Four ways Brands & Manufacturers can benefit from investing in PIM
Many manufacturers and brands are cutting out the intermediary and going D2C – straight to market. While that gives them the opportunity to deal directly with their customers, it also poses a challenge. Customers stay with the brands they trust explicitly – those with credibility and a personalised omnichannel strategy. As such, they expect you to be a trusted source of product information. Investing in a PIM solution means you are equipped with the tools for your business to guarantee excellent-quality product information, with the “single source of truth” as its foundation. A PIM also enables you to create seamless, omnichannel product and customer experiences, whose attraction and reliability strengthens the long-term customer loyalty that you seek.
Below, we look into four of the ways PIM for manufacturers and brands can leverage its power and functionalities to satisfy the growing demand from consumers for more extensive and detailed product information.
1. Government of the data for the data
Technology is not the silver bullet. You need your people’s buy-in to a change in perception of how technology helps you gain competitive advantage. Digital transformation is about altering people’s mindsets as well as making the most of the investment in technology tools. And…you are not going to invest in a solution and then simply continue with the same outdated, inefficient, fragmented and time-consuming data management practices as before. Otherwise, what’s the point?
This is where data governance plays a key role. There should be a range of processes, rules, and delegation of roles in an organisation’s enterprise data management. You need to ensure privacy, protocols. protection and compliance. Implemented mindfully, and including all relevant stakeholders, a data governance framework provides:
- A consistent overview of product data (and a business glossary, so everyone is on the same page)
- A comprehensive plan to ensure high standards in product data quality, correctness, completeness, consistency, and, ultimately, usability
- A single location for all product data, so they are discoverable, usable, and easier to connect with business goals
- Clearly defined protocols and best practices for managing data as an asset across the business
- Product data which is accessible on a permission (or role)-determined basis – secured, compliant and in fulfilment of any legal or regulatory demands
2. PIM drives supply chain traceability
Digital commerce has a long, value chain consisting of workflows for product classification system(s), catalog adjustments, taxonomy and structure updates, format, and label assortments, and much more. Unifying and integrating these disparate feeds is a high priority for sustainable growth.
With fast, efficient sharing of data with retailers, supplier portals, distributors, content service providers (CSPs), internal staff, and others. It eliminates disconnected systems, integrates teams, and drives collaboration. It becomes far easier to address trading partners’ format requirements and meet diverse regulatory demands.
At Start with Data, we are as much about facilitating transformation, as expertly guiding you to the best technology solution for your product information management. What you need are root and branch changes in your business – processes, people, and organisation.
Download our PIM guide for Manufacturers
3. PIM drives excellence on the digital shelf
The Digital Shelf is, as the name suggests, the full range of diverse digital touchpoints which customers on their purchasing journey use to interact and engage with brands. The digital shelf empowers brands to create personalised, meaningful, and context-heavy connections with customers. These connections align with changing behaviours and CX expectations in a digitally driven trading environment.
PIM nourishes the customer’s experience on the digital shelf: journey of discovering, researching, selecting, and purchasing products is enhanced when manufacturers and brands can differentiate themselves to customers by creating and seamlessly distributing engaging enriched and contextually relevant product content. Using PIM and MDM tools, the vendor is certain that the product data upon which this information is based is of the highest possible quality.
A PIM solution provides;
- Aggregated Product Data, where information can quickly and efficiently be loaded from source files and other systems using API-enabled integrations.
- Classified Product Assortments: business users can focus on relevant information quickly by using functionalities like product attribute filtering or list-saved views across large groups of SKUs – naturally, without duplicate entries or errors.
- Enriched and personalisable product content: scalable and flexible data models with configurable attributes can adapt to changing product lines and channel demands as needed.
So, PIM for manufacturers and brands unleashes sales opportunities across as many channels and marketplaces as required.
- Rich and compelling product information across multiple channels
- Product information scalable for multiple channels to create unique online shopping experiences and enhance brand loyalty
- Enable tailored product information for multiple territories and languages to appeal to diverse markets and purchasing profiles
4. PIM drives collaboration
Modern PIM platforms are increasingly sophisticated and easy to integrate with existing tech systems. Essentially, they can function as an ‘umbrella’ which manages the product data lifecycle from start to end. That makes it fundamental for building a roadmap towards genuine digital transformation – the absolute certainty that the product data you use is accurate, up to date and consistent, sourced from the unique ‘Golden Record’ in all cases.
To engender this basis of collaboration, modern PIM solutions are equipped to:
- Carry out operations in bulk, to edit thousands of product descriptions, not just one item at a time
- Apply enhanced filters, enabling fast search of products, with inbuilt flexibility for
- non-standard requirements and specialist tasks
- Enable clarity in workflows for teams and individuals
- Provide analysis of content performance, which can trigger alerts for key personnel to make changes fast.
- Automate routine tasks, leaving more time for greater productivity and creativity among specialist teams and individuals
Departments are no longer siloed – across the organisation, they can work across functions using streamlined workflows, with content ‘scorecard’ checks in place for launches, updates, and approvals.
A data governance framework manages security and uses permissions – a role-based access system means everyone is on the same page when it comes to stewardship and ownership of particular data sets. Knowing whom, why and when helps enormously in establishing collaborative mindsets and breaks down departmental barriers to speed and efficiency.
Download our PIM guide for Manufacturers
PIM delivers for the bottom line
A PIM solution works for manufacturers and brands whose aim is to maximise cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and collaboration. It enables you to:
- Free your people from time-consuming data processing to do what they are really good at
- Get products to market faster than your competitors
- Craft customer experiences which keep them coming back for more
- Minimise returns
- Maximise conversions
- Achieve strategic goals and keep growing
Start with Data is an industry-leading boutique consultancy whose experience and expertise delivers excellent results. We can provide manufacturers and brands with services in the following areas:
Strategy
Determine the right course to meet your business goals.
PIM Selection
Choose the right technology platforms for today and the future.
PIM Implementation
Deploy solutions that drive business results.
Product & Content Services
Deliver higher-quality, enriched data across your sales channels and systems.
Data Migration
Get a turnkey solution for delivering high-quality data as your systems landscape evolves.
PIM Platform Support
Keep your systems running smoothly and free up your internal resources
Get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to have a more in-depth conversation about how our services can identify improvements to your existing product data management processes, get your product data into shape or implement a PIM solution.