Magento PIM Integration: The Perfect Solution for Your Store

Do I Need a PIM?

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By: Manish Shewaramani

Magento PIM Integration: The Perfect Solution for Your Store

A product-based enterprise must focus on providing the best and most accurate product details to their end-users to assist them in making their selection. The shopping trend has changed drastically, and customers compare the products before purchasing based on the available product details, technical specifications, visual graphics, cost, reviews, etc. To tackle all the hassles of modern challenges eCommerce business prefers Magento PIM Integration.

There are several applications useful for the management of these vast product details. The enterprise expands its business by implementing several platforms that allow them to reach its potential customers through various touch points.

The efficient integration of this product’s information management with the eCommerce platform will help in expanding the brand and the business.

What is Product Information Management (PIM)?

A product information management (PIM) system is software that enables the organization to manage the data collection, management, organization, enrichment, storage, and secure sharing of product information within and outside the organization.

It helps to share the details effectively through various touchpoints across various channels with the end-users, collaborators, partners, etc. The Magento PIM Integration can collect data from several sources in different formats.

Every organization, for its smooth functioning of processes and operations, needs to implement several other applications of software. PIM systems can easily integrate with these other applications or platforms like Magento, ERP, CRM, etc., leading to increased productivity and incorporating the data generated from these platforms.

Credencys has helped the brands by providing exclusive insights into what is PIM? and introducing the advanced PIM capabilities to help them justify their decision of considering a PIM for their online business.

Visit A Brief about The Role Of Product Information Management (PIM) For Enterprise to explore the contribution of PIM to the success of your online business.

Why should you use Product Information Management (PIM)?

Product information is available from several sources and in different formats, so it is important to have all the data in one location. PIM allows for collecting and managing this vast product information at a single centralized location.

The different teams within the organization have authorized access to the PIM for updating the details. Using the PIM system, the different teams can have improved communication as they all have access to the same updated information and performance increases.

PIM enables storing information like images, videos, graphics, text documents, presentations, etc. PIM enables providing complete and accurate product details. It ensures that accurate and high-quality product details are provided across all the eCommerce channels.

PIM allows for incorporating the automation of several processes within the organization enabling us to make the processes faster and more accurate. This helps in bringing the product to market faster, meeting the customer’s needs, and increasing sales.

If you are looking for more reasons for considering PIM for your online business. You should visit Why Your Business Should Have a Product Information Management System In 2022? Getting clarity on PIM is not just a stool. It’s an integral and quite essential part of your online business strategy.

How Can PIM Software Help Your eCommerce Company?

Product information is very important for the eCommerce business of a product-oriented enterprise. The enterprise must maintain high-quality and accurate product information across all the eCommerce channels while managing thousands of orders. Accurate product details form the foundation of effective content for marketing.

It is essential to focus on product content as a multifunctional tool and utilize it for building customer trust, confidence, and loyalty. The quality of product content will enhance communication with the customers, leading to increased sales.

PIM enables the management of product information directly on the various eCommerce platforms.

Eager to explore how PIM helps eCommerce brands to gain a competitive edge, read Product Information Management- PIM eCommerce? It provides all the details related to PIM capabilities that can be utilized by eCommerce companies to beat the competition,

What are the benefits of PIM software?

The several benefits gained by implementing the PIM software in the organization for the success of its eCommerce business include:

Completeness of information

There is a vast amount of data available for the product, and it is important to present only the important and relevant details of the product across the various channels. PIM allows for providing the product information that will help in providing the complete product details; it also provides the graphical details essential for the product visualization.

Automates Data Sharing

Every channel has its own requirements for product information. Manually handling the needs of the different channels may become tedious and time-consuming. PIM organizes the data with respect to several attributes, and this enables it to provide the data to the different channels based on their requirements.

This helps in saving time, money, resources, and effort. The organization can utilize these resources for other important tasks.

Transparency and ownership

It is essential to provide accurate and true product data across the different channels for the eCommerce business. While providing these details on the different platforms, it is essential to take the responsibility of providing accurate details.

