The Essential Guide to Product Information Management in 2023

This research report assists business leaders in identifying the best PIM software for centralized, omnichannel product content sharing in 2023 and beyond.

Product information is the digital "product packaging" empowering brands to convey differentiated value in hypercompetitive markets.

However, most organizations struggle with:

  • Inconsistent, inaccurate product data locked in information silos

  • High costs associated with managing and sharing exponentially increasing amounts of product content

  • Difficulty reacting quickly to market changes and launching new products/campaigns

The stakes are high. As per a recent product experience study by Altimeter:

  • 76% of customers may switch brands due to poor product information

  • 60% are willing to pay more for a better product discovery experience

This underscores why 97% of B2C companies rate product content management extremely important – it directly impacts revenue and customer retention.

The solution? Product information management (PIM) software.

What is PIM Software and Why it‘s Valuable

Product information management (PIM) software centralizes all product data from disparate sources into "a single source of truth" making information easier to enrich, manage, integrate and share across channels.

Types of information typically tracked in PIM systems include:

✔️ Marketing copy, specs, attribution

✔️ Digital assets like images, videos, 3D models

✔️ Companion products, accessories, spare parts

✔️ Catalog data such as pricing, dimensions, UPCs

✔️ Multilingual metadata and localizations

Benefits of consolidating this information in PIM software:

🔼 Consistent product messaging across channels

🔼 Higher quality product data

🔼 Improved content production efficiency

🔼 Seamless publishing to new sales and marketing channels

🔼 Enhanced omnichannel customer experience

🔼 Faster new product launches

Leading industry analyst firms like Gartner have emphasized investing in PIM competencies as a top priority for CMOs this decade.

Gartner on Importance of PIM

Recent data highlights why PIM matters (Image Source: Gartner)

Backed by such strong validation, global PIM software spend is surging over 17% annually crossing $17 billion by 2025, per MarketsandMarkets.

Clearly, PIM adoption is accelerating as brands seek to unlock the ROI of product information sharing.

But first, how is PIM different from PDM?

Distinguishing PIM and PDM Solutions

While PIM and PDM sound similar, they serve different users and use cases:

PIM PDM
Users: Marketing, Sales, E-Commerce teams Users: Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Design teams
Manages: Product descriptions, images for commercialization Manages: Technical data (CAD, BOMs) for design and development
Enables: Multi-channel distribution Enables: Internal collaboration and version control

For example, leading athletic footwear manufacturer uses:

  • PIM system to centralize product images, descriptions and other marketing assets for consistent global website and catalog

  • PDM system to manage shoe CAD designs, material specs and factory tooling details enabling developers to rapidly iterate

While complementary, PIM and PDM solve intrinsically distinct business challenges.

Now let us explore top PIM software enabling brands to unlock substantial productivity and revenue gains through centralized omnichannel product content sharing.

Top 20 PIM Software to Power Product Content Management

Selecting PIM software has big business implications when deployed effectively across global enterprises.

Must-have criteria used to evaluate options for this review:

✅ Cloud-native SaaS providing higher accessibility

✅ Modern UX for business user self-service without extensive IT help

✅ Central data repository for "single source of truth"

✅ Integration capabilities with existing martech stack

Additionally, emphasis was placed on advanced functionality like:

➕ Built-in DAM for multimedia assets

➕ Workflow automation for distributed teams

➕ Content quality management

➕AI-based data enrichment

Here are the top 20 preferred PIM platforms based on above dimensions:

Best PIM Software 2023

Leading PIM Solution Providers Enabling Superior Product Content Management

1. Akeneo PIM

Akeneo PIM pioneered the concept of Enterprise PIM as the open source leader in the space. Part of their broader "Product Experience Platform", Akeneo PIM offers robust out-of-the-box catalog management capabilities.

Key capabilities:

  • Open source PIM minimizing vendor lock-in risks
  • Advanced quality assurance and enrichment
  • Centralized view of product information
  • Connectors for 150+ sales and marketing channels
  • Proven scalability to manage catalog sizes exceeding 100 million SKUs
  • Trusted by leading brands like Toyota, Dyson, Staples

Industry Validation: Akeneo PIM has scored the highest (4.7/5) among PIM software on TrustRadius based on 30+ verified user reviews.

2. Plytix

Plytix positions itself as a intelligent PIM+DAM solution for centralizing, enriching and distributing product content across channels.

Standout features:

⬆️ All-in-one PIM+DAM+MAM eliminating need for multiple platforms

⬆️ Visual workflow builder

⬆️ SEO-friendly content creator

⬆️ Storefront add-ons for leading ecommerce platforms

⬆️ Google data studio integration for custom reporting

Leading fashion brands like RED Valentino, LARSSON & JENNINGS use Plytix across their omnichannel sales footprint.

3. Syndigo

Syndigo is a SaaS product content platform providing end-to-end solutions for content creation, management and distribution.

Differentiators:

⬆️ Cloud-native and highly scalable by design to support enterprise implementations

⬆️ Advanced data quality features covering 30+ validation checks

⬆️ Offers detailed analytics into content performance

Leading CPG brands like ULTA Beauty, Office Depot, Yamaha etc. leverage Syndigo solutions managing 500k+ product items and 1 million+ digital assets.

4. Agility Multichannel

Agility Multichannel by InsightSoftware provides robust, pre-configured PIM designed specifically for distributors and wholesalers.

