally, most PIM systems must allow for a file-based mass update of PIM data. 

These avenues for updating data reduce the timeline for PIM information to be useful for this client in less than a week instead of two weeks without this feature, as it requires the Enterprise IT team to enter this data on behalf of the vendor. 

Workflow

Attributes are complimented with a good workflow management system. As mentioned before, data originates from multiple stakeholders, and may be modified by some of the stakeholders. For instance, something like color should not be modified by anyone other than the manufacturer. However, placing the product in the store in terms of shelf position is something that regional merchandising managers and store managers will have the ability to modify.

A solid PIM system must have a robust workflow management system, which only allows roles with appropriate privileges to add or modify information. Changes must be approved by the proper data owner (e.g., Regional Sales Manager or Merchandising Manager) to ensure that the data is entered accurately across the Enterprise. PIM requires the creation and management of a diverse set of roles and privileges to support a complex Enterprise. 

Case Pack Hierarchy

One of the biggest challenges for many companies in inventory management is the case pack hierarchy. Maintaining data at all levels of the case pack hierarchy is essential for accurate inventory management, efficient order fulfillment, and seamless supply chain operations. A PIM system must provide a way for users and merchandising managers to set up a flexible case pack hierarchy for products and provide an easy way to transform product data as required from orderable SKUs to sellable SKUs.

Product MDM vs PIM

Product MDM is typically used for enterprises that focus primarily on de-duplication of data. A global aerospace manufacturer has been in business for over 100 years and uses numerous products from suppliers scattered around the world. They required a single Product MDM to store all this information, as the same product was being tracked under different SKU codes. The company embarked on a 3-year transformation journey to de-duplicate and standardize their product data. This enabled them to manage their inventory levels and manufacturing timelines effectively. 

PIM is not only used for de-duplication but also to store rich attributions. Most PIM implementations do not encounter issues with duplicate data, but they aim for richer and more timely attribution of data to make that data available to the end customer, enhancing their product experience.

Summary of effective PIM

• Faster Time to Market - PIM allows for timely and accurate information to be entered across the supply chain, which in turn causes products to be made available quicker to the end users.

• Improved Product data quality and consistency - PIM helps to ensure consistency in data across channels, enhancing customer experience by preventing lost sales.

• Uniform Knowledge of Product Data - Enterprise systems are no longer siloed, and hence, ERP, Finance, and Marketing systems are all tightly integrated and have a common understanding of the product data, reducing possibilities of miscommunication within the company and also communicating with vendors. 

• Operational Efficiency - the automated workflows in PIM minimize manual data entry, drastically reducing errors and improving operational efficiency across all departments.

• Collaboration - PIM facilitates collaboration between departments and with external entities like suppliers and manufacturers to help scale more effectively and manage complex product portfolios

• Product Managers - PIM allows product managers to ensure that the PIM system has the latest and greatest information and also gives them confidence when working with Merchandising and Sales Teams in identifying the performance of products with minimal effort 

In conclusion, enterprises that rely on product data must implement PIM for a strong attribution workflow, making product data appear consistently across the systems in the enterprise and helping to onboard the product sooner than without PIM. The customer experience is also improved as they have all the information they need about the product to make a decision to purchase the product.