The benefits of the Product Information Management systems (PIMs) might seem unclear for some people, but sales managers know better than to underestimate the importance of such tools. In rapidly growing businesses, where products and product updates rush into the world, marketers and salespeople feel extremely challenged in their efforts to provide the most accurate information for the constantly changing product features and final prices. Finding necessary data is a time-consuming and sometimes thankless task as it requires checking multiple sources with no guarantee of getting the latest information.
Prior to the introduction of PIM systems, about 83% of employees at manufacturing companies spent over 2 hours per week looking for product information. The software lowered the percentage to 64%; while in retails, the rate dropped to 42%.
Of course, if you have a small company with low manufacturing capacities, you’d probably be able to deal with your product range without getting lost in the informational pool.
However, as your company grows, the problems start piling up. The first flags usually involve hundreds of product references, heaps of documents, numerous media and sales channels, increments of physical and digital distribution outlets, new providers, extensive databases, catalogs, and local and global networks.
You can hire more salespeople to handle the growing number of products, but it won’t solve the fundamental difficulties they’d inevitably face trying to sell your products. Project Information Management Systems, on the other hand, do not require additional staff inflow. Since the main functions of such systems are tidying up the previously chaotic product information, analyzing it and automating the stale processes, PMI is considered a valued organizational tool saving time and increasing sales rates.
We have settled how essential PIM is; now let’s clarify exactly what it is.
You have probably heard of other PIM relatives such as Task Management Software and Human Resources Management Software. PIM exercises the same principles only it targets marketing and sales employees.
It is a software kit empowering a company with the ability to gather, store and check the information related to the company’s products. PIM ensures the centralized environment for operating the product data using a single interface for all enterprise-wide databases. Such systems drive important changes to the overall product management practices:
The majority of Project Information Management systems also offer useful tools for testing, validating and publishing your marketing content automatically.
The application of Product Information Management software is crucial for e-commerce business processes, where companies are striving to procure the global presence of their products. The tool reconciles available product data, coordinates the delivery of a single product information view and ensures high data quality using verification and adjustment techniques.
Though the advantages of the software are simple and true, you might still wonder how you can improve the manufacturing workflow of your company. Below are the most popular implementations:
When deciding on the perfect PIM for your manufacturing venture, you’d better learn the comprehensive description of your system features and make sure you’ll have a full package. The most important features are listed below:
For large ventures, the implementation of PIM software is not a question of ‘yes or no,’ but rather a ‘what kind of’ query dictated by the pressing business needs. Despite the number of existing solutions, many companies tend to build their tools, offering flexible customization opportunities and covering all existing business processes.
With growing selling ambitions, every manufacturer faces the necessity of workflow automatization and the introduction of efficient time management systems. Modern Product Information Management Systems promise to effectively meet these challenges by embracing the available technological tools predicting and preventing the probable product risks.
Look at your company’s everyday processes: HR involves information about current and potential employees; procurement managers search and analyze the data on goods and services to acquire the best of them; the marketing department processes information on current trends and the company’s products to develop the best offers that will work for your customers.
Efficiency, the so-called anathema of our modern-day life, is the characteristic needed in every area and every worker. In our rapidly developing world, where the amount of data is increasing extremely, multitudes of specialists get overwhelmed.
Due to the 2020 crisis, many businesses suffered or were closed. However, many survivors caught the wave and went online. Other companies have been presented online for a long time, now looking to improve their services since customers have a much wider choice.