Glossary
What is PIM?
PIM, or product information management, is one place to keep complete, checked product data, such as descriptions, specifications, images and documents, and send it to your website, marketplaces, catalogues and customers.
In plain English.
Product information tends to end up everywhere: part in the ERP, part in spreadsheets, part in suppliers' files and part typed straight into the website. A PIM brings it together, so each product has one complete, approved record, and every channel takes its information from there.
An example. An industrial supplier sells tens of thousands of products. Codes, prices and stock live in its ERP, but the specifications, images, safety data sheets and descriptions live in a PIM. The product team enriches each item, checks it is complete, and the PIM publishes it to the trade website, a printed catalogue, a marketplace and data feeds that customers load into their own systems.
What a PIM holds
- Descriptions and selling copy, for each channel and language.
- Attributes and specifications: sizes, materials, ratings and compatibility.
- Images, drawings and documents, often from a linked digital asset library.
- Relationships: variants, accessories, spares and replacements.
- Categories, which can differ by channel.
PIM and ERP
The ERP runs the business side of a product: its code, cost, price and stock. The PIM holds everything a buyer needs to choose it. The two are joined, so a new product created in the ERP appears in the PIM to be enriched, and the website draws on both.
Why it matters
Business buyers choose on specifications. Complete, consistent product data helps them find the right item, filter with confidence and order without phoning to check. It improves search on your own site, helps search engines and AI assistants understand your range, and gives generative AI a reliable source to draw on, for example to draft descriptions for a person to check.
Doing it well
Agree a standard for each product type, decide who owns and approves the data, and connect the PIM to the ERP and store so information flows automatically. Many businesses start with their best-selling ranges and work outwards. For a smaller range, a well-structured store and ERP can be the starting point, with a PIM added as the range grows.
Related terms and services.
ERP
The system that runs orders, stock, pricing and accounts.
B2B ecommerce glossary
DAM, master data, ERP and more B2B terms.
Data and analytics
Clean, enriched product information that search, merchandising and AI can use.
Integration
Joining your store to the ERP, PIM and systems behind it.