What Is an Example of a PIM?

by Audrey Hollingshead | Last Updated: Mar 15, 2023

Product information management (PIM) is essential to any business. Keeping data in one place makes it easy to edit and share. But a good PIM solution offers more than that. Below we’ll go over the details of a PIM and give examples that could grow your business.

What Is Product Information?

Product information is all the details associated with a product, whether it is a pen, car, or clothing item. Look at cars. Cars have information like mileage, specs, features, and the colors it comes in.

What Is a PIM System?

A car manufacturer might assume that a Product Information Management (PIM) system is how they handle that information. While that is partly true, a PIM system does more than just manage information. It also makes that info easily accessible on any page or place that product is listed. The best PIM systems and solutions keep product details in one central place. Keeping in one place makes it easy to update any product information. Let’s go back to that car example. Suppose you have a line of sports cars called the Cheetah. Instead of putting all car’s specs into spreadsheets, you put all the information into a PIM system. This system would allow you to edit the car’s specs for each new model AND post the information the second it’s ready. It works the same way for updating information too. Let’s say you’re getting ready to introduce the 2024 model of the Cheetah. Instead of having to add a whole new model year to the PIM system, you can just update the information you already have. Anyone who accessed that information before will now be able to get the latest info with accurate and up-to-date specs.

PIM Software Examples

The beauty of PIM is that it’s not just for car manufacturers. There are many other use cases for a PIM and there are numerous PIM software examples available to choose from for your business. Benefits of a PIM Solution for Buying AC Units: Have you ever needed to buy a new heating/cooling unit for your home? Hearing that you need a whole new unit is not the best. Sure, the tech could easily scribble down the make and model of what you need. But how do you, as a homeowner who wants to make wise decisions about your home, know if it’s the best one? What if instead of looking at scribbles and notes, you saw an online brochure with pictures and product details? You could see all the available options and decide for yourself which unit will work best for you. Benefits for Selling AC Units: This also works the other way too. Suppose you sell HVAC units. You want to give home and property owners accurate information about them. Paper information might seem handy at the time, but unless you give out updated brochures the information customers have will be outdated at some point. Imagine a company tech giving your customers product details about a unit that costs $5,000. They take the brochure and say, “Can we think about it?” The tech smiles and says, “Sure. Call when you’re ready.” The customer thinks about their options. As they’re pondering you realize there’s a shortage of parts. You can still get the equipment for your tech to install the unit but now it’s $1,000 more. Unless someone calls your customer they won’t know about the price jump until they call you. Nothing sours a customer more than realizing it’s more expensive than originally thought. Here’s where a PIM system saves the day. A PIM system would automatically update all pricing data so customers won’t get sticker shock when they call. They’ll have time to absorb the new information and realize the price jump understandable. Manuals: If you’ve been buying Apple products for a while you may have noticed their included product manuals are becoming small and smaller. Your latest iPhone might not have even included one. There are a few reasons for this.

People are pretty familiar with how to use them.
Why spend money on a paper manual when all that information can be put online?

iPhones are updating constantly. It makes sense that their manuals would be online. If you’re creating a device that gets updates, having an online manual is an economical way to give device users the most current tips and tricks. A PIM system can help you with that. You’ll be able to create the manual and then add new info as new device features become available.

Why Do I Need a PIM?

You need a PIM so you can easily update product details and keep those details in one place. You don’t want to leave customers with outdated data. You also don’t want to keep hunting through spreadsheets to find the specs people want. A PIM can help you with all of that.

How Do I Choose a PIM?

Choosing the right PIM is important. You want it to be:

Within your budget
Easy to use
Able to post updated information on the fly.

A good PIM to consider is one that doesn’t need code to create it. You want it to be simple to make and just as simple to update. Who has the time to code the PIM AND write the content for it? What if there’s a code error? Would you have the time to figure out what went wrong? The best PIM solutions don't need any code. What you see when you’re creating the PIM is exactly how it will look when live. You should be able to preview how it will look on smartphones, computers, and tablets. Edits and corrections should also be easy to make too. You don’t want to be hunting and pecking around. You want to click on the content that needs a tweak, and tweak away.

See Why Lumavate Is One of the Best PIM Solutions

Lumavate’s PIM system requires no coding experience because there’s no coding involved. Designing a PIM with Lumavate is as simple as popping in the components you want and adding text and pictures as you go. Click here to see how Lumavate can elevate your business.