In today's fast-paced ecommerce landscape, managing product information efficiently is crucial for success.
Ecommerce brands need a robust Product Information Management (PIM) system to maintain product data consistency across various channels and deliver high-quality product experience.
This article explores the 5 best PIM software solutions tailored for ecommerce businesses. We'll evaluate their features, pricing, and their good and bad to help you make an informed decision.
What is a PIM?
A Product Information Management (PIM) system is a centralized repository for all product information. It enables businesses to collect, organize, and maintain critical product data in one place.
Having all this information in a PIM allows ecommerce businesses to:
- Consistently distribute accurate product data across all sales channels
- Reduce errors and omissions in listings
- Streamline product updates and new launches
- Improve product visibility and discoverability
A PIM system acts as a single source of truth for all product data. It ensures all departments and sales channels are working with the most up-to-date and accurate information.
This helps businesses avoid issues like out-of-stock products, pricing mismatches, and other inconsistencies that impact the customer experience.
Why invest in a PIM?
Today, many ecommerce systems and processes are still legacy.
Product information management processes are old and manual. The software used are slow and clunky and usually go way back.
There's inertia to move away from existing systems because the one-off effort feels too huge.
But the thing is, the longer businesses wait, the slower they go. Investing in a good PIM has compounding effects in the following ways.
Saves time and frees up resources
One huge bottleneck of ecommerce businesses is data entry and locating information.
With multiple spreadsheets and product data lying everywhere, you spend unnecessary time looking for things. Even when you find it, you'll need to fact-check. And when product details change, there are 10 places to update.
A PIM software centralizes all product data in a single repository. So you'll only need to find product information from one place and update information on one platform.
This saves you so much time, resources, and headaches.
Faster time to market
PIM software help you save time and launch faster.
But besides that, it streamlines the process from start to end. From the moment your product, merchandising or procurement team decides on the product selection to having it live on your website or partner marketplaces.
This accelerated time-to-market can give your business a significant edge over competitors who are still relying on manual product data management processes.
Seamless Omnichannel Experience
Standards for online shopping have increased. There are too many options and unlike walking in a shopping mall, hopping from one store to another takes just one click.
Shoppers are expecting not only good products, but also a high-quality and consistent shopping experience across multiple channels.
PIM software provide a single source of truth so product information can be accurate everywhere. They also facilitate content synchronization to reduce the risk of human copy-paste errors.
By investing in the best PIM software, ecommerce businesses can streamline their operations, improve customer experiences, and position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace.
How do I choose a PIM system?
Before we discuss what makes a good PIM software, it's important to look at your unique business needs.
Factors that will determine what works for you include:
- How many products you have
- How complex is your product data
- How are your products distributed
- What issues do you face when managing product information
- What features could directly tackle these issues
Having that in mind, you can then start evaluating PIM solutions based on the following points.
Can it integrate with your current systems?
Make sure the PIM system can integrate with your current ecommerce platform, CMS, and marketing automation software.
Look for APIs that are robust, flexible, and well-documented so your IT team can build customized integrations as needed.
Also, consider the performance of integrations under high volumes of product data transfer.
Can it scale together with your business?
Look for a PIM solution that can support your current volume of product information and scale to accommodate future growth. Consider factors like:
- The maximum number of products, variants, and assets the system can handle.
- The ability to handle increasing data volumes over time. The system should have the infrastructure to scale both horizontally and vertically.
- The performance of the system as the number of products and users increases. It should still offer fast response times and uptime even under heavy loads.
- Whether the vendor has experience scaling their PIM solution for large enterprises with millions of products.
Can you customize fields and workflows?
Look for a flexible solution that allows significant customization to meet your organization's specific product data needs. Consider the following where relevant to your business:
- Can fields and attributes be added, removed, and renamed to match your internal product data model?
- Can new workflow states and transitions be defined to align with your processes?
- Can business rules be configured to enforce data quality and consistency checks?
