How to Prepare for a Product Information Management (PIM) Initiative
One of the top questions we get when approached by brand manufacturers, retailers or distributors is: How do I begin the process of a Product Information Management (PIM) initiative?
Product content is one of your company’s most valuable assets. You know this. That’s why you’re here. No doubt, the lost potential and mishandling of content is a daily frustration. Even more frustrating is the fact that there are tools and techniques that can dramatically improve the way you manage and leverage these assets. Yet your company is lagging behind. For those passionate – or even curious – about change, but have questions about getting started, we’ve created a First Steps Guide to prepare for a PIM initiative.
A common roadblock in the PIM journey is changing the minds of those who have yet to recognize the potential of PIM for advancing your business.
Working with PIM and Master Data Management (MDM) experts upfront can help answer questions about calculating return on investment.
For example, some results our PIM and MDM customers have achieved include:
To dive deeper into how PIM translates to profit, check out this webinar on-demand featuring George Lawrie, Principal Analyst at Forrester. In the webinar, Lawrie discusses PIM and practical steps to profit. He also reveals strategies that have driven profits in Business-to-Consumer, and that are creating new waves with leading digitally-forward Business-to-Business brands.
First, quantify or qualify your business problems.
The first step to launching any PIM/MDM program is to clearly identify the business processes that are impeded by the lack of a unified view.
Organizations often recognize problems with their product information only after they appear as problems with key business processes. In other words, often the key dominator in process problems is product information problems. Making this connection helps build your business case for correction.
Next, gather participants, champions and sponsors, as well as sources of product data and digital assets.
