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10 red flags that your ERP is failing your product data (and what to do about it)

In an ideal world, an ERP platform would manage every aspect of your business, even product data. But here’s the thing. Even the best-known ERPs, such as NetSuite, Linnworks, SAP, Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Acumatica, Odoo, and Sage Intacct, aren’t (and were never) designed to manage the increasing complexity of constantly evolving product data.

That’s not an inherent flaw in their make-up – product information management simply isn’t within their remit. When it comes to enriching product content, generating multilingual descriptions, managing, and deploying digital assets, syndicating information consistently to channels, or even something as basic as managing product variants they’re simply not fit for purpose because they weren’t designed to be as such.

So, if you’re feeling the squeeze because your ERP appears to be letting you down, read on, because below are ten warning signs, directly from the mouths of product and data teams just like yours, which indicate exactly why it’s struggling to cope. For each red flag, we’ve also included a quick overview of how a PIM solution solves the issue.

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“Good luck getting anyone to understand what the product is. ‘CordlessDrillXLi’ didn’t exactly signify ‘extensive detail’.”

The problem: Your ERP truncates product names to a tweet-like length string which leaves customers scratching their heads.

PIM fix: PIM platforms allow rich, structured titles tailored to multiple sales channels: short versions for marketplaces, more detailed for websites, and all centrally managed.

Only 5 attribute fields allowed per product

“The product had more than 10 key attributes, but we could only display half of them. The rest? Missing, alongside customer trust in us.”

The problem: Limited attribute capacity strips away key differentiators in your product.

PIM fix: PIM systems enable you to define and manage unlimited attributes, from colour and size to power rating and compatibility. That means your products tell the full story. Detailed specs means informed buyers, leading to higher conversion rates.

Adding a new attribute requires IT support

“We needed to add ‘material type.’ IT said it would take a sprint. Or three. By the time it was added, the product had already been discontinued!”

The problem: Your product data team is being held at the lights by overlong development cycles.

PIM fix: With a PIM, business users (rather than only developers) can create, update, and manage product attributes directly. You can move at digital market speed rather than suffering never-ending delays.

No support for multilingual content

“We had to squeeze German, French and English into the same description field. The result? A Google-translated mess which no one could understand.”

The problem: Global customers get localised confusion if translation isn’t up to scratch and adjusted for local cultural norms.

PIM fix: PIM systems have inbuilt native multilingual support with separate fields for each language, so your translation management is clean, scalable, and actually usable.

Descriptions stored as plain text only

“No bullet points. No formatting. Just a block of text. Our product pages looked like they were built in 2003 – retro, but not in a good way.”

The problem: Your content looks ancient and is unreadable – neither customer-friendly nor compelling.

PIM fix: Support for rich text lets you format product descriptions, so they look good and are easy to access: bullet points, bold text to highlight, and clear line breaks. Better text display leads to stronger engagement resulting in higher sales.

No way to manage variants or relationships

“Each shirt size had to be a separate product. Our catalogue went from 500 SKUs to 2,000 overnight.”

The problem: Your ERP multiplies your workload with an overloaded SKU burden.

PIM fix: PIM platforms enable product taxonomy development through relationship-building (typically, parent / child or variant logic). This reduces duplication to a minimum, as well as making your catalogue far easier to manage and search.

No media support for images, PDFs, or videos

“Our ERP was able to deal with a product code, but it struggled with spec sheets and image galleries. You only have to read reviews to see potential customers were distinctly unimpressed.”

The problem: Customers can’t see what they’re buying.

PIM fix: A modern PIM allows you to store, manage, and link rich media assets attached to products: using images, manuals, 3D models and videos, you convert your product pages into sensory experiences, and convert potential customers to satisfied buyers.

No version control or audit trail for changes

“Someone overwrote the voltage spec with wrong info. We didn’t realise this until an avalanche of returns came in.”

The problem: You have no idea who changed what or when (or who even has the right to alter data).

PIM fix: PIM systems provide version control and audit trails, so you can track, reverse, and validate every single data update. Mistakes become easily manageable, not harmful.

Inconsistent naming from suppliers can’t be normalised

“One brand called it a wireless router. Another, a Wi-Fi hub. Our ERP couldn’t align that. Customer search ended up being a wild goose chase.”

The problem: Product naming is wildly inconsistent, and it’s the customer search experience which suffers.

PIM fix: PIM platforms enable consistent naming, categorisation, and taxonomy. You can harmonise supplier input and drive better searches, both internally and customer-facing.

No support for multilingual content

“We needed one feed for Amazon, another for our own site. However, our ERP gave us only one option – Manual CSV exports.”

The problem: You’re wasting time (and creating error-strewn content) manually wrestling product data into channel-specific formats.

PIM fix: A PIM lets you define syndication rules for each sales channel. So, whether it’s Amazon, Shopify, wholesalers, or your own platform, you name it. A single source of data truth powering a range of tailored outputs. When you can automate grunt work, you can focus on growth and innovation.

If these red flags sound familiar…

If these problems ring a very loud bell, you could always take minimal solace in the fact that you’re very much not alone. These are the everyday headaches we hear so much from manufacturers, retailers, and distributors, all trying to force product data through an ERP-shaped funnel.

There’s a better way.

Start with Data helps businesses like yours:

  • Audit and assess the current state of your product data
  • Select and implement the right PIM solution for you
  • Enhance onboarding processes for suppliers and internal teams
  • Use AI tools to generate and enrich product content


Manage ongoing product data strategy and governance

Stop fighting your ERP. Start With Data.

If your ERP is doing a bad job at managing your product data, it’s not a bug. It’s by design because it was never built for this. Get in touch with us and we can have a more in-depth conversation about your circumstances and how we can support you.

Together, we can find the right tools and processes to take genuine control of your product data, optimise your customer experience, and scale your business with confidence and ease.

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