- Can the user interface be customized through options like rearranging fields, hiding fields, and adding custom tabs and sections?
Is it intuitive and easy to use?
Look for a PIM solution with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. The system should be straightforward for all users, from data editors to administrators.
Some factors that indicate good ease of use include:
- A clean and well-organized user interface with a logical grouping of functions and controls
- Simple workflows and forms that guide users through necessary steps
- An admin panel that allows non-technical users to configure settings and make changes
- Consistent terminology and labeling across the system to reduce confusion
- Useful help documents, tooltips, and in-app guidance for new users
- A responsive design that works well on different devices
What's the cost and support provided?
Total cost of ownership is an important factor when evaluating PIM solutions. Consider the following costs:
- Implementation and setup fees. This includes the initial cost to configure the system, migrate your existing product data, customize fields and workflows, and integrate with other systems.
- Training and change management. Training users on how to effectively use the PIM system. Guiding them through any changes to product data processes.
- Annual software license and subscription fees. The ongoing cost to continue using the PIM software. This may be a per-user or per-product fee.
- Support and maintenance. The cost of support plans that provide access to technical assistance, software updates, and upgrades. Look for multiple support tiers to match your specific needs.
- Internal resources. The staff time required from your team to manage and administer the PIM system.
5 best PIM software for ecommerce
In the competitive world of ecommerce, having the right Product Information Management (PIM) software is crucial for success.
Let's explore five of the best PIM software solutions that can help streamline your product data management and boost your online presence.
Since these are already filtered, we'll not touch on the baseline features, but rather, what makes them better or not better than other good PIM systems.
Akeneo PIM software
Akeneo is a popular open-source PIM software that offers robust features for larger enterprises to manage complex product catalogs. It has the features of a good PIM, scales well and offers good customer experience.
Pros:
- User-Friendly Interface: Users appreciate the intuitive interface, which simplifies navigation and allows more efficient product data management.
- Customization Options: As an open-source platform, it is configurable and flexible for businesses with technical expertise
- Stable application: According to reviews, platform issues are rare and if any, technical support resolves it quickly, especially for enterprise users
Cons:
- Complexity for Non-Technical Users: While it is user-friendly, the open-source nature may require technical knowledge for effective use and maintenance
- Asset linking capabilities: Current process for linking digital assets to product entries may be cumbersome or not as intuitive as users would like
Rated 4.4 on G2.
Salsify PIM software
Salsify stands out as a feature-rich, cloud-based PIM solution designed for large enterprises. This powerful platform unifies product data management, content management, publishing, syndication, and analytics.
It's worth noting that while Salsify has bulk content generation capabilities, it's done through an integration with OpenAI. This may not be ideal because OpenAI uses a generalized AI model not made for content generation nor ecommerce.
Pros:
- Comprehensive knowledge center: The learning path and training is well documented, so it's easy for ecommerce teams to get onboarded.
- Integrations and APIs available: There are many available syndication partners and the ability to create custom channels, which makes the product management process more seamless.
- Digital shelf analytics: Similar to Hypotenuse AI's digital shelf analytics and optimization tool, you'll be able to view product performance and optimize accordingly.
Cons:
- Slow speeds: When importing and uploading data, users feedback that it can take a long time.
- Scheduled maintenance: The platform experiences scheduled maintenance times where the entire website may go down during software updates. This can disrupt access to the system and impact business operations.
- No horizontal bulk edits available: The platform only supports vertical bulk edits. For horizontal bulk edits, users will need to export data to csv and re-import it back into Salsify.
Rated 4.4 on G2.
Plytix PIM
For businesses of all sizes seeking an affordable and user-friendly PIM solution, Plytix offers an attractive package. This all-in-one PIM software provides a centralized product data hub, intelligent data filtering, and multi-channel distribution capabilities.
Pros:
- Ease of Use: It's very user-friendly and not too complicated, making it ideal for teams without technical expertise.
