In my last post, I discussed the growing importance of effective product information management (PIM), particularly for large enterprises with extensive product portfolios. Product data is required by many business functions and technology systems across the enterprise, and as a result, most organizations have product information spread across numerous information systems.
This approach to PIM creates duplicative and inefficient work processes, generates excessive costs, increases marketing cycle time, and leads to a lack of confidence in the accuracy of product information.
In response to these challenges, a growing number of enterprises are turning to dedicated software applications to streamline product information management processes and tasks. These technologies are typically called product information management systems (PIMS), and if properly deployed, they can provide several important operational and financial benefits. In this post, I’ll describe how a robust PIMS can reduce costs; in my next post, I’ll discuss how a PIMS can help enterprises market more effectively and grow revenues.
Lower Data Management/Maintenance Costs One of the primary benefits provided by a PIMS is lower data management/maintenance costs. A recent study titled, ROI of Product Data for Multichannel Commerce by Heiler Software AG and Stuttgart Media University (the ROI of PIM Study) demonstrates why and how a PIMS can reduce data management costs.
- Streamlined data infrastructure—Without a PIMS, 38% of retailers and 57% of manufacturing companies use 4-10 information systems to manage and store product data. For manufacturing companies that have a PIMS, the percentage of companies using 4-10 information systems drops to 18%, and the percentage of companies that keep product data on only one or two systems increases from 12% to 47%.
- Less time spent on data maintenance—33% of retailers without a PIMS indicate that editing the product data regarding one item requires more than 30 minutes, while 71% of those with a PIMS say that editing requires 10 minutes or less.
Reduced Catalog Creation Costs A well-developed PIMS can reduce the costs associated with creating and producing product catalogs. In the ROI of PIM Study, 83% of manufacturing firms and 70% of retailers indicated they have been able to reduce catalog creation costs by more than 10% through the use of a PIMS.
Lower Translation Costs For enterprises that sell products internationally, a PIMS can be a powerful tool for reducing the costs of providing product information in the primary language of the target market. In the ROI of PIM Study, 83% of manufacturing firms and 59% of retailers said they have been able to reduce translation costs by more than 10% by using a PIMS.
The cost savings produced by a PIMS can be significant, but the ability of a properly deployed PIMS to improve marketing effectiveness is even more impressive. In my next post, I’ll discuss how these capabilities can drive increased revenues.
This post was previously published on the ADAM Software blog. . .
