What is a PIM System?

Data interfaces are used to transfer data from outside systems ( e.g. in CSV, XML or EXCEL format) at fixed times (e.g. at night) and functional interfaces are used to retrieve data changes from other systems on-demand (via web service SOAP or REST).

Once basic data has been imported, further product data is added in the PIM, e.g. marketing texts that are not maintained in the ERP system, assigning product categories and adding product relationships. Technical industries in particular find it important to enter technical characteristics in a structured manner, e.g. parameters such as temperature range, dimensions or pressure, as this can significantly improve the efficiency of daily data maintenance. The technologically leading PIM system ANTEROS has particular strengths in this regard and offers various data types, nesting of parameters, calculation of parameters based on others (e.g. volume based on length, width, height or a web description based on fixed text modules and parameters) and much more.

Images such as product photos or drawings, as well as documents in the form of safety instructions, operating manuals or videos, also provide important information about a product. In online stores, product images and accompanying documents are becoming increasingly important for customers' purchasing decisions. But product images are also helpful for catalogs and price lists, so that customers can quickly and intuitively find the information they need. Some PIM systems have an integrated media database for images and documents, while others connect third-party systems via interfaces. Integrated media databases only require images to be uploaded one time in print quality, and then they automatically generate other formats, e.g. web-size and -mini or images in Amazon format. In the technologically leading PIM system ANTEROS includes a fully integrated media database in the form of the MAM module.

If you export your products to several countries, it may be important to prepare the product data not only in English but also in other languages too. After all, sales documents with product data in the customer's own language boost sales! However, translating the texts can take different amounts of time and effort in a PIM system. Without translation support, you always have to keep track of what data you have changed in order to translate it into the other languages. Translation support in the PIM can significantly reduce this effort.

Some PIM systems have an integrated translation module, while others connect third-party systems via interfaces. The integrated translation modules usually make it possible to list all texts that either have not yet been translated or for which the main text has changed. The translation module from the technology-leading system ANTEROS also indicates by color what has changed in the meantime in these translation-relevant texts since the last translation. The translator or the national company can either enter the translations directly in ANTEROS.tm or in an EXCEL export in order to subsequently import and release the file with the translations.

Some PIM systems offer functions to specifically check and improve the quality of the product data. This becomes even more important when you maintain more and more data in the PIM system or want to transfer data from suppliers into the PIM. In these systems, you can often create test criteria or test reports yourself to check the quality of the product data, images or documents, e.g. whether marketing texts have already been entered in German and English or at least one image is linked per image. The inspection results can be arranged neatly in a dashboard. This way, one can not only monitor the quality of the data, but also jump specifically into these objects to improve the data. A few systems (such as ANTEROS.qm) also offer so-called quality gates, which make it much easier to achieve milestones by regularly monitoring intermediate results. When combined, quality reports and the dashboard can be used to accommodate a staged input of data by a team, in which, for example, one employee is responsible for the marketing data and another for the technical characteristics.

In order to give your product data to your retailers and partners in a suitable format, e.g. for your own web shop or catalog, you should check which formats you consider suitable. The formats vary from industry to industry. For example, formats such as Datanorm and GAEB are relevant for construction suppliers, Arge for the SHK industry or TecDoc for automotive suppliers. In addition to the actual data exchange format, data for a standard classification such as ETIM, eClass or Proficlass is also frequently requested. Even though there are many standards here, it is often the case that several standards or standard versions are relevant. This requires extensive consultation with your partners and, if necessary, a competent PIM service provider. The INCONY team has been active in this field for more than 20 years.

In order to use the centrally maintained product data and images from PIM within websites, online catalogs, web shops or product portals, all PIM systems offer interfaces to eCommerce and shop systems, such as Shopware, Intershop, Magento,.... Some also have their own eCommerce module, like ANTEROS.web, which can be fully integrated into your ERP system (SAP, Navision, ABAS, Infor, ...) via a web service interface.

A few suppliers also offer an app with which their customers can specifically search for their products, compare them and then request or order them. ANTEROS offers the webshop functions not only for Android and iOS, but can also be customized as required, e.g. with a photo function to find the right product in the shop with the photographed spare part (INCONY has implemented this for TMD Friction).