Guides

The changing eCommerce landscape There are many more regular eCommerce customers than ever before, and they are expecting digital channels to deliver a very high baseline standard for the product information they need to make purchasing decisions. This also applies to B2B customers with industrial manufacturers and distributors. Purchasing behaviour has changed notably and the… Read More »PIM consultancy: The benefits of using a consulting partner

As digital commerce becomes embedded in our everyday lives, manufacturers, distributors and retailers face the challenge of satisfying customers whose profiles are rapidly evolving: That’s why PIM software solutions are becoming the go-to solution for businesses. It centralises the ‘golden record’ of all product data and offers features which integrate with various parts of the… Read More »PIM solutions: 10 things to look for

The eCommerce landscape has changed dramatically in the last couple of years, and statistics suggest that this trend is only going in one direction – omnichannel eCommerce is here to stay and is destined to dominate. Alongside this accelerated trend, the amount of product data being generated is growing exponentially, as are the risks of… Read More »The importance of product information management

What are industry data standards? In March 2021, the International Data Corporation (IDC) noted that “The amount of digital data created over the next five years will be greater than twice the amount of data created since the advent of digital storage. The question is: How much of it should be stored?” As the volume… Read More »Industry Data Standards – ETIM, BMECat, IceCat, GS1

Here’s another of our conversations in our ‘A day i the life of…’ series with the specialist associate consultants working with us here at Start with Data.This interview discusses the importance of data governance as an ‘umbrella’ for covering company data and looks at the key components of a successful data governance framework. Let’s kick… Read More »A day in the life of a…..data governance consultant

In November 2020, internet food sales increased 107.8 percent compared with the same month in 2019. The big players (and, in fact, most companies) in the FMCG industry are having to re-evaluate their digital strategies and inventory management. They will need to be more digitally agile and equipped to leverage these online opportunities by having… Read More »The product data onboarding challenge for FMCG manufacturers

Scalability Inbuilt scalability requires a solution which can deal with an infinite number of product descriptions and visuals, thousands of SKUs and enormous volumes and varieties of attributes from multiple suppliers. Nowadays, PIM functionalities enable delivery of product data across a wide range of distribution channels and the fact that all product data is concentrated… Read More »Industrial manufacturers: the product data onboarding challenge

The technology-driven capabilities of a PIM solution provide a single, centrally controlled hub of product information, allowing companies to consolidate all their product data in one place. The aim is to store and deploy. When used as intended, this ‘golden record’ for every product data entity can be used organisation-wide, and guarantees a single, high-quality… Read More »Three benefits of product data management for manufacturers

For manufacturers, the benefits of implementing product data management systems are various. Below, we focus on some of the most common use cases which highlight why product data management is an essential tool in today’s fast-moving manufacturing environment. Product data and the value chain Manufacturers generate product data at every stage in the value chain.… Read More »Five common product data manufacturing use cases

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”Benjamin Franklin, one of the 8 founding fathers of the USA. The technology solution which clients choose for their PIM is important. However, what is more important is the strategy behind the overall goals of this change, and how to measure the progress towards their achievement. The… Read More »Fail to prepare for PIM, prepare to fail at PIM

Establishing the objectives for discovery, design and build of a PIM solution The most crucial phase of a PIM implementation project is how well the first stage, discovery, is executed. Our clients wish to put in place a scalable, flexible and future-proof technology architecture to support their business strategies. That transformative process is only achievable… Read More »The Ins and Outs of a PIM project

The drive towards technology-enabled industry 4.0 is revolutionising industrial manufacturing sectors. The importance of leveraging data-driven transformation lies in being able to leverage the emerging opportunities to create added value. Manufacturers ahead of the curve are reimagining their business models to convert themselves into providers of value-added services. Those who aren’t using equivalent power to… Read More »Pain points for Manufacturers and gains from PIM

A recent report from Shopify highlighted that worldwide revenue from online fashion retailing is likely to rise from just under $500 billion in 2018 to over $700 billion by 2022. The fashion sector is one of the biggest in online retailing and customers certainly have plenty of choice. Simply having a brief product description with… Read More »Pain points for Fashion Retailers and gains from PIM

For industrial distributors, the current e-commerce landscape offers an increasing number of channel opportunities and ever more targeted and personalised market manipulation. Without PIM, distributors face a significant number of challenges. Not least, the prevalence of enormous product ranges and SKUs with multiple attributes as well as a vast number of diverse partners and suppliers… Read More »Pain points for Industrial Distributors and gains from PIM

A successful PIM project requires the best consultory advice and action, a well-matched technology partner and involvement of all your key stakeholders. Unfortunately, many organisations skip steps or fail to take into account the key factors underlying the involvement of the above parties. This article identifies five of the most common mistakes made by retailers,… Read More »The 5 most common mistakes made in a PIM project

What is a taxonomy? Taxonomy is a way of organising large volumes of information in a systematic manner. The aim of any taxonomy system is to make it easy to understand structured and unstructured product data (information) by organising and labelling it. Taxonomies usually work as a hierarchy. In other words, they put products into… Read More »How to manage product taxonomies using PIM

Comparing PIM and DAM Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Product Information Management (PIM) are both cornerstones of any retailer or distributor’s eCommerce strategy. The two systems complement each other in providing the best possible product experience for customers who require extensive, attractive and relevant information to inform their purchasing process. Essentially, a DAM system manages… Read More »PIM vs DAM

eCommerce customer requirements are evolving fast as retailers, distributors and manufacturers move online. Increasingly personalised shopping experiences are becoming the norm and, as such, the role of product data is becoming pivotal in delivering those experiences – the right information about the right product in a timely fashion. We’ve talked a lot about what a… Read More »PXM vs PIM

How can a PIM solution work alongside your ERP? In the current retail and distribution landscape, there are more and more companies fighting fiercely for a share of an increasingly competitive eCommerce market. They will probably be employing an Enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite to manage the complexities of their operations. But are they using… Read More »PIM vs ERP

PIM vs MDM is a frequent dilemma for data officers in terms of their respective uses and applications for organisations. Let’s look at their features and differences between the two to help you make a more informed choice. PIM (Product Information Management) is an area of activity covering the entirety of processes, governance & solutions… Read More »PIM vs MDM: what’s the difference?