What Is PIM and Why Your Magento Store Needs It?
PIM stands for Product Information Management. Such systems significantly help merchants to manage all product-related information, like size, weight, color, reviews, etc.
And while PIM systems intend to optimize your sales processes and let you keep control over all areas of your content strategy, this article intends to describe the main PIM benefits for your Magento store in more detail.
What is PIM?
Here is a more informative definition of PIM systems. It is software that helps companies to collect, manage and enrich large amounts of product data and distribute it effectively across multiple channels to end customers.
PIM systems can be integrated with different e-commerce platforms, like Magento, as well as other applications, and complement each other’s productivity.
However, with a great variety of e-commerce software, such as ERP or CRM, it’s not always easy to define the exact mission of PIM.
PIM vs ERP
Even though these systems are an essential part of full-fledged business workflow and are based on common information, their purposes of use still differ. While ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is the heart of an organization and is responsible for consistent data collection and processing from all departments, the PIM system is focused on product content, receiving data from ERP and ensuring that all catalog information is continuously updated and doesn’t contain any errors.
PIM vs CRM
While PIM improves the quality and relevance of your product information, the main role of the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is to ascertain sales efficiency. In simple terms, CRM specializes in the process of customer interaction with a brand and operates contact details and user communication patterns, and PIM specializes in what users interact with — content.
You will be also interested: ERP vs CRM. Pros and Cons of Each System for Your e-Commerce Business.
Benefits of PIM for Your Magento Store
PIM is a reliable solution for any e-commerce business, as it opens up the following prospects:
- A centralized place for storing and managing your product information, which you can use across any sales channel within your business network;
- Possibility to track both catalog and inventory data in real-time, providing buyers with an accurate shopping experience;
- Flexibility. Store operators don’t have to enter product data into various systems within their business infrastructure multiple times. Once the data is in the PIM system, it will be automatically distributed throughout other systems;
- Content validation before it’s released to public channels;
- The omnichannel strategy strengthening. PIM is a real catch for entrepreneurs who cover a wide range of industries, sell products of a different type or/and have to frequently update product characteristics.
Why Magento PIM Integration?
Integrating your Magento store with the PIM system will certainly pay dividends.
Magento is a perfect e-commerce platform for enterprise-level businesses, and with PIM you can create ever more powerful strategies to reach your target audience and offer them an unforgettable e-commerce journey.
The combination of Magento and PIM also allows brands to develop globally due to Magento’s multilingual functionality and PIM’s localization features.
Conclusion
In times of ever-changing market demands, online merchants have to bring out the big guns in the form of various e-commerce systems that facilitate everyday business: PIM, ERP, CRM, etc. And each software has its own competence.
PIM is a proven technology that simplifies product data management and supports global business deployment.
The integration of Magento stores with PIM only magnifies the effect, enabling sellers to grow to new heights.
