A PIM for service companies? But what for?

A PIM (Product Information Manager) allows companies to centralize, manage and distribute product-related data and information. At first glance, therefore, it doesn't seem to be aimed at service companies, but rather at companies with many product references to sell online, such as in the fashion, luxury goods, household appliances, DIY or food sectors.

However, the principles and functionalities of PIM are not so contradictory to the growing needs of service companies. In fact, the "Product Information Manager" does not address physical "Products" for these companies. Even so, PIM is more than relevant when selling services. Find out more in this article.

PIM : basics and functions

A PIM is therefore a platform enabling companies to collect, manage and enrich product information from a single location, before distributing it uniformly to the various distribution channels (website, retailers, distributors, etc.).

Some PIM products are SaaS-based, while others are open source, which means there are some notable differences depending on your current needs and future business objectives.

Thanks to a number of functionalities, PIM enables companies to reduce time-to-market, standardize the sales promise, enhance the customer experience and generally accelerate brands' omnichannel strategy. For PIM Quable, these functionalities are : 

• The PIM section: for managing, enriching and distributing textual product information.
• DAM: which performs the same functions as PIM , but this time for visual data, i.e. media, videos, photos and other assets.
• The brand portal: to control access and distribution of product information, or part of it, to the brand's distributors and retailers.
• Quable Apps: a kind of store giving brands the ability to connect other technological and e-commerce applications to boost and enrich their use of PIM Quable.
• Workflows, which help to set up fluid, coherent and effective work processes, guaranteeing the best possible operational efficiency for teams.

Numerous other features make up PIM Quable(Analytics, product sheet, premium services), and all enable companies selling products online to do so efficiently to contribute to their commercial success and growth. Goals that service companies are also keen to achieve.‍

How are the needs of service companies evolving?

As with companies selling physical products, the needs of service companies are becoming increasingly digitalized. As a result, certain processes and ways of working are becoming moreautomated, services are becoming increasingly personalized, and customers and prospects are increasingly interested in finding more information online about the service they are looking for. Service-related information must therefore be qualitative, consistent across all channels (website, resellers, distributors, etc.) and homogeneous.

In addition to being agile and flexible in response to trends in certain sectors, service companies need to be able to analyze their data and make relevant, impactful decisions based on this analysis. Knowing how to collect, manage and disseminate this data effectively is essential to improving their offerings and keeping their customers satisfied. Certain sectors, such as healthcare, are also more sensitive to changes, regulatory constraints and legislation.

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Finally, service companies need collaborative platforms to communicate and work harmoniously, both remotely since the advent of telecommuting, and even physically. Their processes and data need to be optimally secured to protect the information linked to their offers.

PIM for service companies 

Just as companies need to manage the product data of the physical goods they sell, PIM is fully suited to the needs of service companies.

To begin with, PIM can centralize all information and data relating to the offers made by service companies. This can include information on the services in question, descriptions, visuals and media (thanks to the use of DAM, Digital Asset Manager), prices, conditions...etc. 

Secondly, to maintain a coherent and consistent brand image, product information needs to be standardized across all channels. A goal that can only be achieved by using the PIM platform, adapted to service companies. By centralizing data on a single platform, textual and visual information is homogenized, reinforcing brand credibility.

A company choosing PIM to manage its product information guarantees an optimized, personalized customer experience. By storing the different variants of an offer, the PIM Quable solution enables companies to offer services tailored to specific customer needs.

With a PIM platform, service companies can expand their omnichannel strategy. Offer data is distributed across channels with just a few clicks, and information is the same regardless of the channel, whether it's the brand's social networks, a service provider or the merchant's website.

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Last but not least, PIM enables better collaboration and operational efficiency, thanks to the implementation of adapted workflows between teams. Different departments (marketing, product, R&D...) can work harmoniously and simultaneously on product data. Thanks to analysis and performance tools, teams can monitor their work and results, and thus identify the offers and services that appeal most to customers, current trends and customer demands.

The PIM Quable platform and service companies

Several service providers have chosen PIM Quable as their solution. 

In the tourism sector, this is particularly true of our customer Club Med, which has been able to optimize the digital management of its product information. Thanks to the Quable platform, this French reference in the tourism sector was able to unify the internal collaboration of its 300 employees in an international context, and efficiently translate its product information into over 30 languages. 

In this way, the brand's omnichannel distribution is optimized: product data is automatically distributed to all Club Med channels: tour operators, partners, the brand's website, etc. The customer experience is homogenous and uniform.

This was also the case for our customer Touristra, also a player in the tourism sector, who was able to work on PIM Quable harmoniously between teams, and all this in 3 languages. By homogeneously managing data from 250 vacation establishments, the customer experience was made smoother and more multi-channel. Printed sales aids (catalogs, brochures, etc.) could also be generated in a few clicks and easily exported to partners: agencies, websites, tour operators, etc.

Other customers have also integrated PIM Quable into their digital strategy, such as Korian in the healthcare sector and E-tail agency.

Conclusion

As for companies selling physical products, the PIM Quable solution has its place in the digital strategy of service companies. 

Once implemented, the PIM Quable platform will enable better management of data linked to the services offered for sale, improved translation and therefore language management, optimized collaboration between departments and teams, and standardization of the customer and product experience.

PIM will undoubtedly be a beneficial and growth-generating tool for service companies. Its flexibility will enable them to remain more agile in the marketplace, and thus cope with changing customer needs, industry trends and competitors.

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If you're interested in PIM Quable, don 't hesitate to request a free demo.