Rules of Innovation Change, but PIM Will Always Stay at the Heart of It

Innovation is a determinant of several static and dynamic factors; different organizations think about it in different ways. However, the purpose of innovation often revolves around achieving specific goals. It can be about retaining existing customers, acquiring new ones, expanding market presence, and generating revenue streams. In today’s business world, the urgency to adapt has never been higher given the rapid digital upswing, technological disruptions, and a global health crisis upon us. 

Data-led monetization possibilities and potential ways to consume and harness the power of data is playing a crucial part in this upheaval. Gartner predicts that by 2022, 35% of organizations will be either sellers or buyers of data via formal online data marketplaces. Be it at the C-suite level or departmental/sub-divisional levels - studying past and current data is critical for bringing innovative ideas to light and making out-of-the-box decisions.

Product Information Management (PIM): Sustains innovation in all possible ways

Effective product data management can be a game-changer for enterprises in pursuit of innovation.  For instance, analysis of product data can be the foundation of implementing effective planograms (visual assortment of offerings in shelves) and can even unearth valuable information to target a specific user group in sales campaigns. 

However, to leverage product data in the best possible ways, companies require ever-increasing velocity and scale of analysis to process and access data, especially in the face of unprecedented market shifts. That is where a PIM comes into the picture.

Source: Aberdeen Group

With near-perfect interoperability between various systems and end-to-end visibility of product information – PIM can act as a tool to increase sales, enhance customer experience, speed-up go-to-market cycle times, maintain omnichannel consistency, and automate data delivery and administration processes. But above all, PIM empowers enterprises to be on their path to growth. Hence, PIM will always be at the core of all your innovation endeavors, as it:

Enables faster growth

Multiple business moves can drive business growth. It can result from improved sales, new product launches, business acquisitions, and other initiatives. All these strategies require efficient management of product data. That is where a PIM system comes into play. PIM systems pave the way for rich data analytics that supports business decisions, enables easy integration for cross-department data flow, and significantly improves user experiences to boost ROI.

PIM can automate operational processes like catalog management and manual updates which further cuts costs and drives business growth. Faster product launches and efficient collaboration between siloed systems are also instrumental in augmenting business capabilities.

Source: Forrester

Standardizes data of any kind or size

Whether it is custom-defined standard or an internationally accepted one, PIM can gather data in uniform formats for easier and faster search and validation. All product attributes are showcased systematically in a single catalog with required data profiling and cleansing of duplications and redundancies.

With a centralized data repository and standardized formats, searching a particular data point becomes very easy. Each department can view product data that is most important to their team and easily identify opportunities in new channels or product lines. Moreover, PIM also helps in modeling standard attributes for different categories and ranges for a consistent baseline of product content.

Increases speed to market

PIM increases the quality, consistency, and velocity of data to reduce the time taken for the product listing process considerably. By streamlining and automating several manual and inter-departmental data entries, it makes data available for end-user consumption instantly. PIM empowers enterprises to derive intelligent, actionable insights from data at all stages of processing and all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Data can be holistically leveraged to fasten product launches, integrating new systems, or managing large-scale change. With faster enrichment of descriptions, documentations, and other related data components, new product introductions and upgrades become effortless.

Continuously improves CX

The right information at the right time in the right place is the first step to improving customer satisfaction and conversions. PIM delivers consistency and reliability at every stage of the buying process with traceable, reliable, and up-to-date information across every channel. It even helps in optimizing web classifications and search/filter processes to harmonize customer relations cohesively. 

It ensures that the brand’s voice and presence remain consistent while improving product data quality across all channels. PIM enables global teams to create highly targeted product experiences tailored to different locales, channels, and languages. With a robust PIM in place, businesses can craft customized product experiences that guarantee improved customer engagement.

Builds operational efficiencies

PIM can help automate up to 80% of manual marketing and sales tasks. Personnel can focus on critical functions like intelligently assorting product information, making seasonal edits to catalogs, and ideating promotional activities. PIM can also eliminate bottlenecks in workflows by streamlining processes and allowing all stakeholders to access the latest, consolidated data. This way, the probability of manual error is highly reduced, and everybody is on the same page.

Ensuring product data consistency across various channels also becomes possible. PIM is designed for easy integration with existing platforms like ERP, SCM, CRM, etc. It can be seamlessly implemented at scale.

Final Thoughts

It is undeniable that data and information are at the core of business continuity and innovation. The true potential of data can be unlocked by harnessing the power of Product Information Management (PIM) system.

A PIM provides businesses with a 360° view of product data that make huge transformations possible. Such a system will not only propel innovations but also nurture ideas with accurate, dynamic, assorted information. That’s the reason rules of innovation may keep changing, but PIM will always be at the heart of it.