Diversifying the workflow tools and creating the ownership for increased data transparency enables PIM. PIM enables streamlining of interdepartmental collaboration and the employees in the different teams can access the relevant data. It provides authorized access to the team leaders to edit the details, thus retaining transparency and ownership.

Better catalog structure

PIM enables aggregating the details in a different format for designing the catalog. Different eCommerce platforms have different demands regarding the attachments required for the catalog structure for enhanced customer experience.

The PIM system automatically sends the product information in the required format. It also ensures providing quality reports of the content and keeping track of the changes made in the details.

Data centralization

PIM enables categorizing the data into various fields and attributes. This makes it easy to search for any data without any waste of time. The different attributes help the different channels identify the data and auto-populate the essential fields.

The data centralization enables the catalog printers and design connectors to select the required data with good quality and resolution.

Expanding global reach

For expanding business, enterprises use different touchpoints across different channels to reach their potential customers. PIM has a feature that allows for automated translation of the product details into several languages.

This enables providing the product details in several languages while targeting the global market. Foreign customers can easily access the details in their local language and currency, making it easier to purchase.

Better customer experience

PIM allows the customer to access the product details and their relevant information. It helps the customer in making the right choice while making their purchase based on accurate details, product visualization, etc.

These clear details about the product reduce the chances of product returns, complaints, and abandonment of carts. It also provides the stock details to the customers and shipping details, thus enhancing the customer’s shopping experience.

Enhanced time management

Implementation of PIM helps in saving time by reducing unnecessary repetitive tasks. It eliminates the process of manual data entry and updates. The time saved on this task can be utilized in other important tasks to enhance productivity.

Cost-effective

PIM can easily integrate with the online eCommerce store, thus having a significant impact on the costs involved. It reduces the operational and the cost of the supply chain. It helps in efficient inventory management, thus preventing situations like out-of-stock and overstock.

Ease of integration

The organization needs to implement several other applications for different processes and operations. PIM can easily integrate with these different applications or platforms and provide complete access to several product reports and other necessary information.

To explore the benefits of PIM development, don’t miss visiting What Are the Benefits of PIM (Product Information Management) Systems? It ensures PIM implementation drives tremendous value to your business by improving customer engagement and sales and revenue immensely.

Why does your Magento store require the right Magento PIM integration for an online solution?

There are several teams in the Magento store that need the PIM system for efficient management of product details. These teams that need the PIM in the Magento store include the marketers that seek to deliver a consistent omnichannel product experience, the retailers that help in strengthening the relationship with the suppliers, and the eCommerce managers that understand the impact of the quality of product data on online sales and the data governance team that keeps track of meeting the compliance.

The benefits gained by the Magento store by implementing the PIM solution include:

  • It provides a centralized storage area for managing product information. The information can be easily accessed by the different sales channels within the business network with ease.
  • It enables tracking of the catalog details and inventory data with real-time details. It also provides accurate details to the buyers, thus enhancing their accurate shopping experience.
  • The PIM enables providing automated distribution details, and the store operators do not have to manually enter the details into the system. It is distributed throughout the system.
  • PIM enables content validation before the details are released onto the public channels.
  • It allows for strengthening the omnichannel strategy as it covers a wide range of products, industries, etc.

How Does PIM Work in Magento PIM integration?

PIM collects, compiles, and stores all the details related to the product. It allows you to make changes to the details across all channels at once. The different platforms that utilize these details from the PIM, like websites, marketplaces, etc., get the details exported from the PIM.

1. Loading product information

This is the first step involved in getting the product information into the system. These details can come from within the organization if it is the manufacturer of the product or taken directly from the internal information system linked with production. The retailers get the information provided by the manufacturers and suppliers.

This data should be verified before it is provided to the retailers. PIM is intricately linked with different information systems like ERP, CRM, etc. Mapping of the data is very important and tracking of the details entered into the system is very important as the source of information might keep changing constantly with the change in retailer.

