Turbocharge Your PIM Project: A Guide to Streamlining Product Information Management with Industry Standards

Implementing a PIM solution requires your organisation to really think about product data. Like, for example, how to load data into your PIM system. Or how to easily maintain and complete the product information. Have you also thought about how your organisation will guarantee complete, consistent and correct product data? And when and how your products will be published on other applications, like an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and a WMS (Warehouse Management System), or on e-commerce websites or perhaps even your customers’ printed catalogues or brochures?

Simplify and Accelerate: Kick-Starting Your PIM Project with Industry Standards and Defined Identifiers 

Just like any other organisation implementing a PIM solution, you’re trying to find the most efficient way of managing your product information. Undoubtedly your organisation is unique in how it works. Your product information… probably a lot less. Of course, you’ll need to store information specific to your organisation’s business needs. Perhaps data to comply to regulator demands, or CO2 scoring you need to calculate.. But the majority of your product-related data is rather basic, like for instance descriptions, brand information, logistical information like dimensions etc. This kind of product information is used in many organisations. 

So instead of reinventing the wheel, you can kick-start your PIM project. And not only your PIM project, but also your product data exchange with your suppliers or customers. How? By using industry standards. Why invent your own language when there is already a common language available, most likely already being used by many organisations in your domain. 

Before you dive in, bear in mind that you can skip the parts where you need to think about how to translate data from one language to another. You can use internationally defined standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for a lot of value lists like countries, languages, currencies…  

In an ideal world, every piece of information is uniquely identifiable. Here as well your organisation can use defined standards. Think about GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) which uniquely identifies products worldwide based on a formatted number. And when looking further than products, there are also identifiers for suppliers for instance: DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) or GLN (Global Location Number) to name just two. 

Navigating Taxonomies: Simplifying Product Information Management with Standardized Classification Systems

When talking about product information and industry standards, you’ll soon land on classification systems, also known as taxonomies. There are plenty. Some a bit more generic, some very market or domain specific. Just to mention a few: 

• GS1’s GPC (Global Standards One – Global Product Classification): A standardised system that enables the categorisation and identification of products across global supply chains through a hierarchical structure of classes and subclasses.
• UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code): A global classification system that provides a standardised framework for categorising products and services, facilitating efficient procurement and supply chain management. 
• HS Commodity code (Harmonised System): An internationally recognised classification system for products, utilising a standardised nomenclature to facilitate the uniform categorisation and tariff treatment of traded goods worldwide.
• ETIM (Electro-Technical Information Model): A standardised classification system specifically designed for the electrical and electronic industries, providing a hierarchical structure to categorise and describe technical attributes of products to enhance interoperability and information exchange.
• eclass: A standardized classification system primarily used in the manufacturing and process industries, offering a multilingual and hierarchical structure to classify products and services, fostering consistency and efficiency in electronic data exchange across supply chains.

All these taxonomies allow different organisations using the same taxonomy to classify products in a common way. So, when receiving product data from manufacturers or suppliers in your PIM system, classified in the taxonomy you use, you already gain the advantage of not having to classify the product yourself. You may think that is not a big gain, but keep in mind that you’re probably not doing this for a couple of products, but for thousands. 

Some taxonomies, however, take it a bit further and define the attributes that belong to products in a specific class in the taxonomy. For example: for a television, you probably want to know things like the screen size, the technology used, the number of HDMI ports, the screen’s refresh rate etc. For a shoe, you’re probably more interested in the materials used, the fastening type, whether it is waterproof or not etc. By using an attributed taxonomy, you basically get a predefined data model. And you no longer need to define all the attributes yourself. There are a few additional major benefits to using an attributed standard taxonomy rather than creating your own bespoke taxonomy. You can:

1. Increase the quality of your product information: Your (data) suppliers that use the same taxonomy, are bound to the same data model. They can only provide data with the values or ranges that are allowed by the standard.
2. Save time on mapping data: You don’t need to translate your (data) supplier’s product information into your own data model. Nobody needs to do the tedious and cumbersome task of determining which column from a supplier’s Excel file needs to be stored in which attribute in your data model.
3. Improve your customer experience: When all your products in the same class have the same attributes, it also makes it a lot easier for your customers to compare them and select the right products.

That being said, we also acknowledge that every organisation is unique and most likely has some data unique to it like supply chain related data, regulatory compliance data etc. 

And this brings us to the good part about using the standard taxonomy. You can easily implement and use it but are not limited to it. All good PIM software solutions allow you to extend the data model and tailor it to your needs. 

Optimizing Data Communication: Leveraging Industry Standards and File Formats for Efficient Exchange

Great, so we now know that using an industry standard is the language we need to use. But how do we use it? How do we actually communicate? Since, as we all know, communication is key. In the exchange of data itself, there are also standards defined by standardisation organisations.

We already have our data well structured, but now we need to get it across to the other organisations. I’m not talking about technical protocols here, but file formats. One of the formats that we see with many of our clients is BMEcat (Business-to-Business Catalog). BMECat is a standardized XML-based format used for electronic catalogue exchange in e-commerce, enabling the uniform representation of product information, facilitating seamless communication between buyers and sellers. 

Or you can choose to use a data pool, a centralised repository or platform where businesses can securely and collaboratively manage and exchange standardised product data, ensuring consistency and accuracy across supply chain partners. GS1’s GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network) is one of the most famous ones. There are also more local or market specific data pools, like for instance 2BA or Open data check, both focused on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical and installation products or Tradeplace, focused on domestic appliances. 

Using industry standards for data exchange simplifies communication between different stakeholders, both within and outside the organisation. Effectively reducing costs compared to having to create different custom formats. 

The benefits of using industry standards are clear. There are some things to take into account though when considering implementing a standard in your organisation. You are not the owner of the standard, so you need to follow changes made to it by the organisations that manage it. When new versions are released, you’ll need to adapt your implementation as well. This is a process that needs some thought, but with the combination of a solid data governance programme where you define your policies around data management and a best-of-breed PIM solution, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey to streamline your PIM is not just about centralisation; it's about leveraging industry standards and strategic choices to propel your project into efficiency and success. From utilizing standardised taxonomies for effective classification to adopting identified standards like GTIN or DUNS, the road to optimised PIM is paved with practical solutions. By embracing standardised file formats like BMECat or joining data pools such as GS1's GDSN, you not only simplify communication but also cut costs and enhance customer experiences. Remember, the power of industry standards lies not only in their universal language but also in their ability to drive consistency, quality, and efficiency across your organisation's data landscape. So, turbocharge your PIM project, navigate taxonomies wisely, and optimise data communication – ushering in an era of seamless, cost-effective, and customer-centric product information management.