Product Information Management (PIM) Systems

Product information management (PIM) systems centralize and manage an e-commerce business’ product information to ensure a single, accurate view of product data. PIM tools facilitate the maintenance of consistent and quality product data and information. This type of software is used by product managers and data teams to collect data from multiple data sources and to identify and fix problematic data. Marketing teams use PIM system to push product data out to all desired distribution channels.

Product experience management (PXM) is an advanced version of PIM that focuses on improving the buyer experience by using product data and digital assets. While PXM usually includes features for digital asset management (DAM), PIM solutions integrate with DAM tools to enhance product data. PIM software also integrates with e-commerce platforms to make product data available on online stores and with ERP systems or product data management (PDM) software to capture product technical specifications.

To qualify for inclusion in the Product Information Management (PIM) category, a product must:

• Collect and unify product information from various, separate files into one source
• Identify and fix problematic or inconsistent product data and metadata
• Provide search and filtering functions that can be used internally or online by buyers
• Organize product data based on their characteristics, attributes, and similarities
• Push product information out to e-commerce, retail, social media, and marketplaces
• Analyze product data, its quality, and usage across multiple channels