If you're reading this text, you might already recognise the need for a product information management system (PIM). You might be the person whose working hours are filled with digging, writing, and versioning product information multiple times across various channels.

You might find yourself frustrated with the copy-cut-paste-chaos and dream of looking a little further ahead to focus on implementing a marketing strategy. But how then to present the PIM acquisition to all decision-makers in such a way that the benefits become apparent in clear numbers?

Start by listing the challenges of enriching product information

It's worth delving into the current situation. What does rich product information mean to us? Why is it needed? What stages are currently required for enriching product information? Who does it and from where is the information sourced?

Investigate bottlenecks and overlapping tasks and estimate, for example, the time and resources required to gather and enrich information for a single product. Set a cost for enriching the product and multiply it by the number of products on a quarterly or seasonal basis. Often, the complex process of enriching product information directly affects the quality of the product information - when the same data needs to be updated in multiple places, it may remain undone due to lack of time. Additionally, correcting errors is labour-intensive.

Calculate also how long it takes to bring a new product to market? At what stage have the sales materials for the product been created, and when have the retailers’ required product information been provided?

Costs can also be assessed through lost opportunities. Poor product descriptions in online stores affect search engine visibility and the product’s appeal. In consumer products, and increasingly in the industrial sector, competition is often so fierce that differentiation happens precisely at the content level.

The following is an imaginary, albeit truthful, example of enriching product information at an electrical wholesaler:

An Excel file of new products arrives from the supplier. These are then imported into the ERP system, from which marketing can download the basic product information as the product managers update them. After that, the enriching product information is collected and modified. Mandatory technical information is provided in XML format, from which one person in the company builds Excel sheets.

From the supplier’s materials, marketing adjusts the images to the appropriate size separately for the catalogue and the online store, uploads the images one by one to the website, and finally adds them to the image package sent to the ad agency. Marketing texts are modified and all texts are translated into multiple languages. Often, texts are easier to copy from one product to another, which leads to a lack of personalisation and possible errors in the information. Missing information is requested from product managers and suppliers. Products must also be entered into the product information bank before they can be marketed. One person manually enters information into the system as technical data becomes available.

Retailers require product information well before the start of the season, and the information must be enriched into their own Excel templates. The information is incomplete.

When all information is collected, product managers provide potential product changes and updates marked with a red pen in the draft catalogue, from which they are collected and translated, and then forwarded again to the ad agency, updated on the website, and for retailers.

Euros up for grabs – Rich product information attracts customers

Since the everyday grind may not necessarily reach decision-makers, it is worth examining from the perspective of sales growth.

Well-executed product information management brings together all the details of an individual product in one place: technical information and prices, all descriptions, details required by retailers, and images in all versions.

With a good PIM implementation, you can...

• speed up information enrichment

• bring more products to market

• accelerate the time to market for products

• expand the range of languages

• create even better and more personalised descriptions for products

• easily publish materials in all desired channels

• ensure consistency of information and brand across all publications

• enhance your staff’s product knowledge with up-to-date information

• automate the layout of printed materials and create various targeted catalogues and offers.

Based on the above, you can make a financial estimate of how much additional sales a good PIM solution can bring to your company. Thus, the investment decision can be based on measurable data and concrete goals.

If assessing sales potential is difficult, examining the flip side of the coin can bring valuable information. Have product launches ever been delayed due to slow processes? Has opening a new market been daunting when resources barely suffice to maintain current languages? Or does the current operating model prevent the addition of resale channels?

Honour to marketing!

In Finnish companies, there are often very few marketing experts. It would be wonderful if the work contribution of skilled and educated people were directed towards advancing core business and growing trade instead of mechanical tasks. PIM could be the key to this.

If you want to delve deeper into the topic through research, I recommend reading Jorij Abraham's book Product Information Management. Theory and Practice. Springer (2014). The book is available in several online bookstores.