Product Information Management in B2B eCommerce

As a business owner, you must understand that product management is difficult, especially if done manually. Errors such as lack of data validation, lack of real-time updates, unstructured data, and more are prone to occur. This is where product information management comes in.

Product information management (PIM), or product data management (PDM), is collecting, organizing, and storing data related to a product. You can use PIM eCommerce for various industries, including manufacturing, retail, logistics, and more.

PIM solutions can help businesses collaborate with suppliers, and customers, and streamline processes like order management, pricing analysis, and inventory control.

But what exactly is product information management and why is it important? In this article we will discuss more about what PIM is and its impact on the company.

What is Product Information Management?

eCommerce Product Information Management (PIM) manages product information in a business-to-business context. Product information includes product data, product content, and product metadata. The goal of a PIM system is to capture, organize, store and manage all of this information so it can share effectively across an organization’s supply chain.

A PIM B2B solution can deploy as a standalone application or integrate into existing software tools like ERP systems or CRM tools. Because it’s so broad in scope, many different types of PIM software solutions on the market today have been built to meet the specific needs of various industries.

PIM is typically a software application, often cloud-based.

For example, you might find a cloud-based SaaS solution that your company can access from any device with an internet connection.

The term “product information management” can refer to different things, but it typically refers to software or tools for managing product information. 

This includes:

• Product data
• Images and videos related to the product
• Packing materials and other materials related to handling/use of the product

Benefits of Using Product Information Management System

PIM is a system that helps businesses get the most out of their product content by creating, improving, and maintaining it. With B2B PIM, you can manage all the information that needs to share with multiple channels, including internal teams, retailers, and consumers.

Here are the benefits you can get from using B2B PIM:

1. Data Consistency: PIM helps ensure that all product information across sales channels remains consistent and accurate, reducing the risk of errors.
2. Improved Time-to-Market: PIM accelerates the process of introducing new products to the market by automating many tasks related to product information management, allowing companies to respond more quickly to market needs.
3.  Scalability: PIM allows companies to easily add and manage multiple products without having to worry about increasing data complexity.
4. Better Customer Experience: Accurate and up-to-date product information helps improve customer experience by providing complete and easily accessible product details.

How does PIM work?

B2B Product Information Management (PIM) is a technology platform that helps you manage your product content. It can help you store, organize, and retrieve product data in a centralized database. It can also use to store product data in a cloud service.

B2B Product Information Management allows you to:

• Centralize your product information to be available in one place for search and retrieval purposes. This saves time when finding what you’re looking for. This is because all relevant information will be at your fingertips instead of spreading across multiple systems.
• Create products faster because the process becomes streamlined, with fewer steps involved—no more having to send files between departments or teams for approval each step along the way. Instead of doing this manually, PIMs automate these processes, so they happen automatically according to rules created by users who understand how their specific business operates best while maintaining high standards of accuracy and relevancy.

Who uses PIM?

PIM is used to manage information about products, people, and processes. It’s used by manufacturers, distributors, and retailers—any organization that needs to collect product information. PIM B2B is also heavily operating in various industries, including consumer goods, retail, and manufacturing companies.

In addition to large multinationals, many small businesses use PIM B2B. They include small manufacturers with just one or two products, retailers selling a handful of items, and start-ups selling their first batch of goods on Amazon Marketplace or Shopify stores.

Meanwhile, it’s no secret that the user experience is king in eCommerce. Customers don’t care how slick your website looks if they can’t easily find what they’re looking for. And with so many products on offer, it’s easy to see why many sites are struggling to deliver a seamless customer journey:

• The store is in the same product information in multiple systems (ERP, CRM, CMS)
• Each system has its own data model and terminology
• Inaccuracies make it hard for customers to find what they’re looking for

Resolving pain points in managing product data with B2B PIM

The first step to understanding what B2B PIM can do for you is to know what you’re currently managing product data. What is your current process for managing product data? How does it work? Do you have a lot of different tools in place that needs to be coordinated, reconciled, and updated regularly? If so, what are the pain points with this process, and how would you like those pain points to be addressed by a B2B PIM solution?

Another example of how B2B PIM works

A B2B PIM system uses technology to gather data on each product in-store or online. Then, it structures into an easy-to-use format that can access anywhere at any time. This is critical because it allows your business to quickly adapt to changes in the market or customer requests without having too much work involved from someone who isn’t familiar with how everything works together behind the scenes. 

Say, for example, when one department wants another one’s job done faster than usual. Still, there’s the only way for people except those two departments to work together because they’re tied up at different times due to other commitments.

Read Also: Product Recall Explanation, the Key for Business Expanse

Final Thought

A B2B PIM is a powerful tool that can help your eCommerce business grow. It streamlines processes, improves efficiency, and increases visibility into product data. By automating repetitive tasks and providing centralized storage, PIMs allow you to focus on other essential aspects of your business. 

There are many different types of products in eCommerce, while we’ve outlined some key points about eCommerce Product Information Management. This will help guide you toward choosing the right solution for your needs. You can start HashMicro’s Core ERP Software. 

HashMicro’s Core ERP Software has comprehensive features that enhance product information management. One of the advantages of using this application is that there are no user restrictions, so it can allow product information management to be carried out by several people at once.

Try demo for free now.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Product Information Management

• What is the difference between Product Management and Project Management?

  A product management is responsible for determining the metrics that are instrumental in determining product success. Meanwhile, project management is responsible for deciding and supervising how and when a project is being implemented.

• Why is Product Information Management important?

  Product Information Management is important to provide consistent information to customers, so that customers will better understand the products produced by the company.

• How to improve the efficiency of Product Information Management?

  Integrated with HashMicro’s ERP system can be an effective solution. This system can integrate all product information management which is an important aspect of product information management.