What is Product Information Management?

"PIM has emerged as the primary technology component of an enterprise effort to achieve a single product view for an enterprise across all operational and analytical uses, independent of any other repository or production data."

Gartner Group, Magic Quadrant for PIM, 2005

Automated Processes Save Time and Money

Today, catalog and service content is best managed using a solution called Product Information Management (PIM). PIM works together with procurement and purchasing systems to ensure that users across the organization have a single view of product, service and contract price information.

PIM works in a heterogeneous environment so that organizations with a variety of suppliers, ERP systems, and operating systems can ensure that all users are accessing the correct information. PIM is making a large impact in purchasing organizations. It is proving to be very effective at helping buyers and suppliers collaboratively manage data and allowing commodity managers to control how each commodity is purchased. PIM is linked into ERP, procurement and master data solutions to create, publish and control product and service content that is destined for end users across the globe.

PerfectPIM is a buyer-focused solution that allows organizations to effectively control the procurement process by providing end users with visibility to the goods and services they need at negotiated prices from approved suppliers. A procurement strategy that is implemented without consideration of product information management may not provide end users access to the to the appropriate data, running the risk that they will bypass the procurement system and purchase items elsewhere. As organizations increase in size and complexity, often through mergers and acquisitions, and become more global, it is imperative to have a product and service content management strategy that simplifies how the data is organized, distributed, and made available to end users.