Key capabilities:

⬆️ Packaged integration for major ERPs like SAP, Oracle, Infor minimizing IT effort

⬆️ Advanced workflows for content production and review

⬆️ Multichannel SEO-friendly web output

Agility PIM streamlines omnichannel catalog management for leading manufacturers and distributors like Parker Hannifin Corporation, Thermadyne.

5. Pimcore

Pimcore is an open-source platform providing PIM, MDM, DAM, CMS and ecommerce capabilities through a single integrated system.

Notable strengths:

⬆️ 100% open-source and free offering with granular customization leveraging source code availability

⬆️ Integrates advanced artificial intelligence for personalized omnichannel experiences

⬆️ GraphQL support for headless integration with modern commerce environments

Global enterprise brands like The Guardian, Takeaway.com have leveraged Pimcore‘s flexibility.

6. Salsify

Salsify provides product experience management solutions with key focus on empowering brands to optimize and scale product content distribution across digital shelf.

Areas where Salsify excels:

⬆ Supports Adobe Creative Cloud extension for streamlined asset creation workflows

⬆ Provides one of the most extensive library of 250+ content channel connectors – highest in industry

⬆ Content and message testing toolkit enabling experimentation at scale to lift conversion

Key customers are L’Oreal, Mars, Rawlings managing 100,000s of product and digital assets.

7. Riversand

Riversand offers cloud-native SaaS solutions focused on maximizing the value of product information across its lifecycle.

Compelling reasons to standardize on Riversand:

⬆️ Integrates PIM, MDM (for customer + supplier data) and DAM into a single connected solution

⬆️ Leverages advanced AI/ML algorithms to constantly enrich data quality

⬆️ Available across all major cloud platforms – AWS, Azure, GCP

Riversand provides enterprise-grade Product MDM capabilities leveraging partnership with Microsoft Azure and Accenture.

8. inRiver PIM

inRiver excels at empowering product-led B2C organizations maximize customer experiences by transforming how commerce content is managed across channels.

Where inRiver stands out:

⬆️ Specializes in services helping brands identify and build the business case for PIM

⬆️ Cloud native andheadless SaaS allowing integration with any digital shelf

⬆️ Supports complex bundles, kits packed with upsell recommendations

Global leaders like IKEA, DHL, Triumph trust in inRiver to optimize 1 billion touchpoints.

9. Talkoot

Talkoot offers an AI-powered content automation platform allowing teams to scale product launch and marketing operations.

Talkoot differentiators:

⬆️ Automates 80% of product information management lifting and shifting focus to strategy

⬆️ Tight integration with leading ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento

⬆️ Personlized product recommendations engine boosting discovery

Top D2C brands like FIGS, Naadam Clothing use Talkoot to launch products 5x faster and lift conversion rate 4x on average.

10. 1WorldSync

1WorldSync focuses on providing product content solutions tailored to the unique needs of CPG companies managing a deluge of perishable grocery products.

Reasons 1WorldSync leads among CPG PIM vendors:

⬆️ Manages 500 million product items across 14,000 global brands

⬆️ Ensures 100% trading partner onboarding and data compliance

⬆️ Specialized solutions for supply chain automation, store level execution

Food giants like Nestle, P&G have partnered with 1WorldSync for 25+ years due to their unmatched industry expertise.

(List continues with next 10 providers along with details…)

There are clearly no shortage of options when evaluating PIM software for your business in 2023.

Let us explore key factors to consider during selection.

6 Steps to Choose the Best PIM Software

Making the right PIM investment aligning to your revenue goals involves careful analysis across dimensions.

How to Choose Best PIM software

Key considerations while investing in PIM software

Follow these steps for making an informed decision:

1. Set objectives

Be clear about what business challenges you are looking to address through PIM. Is it launching products faster? Delivering consistent localized experiences? Higher channel productivity? Define success measures too.

2. Map requirements

Capture must-have and nice-to-have capabilities needed to achieve the goals defined above based on how you manage product information today and gaps thereof.

3. Evaluate options

Use above criteria to shortlist 2-3 preferred solutions. Dive into details through demos, free trials of these finalists.

4. Perform cost analysis

Factor benefits against TCO covering license costs, implementation needs, internal change management investments required.

5. Drive consensus

Align the final recommendation across business and technology teams on long term vision, taxonomy strategy, rollout roadmap etc. Address concerns through guided conversations.

6. Course correct

Measure PIM performance across key ROI metrics monthly post launch. Fine tune strategy through user feedback and emerging needs.

While making the software choice is an important first step, deriving maximum value requires an adaptive approach based on continuous feedback from stakeholders and markets.

Final Takeaways on Reimagining Product Content Velocity and Impact with PIM

Product information management is entering a high growth and maturity phase offering brands a competitive edge by unlocking the ROI of product content sharing.

Key summary takeaways:

💡 Centralized PIM eliminates silos providing "single source of truth" for omnichannel readiness

💡 Look beyond basic PIM – Seek smart solutions with workflow automation, AI-based enrichment etc. to amplify productivity

💡 Assess specialized solutions for your vertical (B2B/CPG/Manufacturing) to maximize relevance

💡 View PIM success in terms of usage and regularly refine deployment through quantitative feedback

For product-led organizations, the opportunity of riding the PIM wave to deliver engaging, personalized customer experiences by harnessing the value of centralized data has never been greater.

This independent research provides an unbiased expert perspective helping digital commerce professionals evaluate options for managing exponentially increasing amounts of product information critically differentiating their business in hypercompetitive global markets.