PIM for manufacturers: From factory to catalogue, simplifying product data

If you’re a manufacturer, the product data you’re managing on a daily basis is very much ‘grounded in the real world.’ That’s things like design files, BOMs, ERP records, or test reports. However, the archetypal customer isn’t buying a BOM; They’re looking for clarity. That’s why a Product Information Management (PIM) system is invaluable in this context – it can turn fragmented and highly technical, factory data into customer-friendly information: Structured, enriched, and channel-ready content, all qualities which help the manufacturer to launch products faster, reduce commercial risk caused by lack of or incorrect information, and support distributors without drowning their internal teams in constant data rectification.

Below, we outline the key areas where a PIM adds tangible value to your operational and strategic performance, as well as delighting the recipients of that information: the customer. We cover the following:

1. The reality without a PIM
2. PIM as the ‘single source of truth’
3. Integrated data management
4. Faster launches
5. Complex data: variants and industry formats
6. Managing digital assets and compliance
7. Playing the long game: Future developments
8. Scalability: a use case

Reality for manufacturers: perfect products, disorganised data

Most manufacturers already have systems. The problem is that each system is good for one area:

• ERP is brilliant for transactional truth: SKUs, costs, stock, core dimensions.

• PLM/PDM is where engineering detail lives: Tolerances, components, compliance evidence.

• Marketing and sales need a different output entirely: They want benefits, use cases, images, manuals, localised content.

The risk of fragmentation and siloed information is acute. What usually happens is that Without a PIM, manufacturers always end up with the usual suspects:

• Duplicate records
• Version-control drama
• Missing fields
• Groups of people arguing over which spreadsheet is the “latest-final-really-final-v7”.

1. PIM as your single source of truth

A PIM gives you a centralised “golden record” for customer-facing product information.

In practical terms, which means:

• One validated place for dimensions, performance specs, and commercial attributes.

• One governed library for manuals, certificates, CAD assets, and visuals.

• One auditable system showing who changed what and when.

This really matters because, for manufacturers, errors aren’t just embarrassing. Far from it – the wrong voltage, a misstated tolerance, or outdated certification can result in product returns, legal liability, or the loss of that lucrative contract.

2. The bridge from ERP/PLM to catalogue

The strongest manufacturing PIM setups treat systems like an Olympic relay team:

1. ERP feeds the operational facts: Pricing, weights, inventory, and all core identifiers.

2. PLM feeds the engineering truth, such as spec changes or compliance artefacts.

3. PIM becomes the commercial translator, adding PXM content on top.

This ‘separation of powers’ is a healthy one. Your ERP shouldn’t be forced to moonlight as a marketing platform, and your marketing team shouldn’t be having to rewrite engineering specs in a PowerPoint deck.

3. Faster new product introduction without the chaos

In an ultra-competitive marketplace, manufacturers live and die by how fast they can launch to market, especially with an expanding range of variants and increasingly short innovation cycles.

A PIM streamlines new product introduction by:

• Automatically creating product records when new SKUs appear upstream.
• Routing tasks to the right owners: engineering validates specs, compliance approves claims, marketing enriches copy.
• Preventing publication until mandatory fields and documents are complete.

The combined impacts?

• Less back-and-forth between manufacturer and supplier to hunt down data
• Fewer launch delays
• The practical elimination of those “we’ll fix it after it goes live” moments (which always stack up commercial problems further down the value chain)

4. Handling complex variants and industry formats

Manufacturing catalogues are anything but simple. They’re juggling information about families, kits, accessories, compatibility rules, region-specific versions, and more.

A manufacturing-ready PIM shines here because it supports:

• Parent-child structures to prevent SKU sprawl.

• Attribute inheritance so shared data isn’t copied 40 times.

• Industry formats like ETIM, BMEcat, GS1, and other technical classification requirements.

This is where a manufacturer’s catalogue is transformed from being a static list to becoming a structured system which the end-to-end supply chain and its customers can trust.

5. Integrated asset and compliance control

It’s clear that manufacturers don’t just need photos to populate meaningful product pages. They need pretty much all of the following:

• installation manuals
• safety data sheets
• performance certificates
• CAD/BIM files
• warranty and service documents

A PIM centralises and version-controls these assets, so distributors and customers will always access the right file for the right product version. It’s a quiet, unglamorous risk management affair working away tirelessly, and it pays for itself very quickly.

6. The longer game: Industry 4.0 and IIoT readiness

Products are becoming smarter and more connected day by day, which means data requirements will only get bigger and more complex.

Using a PIM helps manufacturers to build catalogues which are ready for:

• richer digital twinning
• more granular sustainability and repairability data
• faster configuration for customised products
• future compliance demands, including evolving ESG and digital passport-style datasets

And it’s PIM which will ensure that your product data won’t become tomorrow’s technical debt burden.

A case study snapshot: Building in scalability for manufacturers

At Start with Data, we’ve supported many manufacturers facing precisely this factory-to-catalogue gap. Take our client, Variohm Group. Implementing a PIM-centric operating model enabled them to up their performance with:

• A more consistent taxonomy
• Stronger governance
• A scalable foundation for digital growth across their brands and channels

The story is familiar: their products were ready, but the data engine needed upgrading. So, we did it together!

Last words

If your product data is still scattered across a patchwork of ERP exports, engineering folders, and “temporary” spreadsheets, all of which you’ve struggled with for time immemorial, you’re by no means alone. However, what you’re leaving on the table are leaving speed, accuracy, and control over your brand. We partner with manufacturing clients to help them design and implement PIM strategies which connect their ERPs and PLMs to those real-world commercial outputs which drive revenue, growth, and success.

Get in touch with us today and we can have a more detailed discussion about how we can use our experience and expertise to help you build a modern, governed pipeline from factory floor to catalogue – From AI-powered supplier onboarding with our SKULaunch platform, to scalable content enrichment.