- Quick Implementation: Users can get set up in about two months according to Plytix, significantly faster than many competitors.
- Affordable Pricing Structure: Offers transparent pricing with unlimited users included in all plans, making it budget-friendly for SMBs.
Cons:
- Limited Customization: As a SaaS solution, it may not offer the same level of customization as open-source alternatives like Akeneo.
- Less Suitable for Large Enterprises: Primarily designed for small to medium businesses, which may limit its scalability for larger organizations.
- Limited to csv format imports: Currently, Plytix is limited to CSV format imports, which can restrict flexibility in data handling.
Rated 4.7 on G2.
inRiver PIM software
inRiver is a highly scalable and flexible PIM solution suitable for enterprises and organizations of all sizes. It offers robust data management capabilities, streamlined workflows, and seamless integrations to support complex product information needs.
Pros:
- Scalability: inRiver can handle large volumes of product data and accommodate the needs of growing businesses.
- Workflow Management: It provides advanced workflow tools for efficient collaboration and approval processes.
- Elastic data model: The platform features an elastic data model that allows organizations to adapt their product hierarchy according to their specific needs. This flexibility enables users to change configurations later without being locked into the initial setup.
Cons:
- Steep Learning Curve: The platform's complexity can lead to a steeper learning curve for new users.
- Implementation Costs: Implementing inRiver can be costly, especially for larger organizations with complex data structures.
- Technical assistance required: Setting up inRiver often requires technical assistance, which may necessitate hiring an engineer or collaborating with a certified inRiver partner
Rated 4.1 on G2.
Pimberly PIM software
Pimberly PIM is a cloud-based product information management solution designed for mid-market brands and retailers. It offers a comprehensive feature set to streamline product data management across multiple sales channels.
Pros:
- Powerful Product Data Syndication: The platform enables seamless integration with ecommerce platforms like Shopify for efficient product data distribution.
- Good Customer Support: Pimberly offers strong customer support, with fast response times and effective assistance throughout the implementation and ongoing use of the platform.
- Supports multiple file types: This makes it versatile and easy to configure for different business needs.
Cons:
- Technical complexity: Some users find Pimberly to be quite technical and not very intuitive.
- Limited reporting and analytics: There are few analytical tools on Pimberly that can help you understand your product performance.
- Implementation Challenges: Ecommerce brands with complex product data structure or a complex IT landscape may find it difficult to setup, leading to longer onboarding times.
Rated 4.3 on G2.
The best alternative to your PIM software: Hypotenuse AI
In ecommerce today, using a PIM software solely as a central source of truth where you store and syndicate product information is no longer sufficient.
The best PIM software are able to ensure the accuracy, consistency and quality of product data, while also increasing efficiency without spending more resources.
While the above options offer useful features that can help you stay efficient and maintain a good level of consistency and accuracy, there are options to help you take this one step further.
Hypotenuse AI, an all-in-one AI platform for ecommerce, serves as a great alternative or even an essential extension to your PIM software (if you already have one).
It not only stores your product data and content in a central source of truth, integrates with your current systems for data sync and content syndication, has strong team workflows and data governance. It also:
- Cleans up and enriches your product data. This leverages AI to crawl the live web, UPC, or your supplier data sheets, or extracts important info from images to enhance your data. It also automatically tags your products for a better search and filter experience.
- Generates rich product content in bulk. With an AI trained for ecommerce and its specific industries, Hypotenuse AI can create high-quality and on-brand product descriptions, titles, and other product page content.
- Standardizes and enhances images in batches. You can do things like crop and resize, remove and generate studio-quality backgrounds, or increase image resolution across all your product images.
- Monitors and optimizes product performance. The platform offers analytics and automates optimization so your product performance improves over time.
As you explore the best PIM software solutions, always start off with what your business goals are. That way, you can't really go wrong.
If you're curious about Hypotenuse AI, feel free to reach out to us here and we'll be happy to address questions and help you find the most suitable option for your ecommerce business.
