Product Information Management or PIM has now become an indispensable part of B2C and B2B commerce.
If you are handling a huge amount of products that require continuous enrichment, you can easily use PIM software and synchronize with the print catalog, e-commerce channels, POS and marketplaces for the updated information.
Source: Akeneo
As per a survey by Forrester, 64% of the US population prefer online shopping only because the information is more productive. A report by Informatica reveals that 65% of the companies have started using PIM software for their eCommerce.
If you have your website in Magento 2 and selling through various channels and feels like product data management has become a tedious job, it’s time to invest in a product information management solution.
The eCommerce businesses who are running on Magento requires a more robust and sophisticated solution which can be add-ons or third-party extensions.
The product management capability of Magento becomes inefficient when it comes to handling a million product on the store. It becomes difficult to manage product data, vendors associated with that and then selling on multiple channels.
Choosing PIM solution for Magento 2
When it comes to selecting the PIM solution for your store running on Magento 2, you need to consider the following factors:
Family and Attributes to lead people right to your product
Just imagine a situation in which you are looking for a sports show online. The situation seems simple but when you began to search online you are bombarded with many features like material, sizes, cleats, cushioning, fastening and much more.
Source: Myntra
If you are on a website that provides and filtering and classification based on these features, you can easily click and navigate them but with those who offer some basic information, it becomes hectic to search for the right product.
Family and attributes form a key component of product categorization and description. They not only help in differentiating the product but also helps in product SEO.
Attributes are the features of the product which are grouped under the family. It becomes easier to put the product under a family having similar attributes.
Having a PIM solution providing family and attributes for the product helps in better information management, categorizing according to the family and exporting only the family of products as required.
Complex Product Information Management
The products in your store not only consist of just text description and images. In addition, the product has different variants like size and colour, metric types, numeric, currency, multi-select option and much more.
These attributes provide the product more information which is suitable for users.
A better PIM solution should provide as much information as possible for the product. Magento itself has many attributes for the product along with custom fields.
The product owners should be allowed to map as many attributes with the product as there are on Magento along with custom information which adds more value to the product.
Robust API with GraphQL Integration
Robust API for PIM software allows sharing of data with recipients & other systems with advanced access & permission settings at multiple levels to control access at a granular level. Developers find it easier to implement new features and integrate with the software.
The APIs helps in the easy scaling of PIM solution by allowing to develop connectors and plugins with the software and getting developers data in preferred standards and format. They also help to address new channels, platforms, standards and protocols.
The APIs when paired with application query language like GraphQL, provides more simplicity and backend stability to the data. GraphQL originates from the definition “Describe your data, ask for what you want, get predictable results.”
A simple descriptor like this:
type Project {
name: String
tagline: String
contributors: [User]
}
When paired with GraphQL:
{
project(name: "GraphQL") {
tagline
}
}
Returns a clean, easy, and simple result:
{
"project": {
"tagline": "A query language for APIs"
}
}
GraphQL API can be organized into a simple and understandable graph schema which helps in better organizing and understanding your data, the flow of that data, the inefficiencies and errors in that system.
Source: Crystallize
PIM solution having the robust API with GraphQL integration can be fruitful for the developers when you have to fetch particular attribute from a list of million product attributes.
Open Source and Free
An open-source PIM software is free to use, distribute, and modify. It is more secure as the bugs can be fixed by anyone and the users do not have to wait for the next release.
They follow open-source standards thus, it does not have the problem of incompatible formats that exist in proprietary software.
Source: Akeneo
You can configure the PIM software according to the requirements of your product catalog, on any platform and add unlimited API connectors.
Users are allowed access to the source code with a free license and can make any changes, additions, connections and customizations they want.
PIM Solutions to Choose for Magento 2
There are many options available for managing product information for your Magento store. Some of the commonly used PIM solutions are:
Akeneo PIM
Akeneo allows merchants to enrich and manage product information in one place and export to various channels. Merchants can easily export and import data to and from Magento and manage them on Akeneo.
Akeneo is a free and open-source platform but also has an enterprise edition.
Oracle
Oracle Product Information Management (PIM) can help you to consolidate and maintain unique, complete and accurate product information across your company, suppliers, and customers.
The PIM solution is scalable helps ensure compliance with industry standards.
Source: Oracle
Salsify
The cloud-based PIM platform of Salsify syndicates products at one place. It combines the functionality of product information management (PIM) and digital asset management (DAM) capabilities to deliver greater product experiences to the consumers.
The platforms offer integration with Magento to Shopify.
Source: Salsify
Pimcore
Pimcore is an open-source product information management tool that centralizes your product information and harmonizes them.
It offers integration with various eCommerce and marketplaces like Magento, eBay and Amazon.
Source: Pimcore
inRiver
inRiver PIM software helps in managing and distributing product information from a central place to various sales channels. The information remains consistent irrespective of the information either in printed format or on eCommerce.
Source: inRiver
Let us know in comments which PIM software you are using to manage products on your Magento store.
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