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Product Data and PIM

Manage once, publish everywhere

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author
Pim Poldervaart
COO

Three situations we encounter daily at online stores with a large number of products.

Why your product data is eating up your time

  • You maintain your data in four different places

    The same specification appears in your online store, your marketplace feed, an Excel file, and the brochure. Whenever a change is made, one of these is always out of sync—and that’s exactly where your customer looks.

  • Every new channel takes weeks to set up all over again

    A new channel requires its own fields, categories, and formats, so the manual work starts all over again. As a result, expansion remains a project rather than a simple task.

  • You don’t know which data is correct

    No one knows which version is correct, so nothing gets discarded, and the clutter grows along with your product range. Without an agreement on the source, this will remain the case, even with new software.

What a PIM system delivers

A PIM system is a single location where all your product information is stored: specifications, descriptions, images, categories, and variants. From that single source, you populate your online store, marketplaces, and social media channels—each in the format that channel requires. So you manage the information once and publish it everywhere.

The benefit isn’t in the software itself, but in the underlying agreement: one source per piece of data. Prices from your accounting system, specifications from your PIM, inventory from your point-of-sale system or ERP. If that’s established, changes propagate automatically and manual work disappears. If it isn’t established, you end up with an expensive system filled with the same clutter.

You’ll be working with Lukas Roeling, Head of Performance at Redkiwi, along with Sander and Tim Sol. We work on a per-product-group basis rather than through a single large-scale migration, so you’ll see results quickly. Since 2004, we’ve been working with online stores that carry extensive product ranges, and those 22 years of customer insight are the driving force behind the solutions we propose.

  • 22+ year experience
  • 9,3 Customer care
  • 55+ Kiwi specialists

What does a PIM system include?

Four layers. The data model: which fields you define per product group and which ones your customer needs to make a selection. The data source agreement: one system per data point that contains the definitive truth, so nothing overwrites anything else. Enrichment: filling in specifications, text, and images where they’re missing. And distribution: links to your online store, your marketplaces, and your feeds, each in its own format.

From spreadsheets to a single source

A PIM project rarely gets stuck on the software; it almost always gets stuck on missing data. That’s why we start with the data model and the product groups that generate the most revenue, rather than migrating your entire product range all at once. For each group, you’ll see how it affects your search visibility and returns before moving on to the next one. At the start, we also agree on who will fill in which fields, because that’s the step where most projects stall.

Three services that help your product data deliver results.

What a PIM system relies on

A PIM is only useful if the data actually flows out of it. Your channels, your integrations, and the rest of your landscape determine how much value you get from that central source.

From baseline assessment to the next product group in five steps.

This is how we approach a PIM project

  • 1. Baseline assessment of your data

    We assess the current state of your product information, identify which fields are missing, and determine which product groups generate the most revenue.

  • 2. Data model and sources

    For each product group, we define which fields belong to it, and for each piece of data, we identify the source system. This saves the most work down the line.

  • 3. System Selection

    We evaluate Akeneo and InRiver based on your number of products, languages, and administrators, and document our analysis before you make a decision.

  • 4. Setup and Data Entry

    We’ll add the first product groups, filling in any missing information, with clear agreements on who fills out which fields.

  • 5. Integration and expansion

    Link it to your channels, measure the impact on discoverability and returns, and then move on to the next product group.

Three projects where product data was the starting point.

Brands with a large number of items

  • Accell group

    A fully streamlined customer journey

  • Boland

    Millions in revenue for the largest B2B supplier of party clothing

View all our case studies View all our case studies

Independent advice, no bias.

How we manage product data

All product information in one place, with dedicated output for each channel

Streamline product information together and boost conversion

InRiver

Boost e-commerce with intelligent feed and campaign automation
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Let's discuss your growth opportunity

In one hour, we’ll review the status of your product data, identify which fields are missing, and determine whether a PIM would be beneficial for your business. Sometimes the answer is that you can keep working on it for a while longer. It takes just one hour and doesn’t commit you to anything.

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Agreement 

Meet our specialists

Sander van der Hoff
Digital Consultant
Lukas Roeling
Head of Performance Branding & Digital Strategist
Meet the whole team Meet the whole team

How much does a PIM system cost?

In addition to the license fee, you pay for the setup: your data model, the migration of your existing data, and the integrations with your channels. That setup is usually the biggest expense.

What you always get: a baseline analysis of your data before any software is added, a written data model and source agreement, a phased approach by product group rather than a one-time migration, and honest advice on whether you can continue using what you already have for a while longer.

Want to know if this is right for you? Schedule a meeting, and we’ll run the numbers together.

Schedule a meeting Go to the contact form

Frequently Asked Questions About a PIM System

01/ What is a PIM system?
A single place where all your product information is stored: specifications, descriptions, images, categories, and variants. From this single source, you can populate your online store, marketplaces, and social media channels—each in the format required by that channel. This means you manage the information once instead of four times.
02/ When do you need a PIM system?
As soon as you’re maintaining the same product information in more than two places, or as soon as your product range grows faster than you can manage it. If you have a few hundred items and just one sales channel, your online store is sufficient. But once you start dealing with product variants, multiple languages, or marketplaces, manual work will start costing you money.
03/ Which PIM system is right for us?
That depends on the number of products you have, how many variants and languages are involved, and who will be managing the system. We work with Akeneo and InRiver and lay out the pros and cons in writing before you make a decision. Sometimes the conclusion is that you can keep using what you have for a little while longer.
04/ How long does a PIM implementation take?
The setup and the first product groups are usually in place within a few months. What determines the timeline is not the software but the condition of your current data: how much is missing and who will fill in the gaps. That’s why we work on a per-product-group basis rather than performing a large-scale data migration all at once.
05/ How much does a PIM system cost?
In addition to the license, you’ll pay for the setup: your data model, the migration of your existing data, and the integrations with your channels. This setup is usually the largest expense. Every partnership is customized, so we won’t provide a quote until we know your product range.