PIM KNOWLEDGE
Clear priorities in three steps
If a new system proves to be the right approach, the next step is PIM selection. For an initial self-assessment, use the PIM checklist.
To begin, you identify which of three typical starting points best describes your company. This helps us put your answers into context and focus the assessment on what you really need.
Today, your actions are mainly driven by external demands: customers or competitors determine what you need to do. You want to change that and develop your own strategy.
Your outcome: the big picture. What systems are available, what benefits do they offer, which do you actually need, and where should you start?
You know you need software to improve your processes and have already done some research. But instead of providing clarity, that research has raised more questions.
Your outcome: a clear view of the omnichannel systems landscape, including PIM, DAM, e-commerce and database publishing, and which options align with your goals.
You know your channels and system requirements. But the sheer number of vendors and the difficulty of comparing systems are holding up your decision.
Your outcome: a clear weighting of the system features and capabilities that matter to you, providing a basis for selection.
Self-assessment, personas and use cases: Where are you today, and where do you want to be?
Print, website, online catalogue, e-commerce, mobile, social and new channels: Which data comes from which systems?
Quick wins, priorities and a recommendation: data quality, processes or a new system.
How well does your product data support all your channels?
Request your Omnichannel Health Check. We will contact you personally to agree on which modules are relevant to you.
The Health Check follows a structured process. You only complete the modules that are relevant to your channels today or in the future.
Self-assessment: You identify which of the three starting points best describes your situation. Questionnaire: For each module, you describe your current state and your goal: what you do today and where you want to be. Discussion: We explore personas and use cases in more depth in a one-to-one interview. Assessment: We assess your channels from an external perspective using consistent criteria and interpret your answers in the context of your goals. Results: You receive quick wins for short-term improvements and a recommendation for your next steps.
That is perfectly normal. Simply leave any unanswered questions blank, and we will discuss them with you. Some questions may seem probing, but they represent the minimum information we need to make well-founded recommendations. We treat all information confidentially and do not share it with third parties. We are happy to sign your non-disclosure agreement.
The modules follow the logic of product communication: first, who uses your product data, then the channels where it appears, and finally the design, processes and systems behind it.
| Module | What it covers | Sample question |
|---|---|---|
| 1. External personas & use cases | Customers, partners and prospects, and what they want to achieve with your product information | Who is looking for what information, in which channel, and for what purpose? |
| 2. Internal personas & use cases | Product management, marketing, sales, editorial, translation and graphic design | What information does the sales team need to support customers? |
| 3. Print | Catalogues, price lists and data sheets: volumes, production process and data sources | How many rounds of corrections does a publication require? |
| 4. Online | Corporate website, online catalogue and e-commerce: current state and goals for each | Can customers find all the information they need to place an order without having to ask? |
| 5. Mobile | Product information on smartphones and tablets | Are key features such as search or downloads missing on mobile devices? |
| 6. Social | Social media activities, effort and feedback | Does feedback from social media feed into your product communication? |
| 7. Omnichannel | Marketplaces, data delivery to retailers, point of sale, video platforms and sales support | Which channels do you want to serve in the future? |
| 8. Corporate design & wording | Consistent design, terminology and information across all media | Is the same product described consistently everywhere? |
| 9. Processes, systems and interfaces | Roles, workflows, system landscape, information classes and data volumes | Which information comes from which system of record? |
The starting point is not the system, but the question of who uses your product data. A persona is a typical user with specific characteristics and usage patterns. It represents a real group: externally, this might be buyers, retailers or planners; internally, sales, product management or technical documentation teams. A use case describes what a persona wants to achieve in a particular channel and what the outcome should be.
| Persona | Use case | Expected outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer at a mechanical engineering company | knows the item number but not the current price, and checks the online catalogue | has all the information needed to place an order |
| Buyer at a mechanical engineering company | knows only the approximate product name and searches the online catalogue | finds the right product using search and filters |
| Sales representative (internal) | wants to reorder products for a customer | can see pricing, availability and alternatives at a glance |
The use cases determine what information is needed, in how much detail and in which channel. This later forms the basis for the data model in the PIM system. We weight each persona according to its importance to your business on a scale of 1 to 5, so that our recommendations focus on where they can make the greatest impact.
For each channel, we ask about your current situation and your goals. We also assess the channel from an external perspective using consistent criteria.
The printed catalogue is often the original product communication channel and continues to play a central role in B2B. We document the scale of your publishing activities (publications per year, page count, languages, publication cycle, production time) and the production process: in-house or with a service provider, the number of revision rounds and the most frequent corrections, such as prices, text or images.
We also examine which systems supply text, technical data, images, drawings and ordering information, how much employees' specialist knowledge goes into the publications and whether you use database publishing. Our assessment covers selection guides, system overviews, how clearly products are differentiated and links to online channels via QR codes and deep links.
What roles does your website fulfil: building your brand image, providing company information, offering an e-catalogue for lead generation, serving as a support portal or providing pre-sales and after-sales information? Do you use your website as a sales tool, and do user analytics inform your decisions?
We assess how effectively users are guided to their goals, navigation logic, search, the media centre, internal linking, the customer journey, SEO and accessibility.
Your online catalogue provides the clearest indication of how well your product data is structured. We review product pages, table structure and the depth of information, including whether data sheets, CAD files and videos are available for each product. We also look at how predecessor and successor products are handled, product finders and configurators, saved lists, download baskets and adherence to your terminology.
What drives your e-commerce activities: reducing the workload of your field sales team, selling around the clock, international expansion, customer expectations or building a dealer network? What share of revenue does e-commerce account for today, and what do you expect in future? Which languages do you sell in, and how are product information maintenance and image data management organised?
