The 4 priority areas for optimizing your PIM

Expanding marketplaces, diversifying sales channels... In 2016, Product Information Management (PIM) will have to adapt more than ever to these fundamental trends in e-commerce. PIM (Product Information Management) will have to adapt more than ever to these fundamental trends in e-commerce. These changes have an impact not only on the platform itself, but also on the missions of the people who run it. These are just some of the challenges that Quable intends to take up with its customers in 2016! The PIM (Product Information Manager) is a collaborative tool that brings together all product information in a single repository, enabling it to be easily enhanced in the future and then distributed across all channels.

1. From multichannel distribution to omnichannel strategy

In 2015, internet traffic on cell phones surpassed that generated by fixed stations. In 2016 this trend will accelerate with the multiplication of interfaces accessible on the move: after smartphones and tablets, it's time for smartwatches, phablets and other connected objects of the IoT (internet of things). So many communication and sales channels that e-retailers must manage in addition to their website and paper catalog. The era of multi-channel, where each support is addressed via a specific system according to a silo logic is however over. The time has come to move to omnichannel, i .e., unified but personalized information for each medium. The cornerstone of this (r)evolution is PIM , which guarantees the consistency and reliability of product information on each support, in stores, on cell phones as well as in the company, while managing the specificities linked to each device, media or webservice.

2. From connecting to marketplaces to managing flows

A real growth driver for e-retailers, marketplaces will continue to attract more and more traffic in 2016. However, the trend is to multiply them with the creation of marketplaces specialized on a product, a sector, a market segment... Faced with this effervescence - and the of consolidation in the sector As we have seen for example in the high tech sector, e-merchants must choose carefully the marketplaces on which it is important to connect. The rates and commissions, the potential traffic, the target... are obvious criteria of choice but a PIM allows to refine these choices. It is thus possible to distribute only certain assortments of products on certain marketplaces, at certain times of the year, on certain countries only... From a simple technical gateway, the PIM becomes a real tool for the marketing teams of e-retailers.

3. A PIM in SaaS to gain in reactivity

In full growth, SaaS (Software as a Service) offers are more than a business model. It is a particularly business-oriented model, as the service dimension of SaaS makes it possible to a certain extent to free oneself from a long and costly IT project and to have immediate access to the expected functionalities. In a digital world in perpetual motion, SaaS provides the business with tools that are fully integrated into this ecosystem and always up to date.

SaaS also allows you to benefit from a platform that evolves according to the needs expressed by customers and the latest innovations in the e-commerce ecosystem.

An API often included in the offer allows developers complete autonomy in the creation and maintenance of new applications using the product data.

A PIM in SaaS is therefore a sustainable way to accelerate the "time to market " by having product information that is easy to update, and then to distribute it to all channels.

4. New tasks for a Product Information Officer (PIO)

The first vocation of PIM is to centralize, qualify, consolidate and rationalize product information scattered throughout the company or among suppliers. This work involves setting up data validation workflows and appointing a "Product Information Officer" whose mission is to ensure the quality of product information within the company. In 2016, the missions of this PIO will be expanded by being more in touch with what is happening online, outside the company. The consequence of an increased presence on marketplaces (and social networks) is indeed to expose the e-merchant more to the competition. Reactivity on prices, promotions, services offered... product information and its permanent update become strategic for marketing departments making the "PIO" the key to permanent adaptation to the market.

‍

Conclusion

Companies have to adapt to the technological evolutions and the rise of e-commerce. For this, adopting a powerful and strategic tool like PIM is an asset to boost your sales and offer up-to-date product information to your customers.