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Highway to PIM – #2:Choosing a PIM system

07 December 2015
In our last blog article we discussed how to identify the primary goals you want to achieve with a PIM system. Now it’s time to turn them into specific requirements for your future software and thus create a list of potential software vendors that match your criteria.

The Requirement Specification

First of all, take a closer look at the processes in place: What is the current state? Don’t underestimate this step of the project! Defining a list of requirements may sound trivial; in fact, it is hard work. And: the better and more accurate the previously defined requirements for your PIM system, the more risks you can avoid. This will also have a positive impact on your return on investment (ROI).

Analyse every single step of all relevant processes: How are print publications produced and modified? Who is responsible for maintaining the content of your online shop? Who provides the product descriptions and where are they written? Who translates which texts and when? How are these translations provided? And so on and so forth.
Then define the requirements for your (new or modified) processes: How can you optimize workflows? Who is responsible for what? Which steps can be automated? Where can you reuse available content? How can you shorten the review process? Be creative when defining your requirements; the software vendor will tell you if they are feasible or suggest an alternative.

A typical example: for historical reasons, the print catalogue is, in many companies, the main driver of data maintenance. Usually, it’s the purchasing department that enters a new article into the ERP system. At this point, it is already known that no picture of the article is available – and there is no one in charge of commissioning the photo studio. The catalogue production starts. It’s the usual procedure: page design, text editing, translations, layout, CAD graphics… Suddenly, just before going to print, the graphic designer notices that one of the pictures has only layout quality and urgently needs to be replaced. The colleague in online marketing is already a step ahead: the article is already available on the online shop including pictures and a specific description text. For the sake of simplicity, data is maintained in the CMS directly, but the colleagues of product marketing are not aware of this fact and write their own text. Does this sound familiar?

Now suppose that your PIM system starts the photo shoot process automatically when creating the article by informing the employee in charge. There is a centrally located description text (which, of course, may be media-specific), a central status overview for all related media assets and data and all parties rely exclusively on a central data source. Thus, only a single review will be necessary because all parties work on the same document online. Shorter time to market, significant cost reduction and less effort for all parties involved – all this can be achieved through good preparation and the selection of a suitable system.

Once you have defined the processes as you would expect them to be, it’s time to specify your set of requirements: Which data should be managed in PIM? What is the best data model? Which fields do you need in PIM? Do you need a central state concept for your content?

Try to be as specific as possible when defining your requirements and prioritize them. Take into account both functional and non-functional requirements for your new PIM system. If the technology platform doesn’t fit into your current IT environment, this may well be an exclusion criterion.

You should also include in your requirement specification features that you don’t want. For example, you may want to rule out systems that are fairly new and may still have some “teething problems”. On the other hand, those systems will probably be based on the latest technology and at this relatively early stage of development might offer the opportunity to adapt the system to your needs.

At this stage you should also identify and involve all stakeholders. Also, it might help to include some experienced consultants in the core team. Or are you sure that you know all the features of a PIM system? Every potential for automation? Every single aspect of process control? Every way of integrating third-party systems? Through their experience and their different, unbiased perspective, external consultants are able to help you optimize your processes and workflows and thus improve efficiency.

From a long to a short list

There are more than 50 PIM solutions available in the European market. An overview of the different providers can be found on www.pim-auswahl.de/en.

At this stage you will be able to create, out of a multitude of potential software vendors and solutions, a so-called longlist, i.e. a list of about 10-15 systems that are likely to match your high level requirements. External consultants will considerably shorten the selection process: with their long-standing experience in different PIM systems, they will be able to assess which systems measure up to your requirements and decision criteria or set up a list of suitable PIM vendors.

A detailed vendor briefing through a questionnaire that accurately describes your needs, will help you determine which systems should be evaluated in detail. There will probably be no supplier that is 100% compliant with all your mandatory requirements. Rather, the question will be which providers meet most of the requirements. Which requirements can be fulfilled by simply changing the configuration, which ones can only be satisfied with complex customizations and which ones cannot be met at all? Narrow down your vendor list to a maximum of two to three on your shortlist and invite them to give you a comprehensive presentation of their system. By the way: don’t let high license costs be a deterrent, at least not initially; there is always room for negotiation.

If, after the software vendor presentation, you’re still unsure about the PIM system to chose, a proof of concept may help. Let the vendor demonstrate, based on a typical example with specific data, whether their PIM system measures up to your requirements.

You still can’t decide which PIM system is best? The proven processes, tools and methodologies of our experienced team of consultants will ensure a fast and transparent evaluation process.

Watch out for our next article in this series on how to implement PIM software.
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