In B2B, key features depend directly on good product data: saved lists for purchasing teams, repeat orders, customer-specific pricing, configurable products, product comparisons and data sheet downloads. On the technical side, we look at the e-commerce platform, interfaces to ERP, warehouse systems, DAM and PIM, and whether you host it in your own data centre or in the cloud. Find out more on the PIM for e-commerce page.
How well does your product communication work on smartphones and tablets? We check whether content and features are appropriately adapted or whether essential features such as search, filters or downloads are missing, and assess navigation, the customer journey and usability.
Which networks, blogs and forums do you use, how much staff time and effort do they require, and does feedback inform your decisions? We assess brand image management, social media marketing and integration with your other channels.
Which channels have you already explored, and which would you like to serve in future? These include marketplaces, e-catalogues and data distribution to dealers, point of sale, digital out-of-home advertising, video platforms and sales support. We also look at whether you have in-house IT expertise or work with service providers.
Today, two additional channels make structured product data essential: AI assistants and AI search, which can only recommend products if the data is machine-readable (see MCP and Agentic Commerce), and the EU's Digital Product Passport.
Few things confuse customers more than a product presented with different descriptions, technical data or images across different media. We check the consistency of information, terminology, the navigation concept and the links between print, online, mobile and social media.
Want to assess your needs first?
Use the PIM checklist to find out in three minutes whether a PIM system is worthwhile for your business and which systems could be a good fit. We will email you an initial shortlist.
Every channel is assessed across the same analysis areas. This makes strengths and gaps comparable across channels and shows you where your product data is holding you back the most.
| Analysis area | Example criteria |
|---|---|
| Design | First impression, layout, brand image, enjoyment of use |
| Use case | Transparency, added value, completeness of product information, cross-selling and upselling |
| Information presentation | Structure, clarity, product pages, table structure, depth of information, predecessor and successor products |
| User guidance | Navigation, search, product finder, saved lists, download basket, document finder, customer journey, cross-media integration |
| Content | Text structure, product images, alignment of images and text, terminology |
| Technology | Website functionality, browser support, SEO, software functionality |
| Usability | Self-descriptiveness, controllability, conformity with user expectations, error tolerance, help function, accessibility |
The usability criteria are based on the dialogue principles set out in DIN EN ISO 9241-110.
How does your online catalogue handle products that are no longer available? Is a successor product suggested, how does it appear in search results, and are the differences from the previous model explained? A customer searching with an old item number should not reach a dead end.
Are there data sheets, CAD files, instructions or videos for the product that offer more than the product page itself? And can users find these resources without having to go through the product page, for example via a document finder or a download basket that bundles everything into a ZIP file?
To assess the effort involved and your system requirements, we need a rough idea of the scale. Estimates are sufficient.
| Information | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number of products, items and variants | determines the data volume and, for many PIM systems, the licensing model |
| Product groups and attributes per product | indicates how complex the data model will be |
| Own or third-party products, systems and accessories, configurable products | affects relationships, supplier data and configurators |
| Images, videos, PDFs and CAD data | indicates whether a DAM system is also needed |
| Markets and languages | determines translation processes and localisation |
| Departments and employees involved | product management, marketing, purchasing, production, IT, sales and trade partners |
| Person-days per month spent on data maintenance and publishing | basis for the business case, see PIM costs |
Roles: Technical documentation creates text and product tables and plans publications. The graphics team creates drawings and images. Product management maintains item data in the ERP and approves content.
Processes: When an item is created in the ERP, its properties are often stored in a single block of text. For the catalogue, these then have to be manually split into tables and text. Technical drawings are created in CAD, edited and saved in the file system at several resolutions.
Information categories: Product images, with two to three images per product in the file system, ten to twenty technical characteristics in the ERP, and short, medium and long product descriptions that often exist only in the print catalogue. These are precisely the gaps the Health Check identifies.
Many weaknesses recur across companies. Some can be resolved quickly, while others are a clear indication that a PIM system is needed.
Better: one authoritative source for all channels, known as the Golden Record.
Better: maintain characteristics as structured attributes, for example using ETIM or ECLASS. Only then can filters, comparisons and data transfers to retailers work properly.
Better: link to replacement products and explain how they differ from their predecessors.
Better: offer downloads directly on the product page and provide a central document finder as well.
Better: use QR codes or deep links in the catalogue that lead directly to the relevant product page.
Better: use database publishing to pull prices, text and images from a central source rather than correcting them in the layout.
Better: gradually document this knowledge in the system as attributes, text and relationships so that all channels benefit.
Quick wins in data quality, structure and processes can often make a significant difference. In that case, implement these first.
If a PIM system makes sense, the next step is PIM selection. The PIM criteria checklist helps you compare systems.
Once the system has been selected, the focus shifts to the data model, roles and migration. Find out more under PIM implementation.
The Health Check is free, with no obligation. You are not committing to anything.
For manufacturers and retailers that present their products across multiple channels, such as catalogues, websites, online shops and marketplaces, and want to understand where their product data is holding them back. It is particularly popular with medium-sized B2B companies.
No. The Health Check is vendor-neutral and helps establish whether and where a PIM system would benefit you. Quick improvements are often possible without a new system.
The questionnaire is modular. You only complete the modules for channels you currently use or plan to use. Leave any questions you cannot answer blank. We will clarify them in our discussion.
Yes. We treat all answers as confidential and do not share them with third parties. We are happy to sign your non-disclosure agreement.
The PIM checklist is a three-minute self-assessment that provides an initial shortlist of suitable systems. The Health Check goes deeper: it examines all channels, processes and systems and concludes with a personalised assessment, quick wins and a recommendation.
PIM KNOWLEDGE
Find out in 3 minutes whether a PIM system could benefit your business and which PIM systems could be right for you!
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