Best Practices for Using PIM Software (Product Information Software)

Product Information Management (PIM) software is a vital tool for any company that wants to stay competitive in today’s market. PIM software allows you to manage your product information and automate the process of gathering, storing, retrieving, and distributing it. It also provides features like data mining, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration, and more. So how do you make sure that your business has the best PIM solution possible? Start by following these best practices:

Determine what kind of PIM solution is right for your company

Not all PIM software is designed to handle the same types of tasks. For example, some PIM software provides CRM functionality while others provide ERP integration. Therefore, you should look at what your business needs and make sure that you choose a PIM solution that satisfies those requirements.

You should also determine that your PIM software is scalable. For example, if you want to expand your business into international markets, does your PIM offer multi-currency and localization capabilities? This will give you the flexibility to grow.

Evaluate the entire product information management (PIM) process

You can’t determine whether a PIM solution is right for your business if you don’t understand the entire PIM process. This is when you need to document your current product information management (PIM) state and how it works across the company.

One way to do this is by creating a flowchart that shows how your product information is gathered, stored, and distributed. This will help you understand whether the process is manual or automated.

Integrate the PIM solution with other business software

As mentioned earlier, PIM software can provide additional functionality for your business beyond just managing product information. Ensure that the PIM solution you choose integrates with your existing business systems – like email marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and more.

Having interconnected business software will provide your company with a cohesive and unified view of all its data.

Invest in training and education

Don’t underestimate the importance of training and education to maximize ROI from your PIM solution. When you train your employees to use the product information management (PIM) system correctly, they’ll be able to use it as intended.

They’ll also know how to take advantage of all its features and what kind of data they should capture for different uses cases.

Keep your product information up-to-date

This is another area where education can greatly impact ROI from your PIM solution. Make sure that your employees understand what product information should be captured and where it should be stored.

This way, they’ll know when to update the data in your PIM software to ensure its accuracy. Also, you can configure the system so that the product information is automatically updated whenever changes are made across different business systems (like CRM and ERP).

Work with a team of experts to determine your company’s needs before purchasing a PIM solution

It’s important to work with a team of product information management (PIM) experts when you decide to purchase a PIM solution for your company. You should include software architects, IT specialists, and business managers from inside and outside the company.

These individuals will have extensive knowledge about how businesses operate in today’s competitive marketplace. They can help you identify your current business needs and determine if a PIM solution is the best option to address them.

Establish a PIM governance model

Your employees must efficiently use the software for it to be a useful tool. Therefore, you should establish a PIM governance model to ensure that all employees follow the same process for product information management (PIM).

This can help you avoid data inconsistency and inaccuracies.

Establish a PIM ROI model

As with any investment, you should determine how your company will benefit from purchasing a product information management (PIM) solution. The best way to do this is by creating a product information management return on investment (ROI) model.

You’ll want to determine the areas in your company that will benefit from PIM software and estimate what kind of savings it would provide. This way, you can justify the cost of your investment when it comes time to make a purchase.

Maintain a healthy level of product information

Start by determining which types of data are important to your business and then determine how you can access them. Also, keep in mind that product information management (PIM) software typically only works for structured data, so be sure to use other systems if you need unstructured information about a product.

Identify PIM business benefits

As mentioned above, the best way to determine if a PIM solution is right for your company is by creating a product information management (PIM) return on investment model.

You should also go beyond the financial aspects and identify other ways your company will benefit from a PIM solution. For example, your employees will operate more efficiently and be happier with the increased amount of time they save by having access to the right product information at their fingertips.

Closing thoughts

As you can see, product information management software has a number of business benefits that make it worth investing in for any company. The best way to get the most out of this type of software is to ensure that all employees are educated on its functionality.