Product information management

Under Product Information Management ( PIM also or English. Product Information Management ) is the provision of product information for use in various output media or distribution channels and for different locations. Prerequisite for this is the media-neutral management, maintenance and modification of the product information into a central system to each channel to be able to supply you with consistent accurate information without a great expenditure of resources.

The need for product information management created by the current practice of data management and utilization: Information lie in a company is often not centrally pooled before, but scattered among employees and departments - in the development department, in the goods management system or distribution. This data is stored in different formats or are available only in print version. This information is used in different environments and contexts - such as in the sales catalog for a detailed product description with quotation or in the logistics department for information on size and weight for calculation of freight costs. PIM here represents a solution to the central, media-neutral data management to provide purchasing, production and communication-relevant data for multiple use across multiple IT systems, languages, output media and publications of time. It also offers solutions for efficient data acquisition, management, enrichment and output.

Synonyms and related terms

The term and acronym PIM are used only since about 2003, so that there is a variety of terms that are used in a similar or synonymous, but often come from certain sectors and have a different focus. These include, among others:

• PDM - Product Data Management / Product Data Management has emerged from the concept of engineering data management (EDM) and describes systems for the functional management of development-related product data and the coordination of processes that relate to the product manufacturing. The term is mainly used in the field of computer-aided design (CAD).
• PRM - Product resource management is separated from software vendors used synonymously with PIM, as well as Product Content Management (PCM) - especially in England and France.
• Product Lifecycle Management ( PLM) is less an IT technology as a management approach to optimize product life cycles by means of collecting and analyzing the resulting over time product data.
• Media Asset Management (MAM ) describes the management of multimedia, unstructured objects such as images, graphics and presentations as well as meta-information, ie data about data. The term is found mainly in the media industry. The term is not specifically PIM.
• Cross-media Publishing ( CMP ) comes from the printing and advertising industry and describes the simultaneous use of different media that complement each other. In addition, it refers to the cross-media multiple use of individual components such as text, images or graphics. The term is not specifically PIM.
• MDM - Central Master Data Management / Master Data Management is usually viewed as a higher-level function of Product Information Management. Master Data Management includes the synchronization, harmonization and maintenance of all master data in the enterprise. Customer, vendor and employee data will therefore be considered as well as the product master data.

Relationship with Enterprise Content Management

Enterprise Content Management encompasses technologies, methods and tools for capturing, managing, storing, archiving and provision of electronic content related to organizational processes. Viewed from the perspective of a product information system, you can here make four areas:

• Document Management Systems (DMS ) are responsible for managing more commercial documents with subsequent archiving.
• Product data management systems (PDM ) have to save the task results of product development in defining, representing, presenting data and documents, manage and provide at later stages of the product life cycle. As part of the operational information and coordination system, it contains methods and rules of product data management and interface to CAx software, ERP software, workflow management and document management systems.
• Content Management Systems (CMS) are systems that provide information and content for media marketing media available within the marketing or self- presentation. Best known are content management systems in the context of websites. The site design and content is separated. While the design is not changed for a long time and specific directives such as corporate identity, subject and are thus considered to be static, the content (Content ) are subject to constant change.
• Product Information Management (PIM) system itself finally come for the management of structured data in the commercial environment used to supply all kinds of distribution channels - from the electronic catalog via the online shop to print catalog. This, you use some components of the output management, Web content management and enterprise content management as services.

The technological basis of the Product Information Management (PIM )

A PIM system consolidates all product information in one platform. Usually, the focus is on sales- and marketing- sided information that is used as the classical data ( part numbers, abbreviations, commercial features, logistics data, production information ) mostly in the enterprise resource planning system (ERP ) are covered. For a company's IT infrastructure which means that on a relational database system with an application server, a PIM platform as the core of touches ( " 3-Tier "). On this basis, business processes from sales and procurement can be built. The PIM solution controlled via an administration interface, the access and user rights to all information in the database, the order process management in connection with ERP systems such as SAP and especially the mechanisms for modular extensions. These modules each cover a channel and can be combined with - depending on which distribution channels for a company to appear profitable. For example, it is only sensible to operate a configurator, if there are a large number of variants of a product - just as there is little to set up a webshop for complex products with high consulting fees. The classic additions include catalog solutions, e -procurement applications, e- commerce systems and industry-specific e- business functions.

Common areas of application of PIM

Basis for electronic catalogs

Electronic catalogs are the basis for the use of procurement systems or platforms such as online marketplaces. A PIM system can load descriptive information about a product to design in a catalog management solution. There products tailored to target groups ranges can be grouped and managed. Exchange standards (eg BMEcat ) and classification systems such as eCl @ ss it possible to replace the electronic catalogs seamlessly between suppliers on the one side and the buying company and marketplace operators on the other side. Closely intertwined with it are procurement solutions: you can automate the procurement process for the purchase of goods and services. As a platform for centralized management of multi-supplier catalogs, they create transparency under the product data from multiple vendors and assist in finding the best value for money.

Basis for the content deployment for websites / webshops

The central data management is particularly useful for a company website: documents, content and media objects, such as product images can be linked with other business objects such as a customer or a product. The completion of the order process is controlled by an e-commerce component, which is also responsible for the online presentation of dynamic content. To actually save costs, the solution must seamlessly be integrated into ERP and logistics systems.

Basis for selection strategies in the commercial

The developments in the so-called Long Tail motivate online retailer to offer their product ranges to increase significantly. In retail stores the offer due to the limited sales areas must closely at the demand -oriented to be established. So you pays attention mainly to the demand of the mass, while anything that is not profitable enough, often must remain outside. In online trading these restrictions are less. In conjunction with Product Information Management, the integration of upstream suppliers and the subsequent product data maintenance can be optimized so that even large assortments can be very processed.

Base for the reduction of the shadow ranges in the commercial

To meet the diverse needs of its customers order many trading companies in their suppliers items that are not in the standard range - are included - and thus in the ERP. For this, the printed and electronic supplier catalogs are painstakingly combed through for the desired products. Then there is the immense effort that is connected to a manual item Designed in an ERP system such as SAP. With the help of product information management all suppliers ranges can be merged in a central catalog system. Here the use of a search engine allows the suppliers and product ranges overarching search for the desired product and the selection of the best offer. Order processing for the product data together with the suppliers terms are then fed through an interface to the ERP.

Basis for product catalogs

Finally, the information from the central data storage for print catalogs, digital catalogs and the website can be used. The publishing component of an e -business solution accesses the shared data storage and makes it a media-neutral store and manage the content for the catalog. It should be noted that the market increasingly exist solutions that go far beyond a classical Database - to-print scenario.

The market for PIM solutions

PIM is still a very young subject. Attention to wider customer groups got the market only since the second half of 2004, as market analysts and the press began to take a closer look into this solution category. Ideal for use of PIM solutions are medium and large companies in the retail, consumer goods and manufacturing industries. Drivers for the use of a PIM solution include:

• Extensive inventory of products
• Frequent changes of product features
• Heterogeneous IT infrastructure (eg due to inorganic growth of the company )
• Successful online business
• Pressure of out customers to support electronic procurement processes

Strategically PIM is a necessity, is when major customers to support new data exchange standards (such as Global Data Synchronization Network ) force or an international expansion strategy aimed at. Here the effective consolidation of product information and conversion of downstream processes play a crucial role in the success of the business strategy. For example, a mail-order companies who wants to expand into five other countries, without a change of its production processes for catalogs often do not implement this strategy in the situation.