Choosing the right product information management (PIM) software

Product Information Management (PIM) software is often heavy on the technology which results in a very difficult and complex user experience.

Many PIM solutions lack a logical workflow to create product related output such as catalogs, websites or product data sheets.

If you’re considering PIM software for the first time (or you’re considering a change), we recommend you carefully consider the following.

Can you import data? Is importing easy?

Detailed product data (or at least a list of current products) typically exists in an existing spreadsheet or software system. Being able to import this quickly and easily into your new PIM can reduce switching and setup costs significantly.

Producty™ includes an easy-to-use import wizard which allows you to easily match fields to establish category hierarchy and detailed product attributes.

Is the software built with the user in mind?

Easy-to-use PIM software increases productivity and saves time and money by giving users a logical methodology to follow to maintain complex product information.

Does your chosen PIM make it easy to divide labor among different team members? From product managers and technical product specialists through to creative designers and layout operators.

Producty™ includes an easy-to-use tree which makes adding or moving categories a very simple task, as well as many other user-friendly features.

Is it easy to prioritize effort including how to fix missing or outdated information?

It’s not uncommon for a product data set to quickly expand to 100,000 or more product data points (e.g. 5,000 products x 20 product attributes). Keeping track of who is working on what, and which products need urgent attention, is a key requirement of most product management teams.

Producty™ features both a user dashboard and detailed reporting to make it easy for users and managers to prioritize effort.

Does your PIM make it easy to create a catalog?

PIM software often has very well-developed methods for entering and keeping track of detailed product information. However, creating an engaging printed catalog (yes, many wholesalers and retailers still do!) is often a laborious task requiring significant specialist input.

Producty™ has been developed to prioritize creating catalog output, ans integrates with industry-leading software such as Adobe InDesign and EasyCatalog.

Can you use your PIM data populate your existing website?

A logical extension of most PIM software is the creation of an information-rich, product-based website. Does your PIM software allow you to create a website in a familiar WordPress environment; or are you locked in to an inflexible, proprietary solution? Does you PIM allow you to integrate with your choice of best-of-breed CRM, live chat, mapping and other extensions? Or are you forced to accept what your PIM software allows?

Producty™ makes it easy to create websites inside WordPress, using the popular WooCommerce extension.

Can you create advanced keyword indexes and cross-references in your catalog?

Storing and maintaining detailed product information within your PIM software is only part of the process. Can you extract this information in a comprehensive and logical manner, and use it to provide enhanced content within your product catalog?

Producty™ includes an advanced index builder which allows you to easily attach keywords to products or categories and to develop complex rules to create information rich indexes within your catalogs.

Are there any additional costs?

Depending on the vendor, PIM software may be sold as an up-front purchase or via a monthly or yearly subscription. Be sure to check if your chosen ERP software will cost extra for additional users, data or storage. Ideally, all of your product managers, marketing team and graphic designers should have access to your PIM software.

Producty™ publishes simple pricing plans detailing which features are included within each subscription package.