PIM and MDM solutions: should you separate them for your site?

For any company that places digital transformation at the heart of its strategy, data management is a key issue. Whether it's improving and automating processes, developing customer knowledge or optimizing omnichannel strategy, data management is the cornerstone of any organization's development. Companies have no shortage of tools for managing this wealth of data, including PIM and MDM (Master Data Management). What is the purpose of these complementary solutions, and why should they be separated? And how do you choose between them?

PIM and MDM: two complementary tools... but very different!

A Master Data Management (MDM) tool enables raw data to be collected, sorted and standardized from different sources, and acts as a global repository to ensure consistent use of data throughout the enterprise.

Master Data is essential and critical reference data, for which no risk of error is acceptable. This includes customer, employee or supplier data, accounting and financial data, product data, etc.

The main role of the MDM is to consolidate information in order to obtain a single, complete and reliable data. The information is deduplicated and historically recorded to create a single repository. a single repository The information is deduplicated and historised to create a single repository for the whole of the company's information system.

Connected to the business applications, the MDM allows the data to be distributed in real time: this ensures the reliability of the information and optimises the processes.

The platform PIMas a specifically marketing-oriented business application, is a close relative of the MDM, without claiming to replace it. It complements it, since it can collect perfectly compliant product data from the MDM , and then enable teams to take the process a step further by enriching product information (technical and marketing descriptions, photographs, etc.).

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In short, where MDM creates reliable information from raw data, positioned transversally to serve your entire ecosystem, PIM collects it to enrich it in a collaborative way at the marketing department level and distribute it to all your sales channels.

Do you need an MDM in addition to PIM ?

We have just seen that MDM and PIM are complementary, but is it always necessary to combine the two? The answer is no! It depends on your company's operations, size and needs.

MDM plays its full role when the data to be referenced is highly complex (governed by standards or strict legislation, for example), have many interdependencies and involve cross-functional decision analysis.

Transforming this extreme complexity of data in order to standardise it and make it available to other solutions is what MDM is all about. In short, Master Data Management is designed and integrated at the level of the IT department and is geared towards the development of Data Management, generally for large companies.

However, if your company already has standardized data, the consolidation and standardization features of PIM are sufficient for marketing teams. You collect the raw data of your products from the ERPYou collect the raw data of your products from the ERP, harmonize them at the time of their collection on the PIM, then enrich them in team on this interface.

The solution is then able to manage the distribution of product information according to the specificities of all your channels. The key is to choose the right PIM !

PIM and MDM: a partnership, not a merger

If you have chosen to deploy a Data Management system and need both solutions, we recommend that you select two distinct tools rather than one all-in-one. Indeed, each tool has its own specificities and is specialized in data processing according to its own objectives.

Consider MDM as a cross-functional solution to standardize a single repository for the entire enterprise. The PIM is, on the other hand, dedicated to to the marketing department and is suitable for any company that manages multiple productsregardless of its size. It provides a platform for enriching and maintaining the product repository with a business and customer focus.

By choosing to dissociate the two tools, you ensure the best performance of each to best meet the needs of your company and its businesses. These 2 types of solution can be easily connected to ensure perfect communication, and this should be a prerequisite when looking for a solution.

Conclusion

MDM and PIM platforms are close relatives whose ultimate goals are to streamline data management within your company and improve processes. Their differences, however, make them complementary tools that should first be considered and worked on individually. Secondly, interconnecting the tools will enable you to benefit from the full working power of each one, thus multiplying tenfold the benefits they bring to both your company and your business teams. It should be noted, however, that the presence of an MDM is not a prerequisite for the use of PIM : you need to study the precise needs of your organization and the level of complexity of your product data.