When you’re looking to compete on a level playing field against fierce competition, managing product data across multiple channels can become a significant challenge for businesses of any size. As you attempt to scale your operations, you’ll find yourselves wrangling vast amounts of product information from varying sources. Managing this tsunami of incoming data can lead to inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and lost sales. And that’s not to mention degraded customer trust. That’s why centralising your product data is key to your being able to ensure consistency, accuracy, and efficiency regarding this asset, which is product data, across your entire business.
All the above is why our article focuses on three ways to centralise your product information, including deploying a Product Information Management (PIM) system, using an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, and the historical manual approaches like spreadsheets.
3 ways to centralise your product information
Table of Contents
Product Information Management (PIM) system
A PIM system is a specialised tool designed to centralise, manage, and distribute product information across multiple sales channels. Whether you’re selling on your website, through marketplaces, via print catalogues, or on a branded app, a PIM system ensures that the product information your customers see is correct, consistent, and up-to-date. Unlike ERP systems or manual data management, PIM is optimised for managing detailed product information, regardless of origin, from descriptions and images to technical specifications and translations.
Benefits of using a PIM solution:
Data consistency
Because PIM creates a single source of truth for your product data, it eliminates the discrepancies that often arise when using multiple systems (such as ERP, CRM, and Logistics).
Omnichannel integration
With a PIM system, you can ensure your product information is synchronised across all channels, including eCommerce platforms, brick-and-mortar stores, and mobile apps. Given that omnichannel is the de facto standard model in B2C and even becoming so in B2B, this is a crucial assurance.
Scalability
PIM solutions enable businesses to scale easily by automating product data entry, enrichment, and translation processes, saving valuable time when expanding your catalogue or internationalising your offer.
Use case: B2C retailer
A leading B2C fashion retailer was struggling with inconsistencies in product information across its online store, mobile app, and physical outlets. They implemented a PIM solution to centralise product data from various suppliers. The result was a 20% increase in sales due to improved data accuracy and a consistent customer experience across all channels. The PIM also allowed the company to manage seasonal product updates more efficiently, significantly reducing the time-to-market for new collections.
By using a PIM solution, businesses have the guarantee that product information is not only centralised but also accurate and optimised for every customer touchpoint.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
Many businesses are already using an ERP system to manage operations such as inventory, financials, and logistics. However, many companies still attempt to centralise product information within their ERP system. This is entirely possible, but it also presents a series of limitations.
It’s not designed for detailed product data: ERP systems are primarily designed to manage operational data, not rich, customer-facing product details like images, descriptions, and marketing copy
It has limited omni channel functionality : ERPs often struggle to provide the seamless integration which you need to manage product data in an agile fashion across different platforms and channels.
High maintenance costs: Customising an ERP to handle complex product data requires significant investment and ongoing maintenance, which can be a burden for growing businesses without the means (people and cost) to commit to such an endeavour.
ERPs are, without a doubt, excellent at managing operational data, but they aren’t the ideal tool for centralising complex and extensive product information. Businesses that try to force this round peg into a square hole often find themselves with higher costs and limited flexibility, especially when trying to grow their product catalogue or expand into new markets.
Relying on manual data management (spreadsheets)
Smaller businesses, or those early in their digital transformation journey, may rely on manual data management methods (such as spreadsheets) to centralise product information. Although this is feasible for a limited number of SKUs, it quickly becomes untenable as the business begins to scale or expand to multiple sales channels.
Limitations of spreadsheets for product data:
Prone to errors: Manual data entry is human resource intensive, time-consuming, and likely to increase the number of errors. This leads to the kinds of inconsistency in information across channels which will drive potential customers to a competitor’s site.
Inefficiency: Spreadsheets obviously lack the automation features of PIM or ERP systems, so employees spend a disproportionate amount of time updating and maintaining product data rather than deployed to more strategic initiatives and tasks.
Lack of collaboration : Multiple stakeholder-users may need access to the same data, and this can very easily result in version control issues (multiple siloed versions, for example) and potential miscommunication across departments.
So, although manual approaches may suffice for small businesses, they don’t cut the mustard for larger businesses who are aiming for omnichannel growth or who need to manage large amounts of product information. If they haven’t yet done so, they should give serious consideration to investing in a more scalable solution, such as a PIM.
Final words
To recap, when it comes to centralising product information, businesses have several options. While ERP systems and manual methods may work in some cases, they often fall short in managing the detailed and complex product data that today’s omnichannel businesses require. PIM systems offer the most efficient and scalable solution, ensuring that your product information is consistent, accurate, and up-to-date across all channels. By centralising your product data with a PIM, your business can improve its overall customer experience, reduce errors, and boost sales.
At Start with Data, we specialise in PIM implementation—helping businesses select, integrate, and optimise PIM solutions tailored to their unique needs. Our PIM implementation services ensure that your product data processes are streamlined, scalable, and future-proofed, enabling you to get the most out of your investment. Whether you’re implementing PIM for the first time or upgrading an existing system, our expert team supports you at every stage—from strategy to execution.
Find out how we can help you successfully implement a PIM system that drives efficiency, improves product data quality, and supports your growth. Learn more about our PIM implementation services or get in touch for a conversation.