2. Validation of product information

Once the information is entered into the system, it is important to verify these details. The system checks for all the attributes and if they are filled in, these checks can be performed manually as well as automatically.

The PIM systems generally perform automated searches to check if any of the attributes are missing in the filled details. If any of the details are missing, the tasks are sent to the different departments to fill in the missing details or correct any errors.

It is important to place the product properly into the correct category based on the hierarchy. There are several categories available, so the important and difficult task is the selection of the proper one.

The website can show the different classifications based on the nomenclature tree and based on which category is selected. Each of the marketplaces has its own set hierarchy. The product should be classified as per the system requirements.

The PIM system should be able to handle the different types of hierarchies and should be able to import data and verify it. All the available product details must be put into the different attributes and set into appropriate categories.

These attributes might change depending on the business needs as they are very dynamic. It is important to save additional information.

Different people can access the data at different stages of its development. At the saturation stage, it is important to provide the support workflow that will allow the employees to understand what is important to them. PIM enables automated checks using different shared access given to the selected authorities.

3. Uploading product information

Once all the product information is made available and verified, the next step involves the export of these details. This process of the data export is not easy as it needs to export the details in different formats.

Each channel will require the details in a different format that is convenient for their function. This process of data upload may take place in batch mode or in real-time as the data gets changed or updated. This information gets transformed into the other systems.

The requirements of the sales channels are different and may require a different set of attributes for a printed catalog or website. They store these details in a format that is convenient for them and needs to be transformed when shared with another system. This includes conversion of units of measurement, currency, etc.

If you want to establish a powerful PIM that helps you attain all the business goals and expected operational and strategic output, you must visit 15 Best Practices for Successful Product Information Management (PIM) Solutions that help companies perform all the above-mentioned processes seamlessly.

Why Does Your eCommerce Business Require Magento 2 PIM Integration?

The eCommerce business requirements for implementing the Magento PIM integration include:

Having a professional Magento expert

The enterprise needs to have a Magento expert included in its technical team. As the PIM Magento integration is done and the platform is operational, many doubts and delays are arising that may be due to a lack of knowledge about the platform.

Also, there must be an expert who can deal with the maintenance and other issues that might arise in the day-to-day use of the platform. Having the expert in-house will reduce the dependency on other technical services.

Proper data organization

The product data available is very vast and available in various formats. The data must be allotted the right attributes and fields for the product and variants. Based on these details, the product gets viewed by the customers through different channels. This is governed by the number of channels connected with Magento PIM integration.

Time for integration

PIM enables easy integration with the different platforms, but it is essential to provide sufficient time for this integration. It takes around a week for the setup of the integration and the next 2 or 3 weeks for its testing. This also depends on the volume of the data connected from Magento PIM Integration.

Check on all the data that should be connected to Magento, like the products, digital assets, configurable products, marketing materials, etc.

How to Magento PIM Integration beneficial to eCommerce companies?

The PIM can be integrated with Magento using two techniques. One technique involves the use of extensions, while the other uses the API. The extension technique is used when it is implemented by the merchant and only if the third-party extension meets the business requirements.

The API technique is more complicated and requires basic technical knowledge for the installation of the connector and the implementation of the solution. The use of extensions is the most commonly used technique for  the Magento PIM integration.

The steps involved in integrating the PIM solution with the Magento store include:

  • Importing the product and category details into the PIM system,
  • Testing the Magento object to make sure that the required PIM database fields exist in the Magento
  • Creating the PIM connection channel with the field names the same in the PIM system and Magento,
  • Installation of the third-party extension
  • Performing the initial tests for a few selected products to check that everything is working properly,
  • Making sure all the product content is appropriately synchronized, special attention is given to the custom attributes and images that are prone to create a problem,
  • Checking the results for satisfaction to see if the results are good, the other products are added till the catalog is complete.

To understand the potential of Magento 2 PIM and its capabilities that facilitate the eCommerce brands with a feature-rich and avant-garde online commence platform, don’t forget to visit Importance of Magento 2 PIM Systems and its Integrations.

List of Top 5 PIM Software for Magneto PIM Integration

There are different PIM software packages available for the management of product information. The top 5 PIM software for integration with Magento include:

1. Pimcore

Pimcore

Pimcore is one of the leading PIM systems used in most enterprises. It is one of the most convenient, user-friendly, and cost-effective PIM systems available on the market. Pimcore is open-source software that has in-built capabilities for data management and management. Read What is Pimcore and How It Boosts Business Growth to explore more about Pimcore.

Pimcore implementation allows for easy maintenance of the product information and enables multi-channel publishing. Pimcore development allows for editing, management, secure sharing, publishing, and editing of data information, as well as the creation of catalogs and price sheets, among other things.

Pimcore stores the data at a centralized location. It can easily integrate with other systems like ERP, CMS, etc. It includes features like the drag and drops feature that makes the process faster and enhances it.

2. Akeneo

Akeneo

This system is one of the easiest PIM systems that allows for easy optimization of all processes. It stores the data centrally and allows for the fluent process of data collection, spread, and enrichment.

It allows for easy integration with the tools and systems and supports all types of catalogs. Integration of Akeneo with an online eCommerce store results in enhanced customer experience, decreased returns, a faster process to market, higher conversion rates, etc.

It includes all the basic features like data import/export, classifying products, translation, and editing of data, product asset manager, etc.

3. inRiver

inriver

This software allows for optimizing the product experience and efficiently connecting with the sales channels. It helps the business owners to cut down on unnecessary expenses and allows them to have firm control over their expenses, inventory, and supply chain.

It provides the best quality product information to the users by using plugins, APIs, connectors, etc. It also includes other features like product creation templates, APIs and connectors, catalog management, content planning, backend integration, publication, etc.

4. Bluestone

Bluestone

This PIM software has a multitude of capabilities and features. The centralized storage of data makes it convenient for all business owners to manage the product information across different eCommerce channels, ERP systems, media, trading partners, print catalogs, etc.

It provides an omnichannel strategy for displaying and distributing product information across different channels. It also includes the DAM facilities that allow you to have complete control over the graphical data like images, videos, audio clips, documents, spreadsheets, etc.

The other features include webhooks, APIs, bulk editing, permission, dashboards, staging, analytics, market support, etc.

5. Oracle

Oracle

Oracle is a PIM system that enables store owners to manage vital product information. It allows for sharing product information across the enterprise. It allows for getting the data from disparate systems like different third-party applications, duplicate data in global locations, legacy applications, vendor or supplier item data, etc.

It enables maintaining product information in the form of items, bundles, SKUs, etc. Oracle PIM provides improved controls to the retailers for enriching the information and sharing it across the different channels with the end-users, partners, collaborators, etc.

Many product information management platforms are there in the market to help eCommerce companies with streamlined and automated product data-related processes. To explore more PIM platforms, visit Top 11 Product Information Management (PIM) Platforms to Consider.

Pimcore – The Right Choice for Magento PIM integration

As there are a lot of PIM platforms available in the market so it is quite challenging for eCommerce companies to choose the best one for their business.

Being a Pimcore Gold Certified Partner, Credencys has explored all the advanced offerings of Pimcore. We have helped multiple brands in making the perfect choice for their business needs by explaining to them the difference between Pimcore and other PIM platforms. Here are the exclusive comparisons of Pimcore with 14 leading PIM platforms.

Conclusion

The competition in the market is increasing, and enterprises need to stay ahead in this competitive business world by providing the best quality product to their customers. With the ever-changing market demands, online merchants need to implement different eCommerce systems that facilitate the different daily businesses like ERP, PIM, CRM, etc.

PIM is one of the leading and proven technologies that allow the enterprise to efficiently manage product information. It also supports global business expansion and deployment. Integration of the PIM system with Magento stores allows for magnification of the effect and thus grows the business to new heights.

PIM Cost Calculator

Wondering about the investment involved in implementing a PIM solution? Get an estimate to plan your budget effectively with our PIM Cost Calculator.