Definition of PIM systems
PIM stands for “Product Information Management” and is a term in e-commerce for the process of managing all the information required to market and sell products through different distribution channels. PIM systems manage customer-facing product data needed to support multiple geographic locations, multilingual data, and maintenance and modification of product information within a centralized catalog. A central hub of product data can be used to distribute information to sales channels such as e-commerce websites, print catalogs, marketplaces such as Amazon and Google Shopping, social media platforms like Instagram and electronic data feeds to trading partners” (Source: Wikipedia).
General information about iPIM
novomind iPIM is a PIM system for a centralized product data management. The system is modular. iPIM Portal is the central module and thus the entry point to the iPIM system. In this module, product data can be viewed and maintained. The user can also access the other modules from here. iPIM CC is the central administration interface. Users and user rights can be managed here. The same applies to attributes for mapping product properties, text and price types or so-called reports for checking product data quality. In iPIM Export, the user can create templates for exporting product data. iPIM DAM is the module for managing and maintaining digital media files such as product images or videos. iPIM Supply is the supplier portal for importing supplier product data. In iPIM Workflow, work processes for product data processing can be created and configured. iPIM Analytics provides graphical representations of product data quality. iPIM Buy is the portal through which B2B customers can obtain product data. And iPIM SSP allows suppliers to import item data into iPIM Supply catalogs.
Product structure levels
Product, variant and item are the three possible levels through which articles and services are represented in iPIM.
- Product: On the top level is the product. Each product is uniquely identified by the product number assigned by the system. Each product number exists only once. A product in iPIM is displayed on the red level.
- Variant: The second level is the variant. The variant level is optional. The variant can be used to represent different characteristics of a product such as color etc. Each variant is uniquely identified by the variant number assigned by the system. A variant in iPIM is represented by the green level.
- Item: On the third level is the item. Through the item level, additional characteristics of an article can be depicted. In the case of garments, this can be, for example, the different sizes of each color variant. Each item is uniquely identified by the item number assigned by the system. An item in iPIM is situated on the blue level.
Products and variants are merely virtual containers for grouping items. Data entities on the item level are the only ones which represent actual stock keeping units in the real world. Hence, in iPIM even simple articles are represented by at least a product and a subordinate item. A product cannot stand alone.
Product classification and categories
A PIM system collects product data in a structured way and helps to manage it centrally. Products and product types are sorted by categories and subcategories in iPIM. These are always a part of a classification. In iPIM there are three types of classifications: Primary, Secondary and Sales classifications.
- The primary classification is a key classification within which a product can only be assigned to one category. This is a mandatory setting. The primary classification defines the set of attributes that are automatically assigned to products in that category.
- The secondary classification is optional and can be used to arrange the existing product datasets in an alternative directory structure.
- Sales classifications are also optional: within a sales classification, a product can be assigned multiple times in the different categories. For example, they can be used to arrange product datasets according to the directory structure of a related sales channel (e.g. Amazon).
Example: Classification of product XYZ
- Primary: Clothing > Skirt > Midi Skirt > Product XYZ
- Secondary: Clothing > Classic > Skirt > Midi Skirt > Product XYZ
- Sales: Sale > Women > From 40 % > Product XYZ
The primary classification is the basic building block of product classification in iPIM. Each primary classification is assigned attributes that describe a product and are typical for the product type, e.g. size, color, type. The categories of a classification are organized in a tree structure, where child nodes can take attributes from parent nodes. Each product in iPIM must be assigned to a category. In this way, it inherits attributes defined for this category. The attributes can be assigned the product-specific values, e.g. a unit of measurement (cm) to the attribute “size” or a color value to the attribute “color”.
This data structure makes the retrieval, use and presentation of product information uniform and simple. It also ensures standardized data maintenance and enables verification of product data for quality control purposes.
Context
Contexts are the levels of data maintenance. Product data for a single product, such as attribute values, texts, prices and digital assets, are associated in iPIM with one or more contexts (information layers). This means that a product description can only be related to a single context and is not visible at all in others. Another example is attribute values which can differ depending on the selected context. For example, different product names can be maintained for different sales channels. Possible contexts are, for example, different markets, different sales channels or the differentiation between B2B and B2B trade.
Users, user roles and user rights
Users and user rights are assigned using a three-level rights system.
- User: is a person authorized by the system (by entering credentials) and has permissions to perform certain tasks in iPIM.
- A user role groups a set of rights that allow a user to perform certain tasks in the software, e.g. the right to create texts and assign digital assets. Different user roles can be assigned to a particular user.
- A right is the permission to perform a specific task in the software. For example, this includes the right to see an attribute, the right to see prices, etc. Rights are assigned to user roles and user roles usually contain several rights (permissions).
Users are at the top of the three-level rights system. Users can be assigned user roles. In turn, certain rights can be grouped in these roles. These can be rights for the use of individual modules, apps or actions. By using user roles, it is no longer necessary to maintain individual rights for individual users. Users can be assigned appropriate roles that include the rights required for their area of responsibility. These roles only need to be created once. They can then be assigned to numerous different users.
User role types
User roles are the middle level of iPIM’s three-level rights system. User rights can be grouped into user roles. User roles in turn can be assigned to user roles. There are four different user role types:
- Standard: This is the default role type. It only has access to the worklists created by the respective user.
- Standard (including worklists): This role type extends the “Standard” role type by the access to worklists shared by all users.
- Toolbox: In a user role of this type, app permissions can be grouped to appear in the Toolbox section of the left sidebar for quick access.
- Workbox: A workbox role can be used to grant the permission to use a related workbox (workflow task).
The customer-specific rights system is defined during the project phase and implemented when the iPIM system is set up. However, administrators can make adjustments afterwards.
Product data maintenance
The IPIM system is used to manage the product lifecycle. Products and items are enriched with information, references, prices and digital assets as they move through the software. The standard processes required to perform these tasks are mapped in iPIM through predefined workflows and a message flow. This helps to control and monitor product data quality.
Workflows
Workflows are sets of tasks that users must perform as part of product data maintenance. These are individualized and differ depending on the use case. Workflow tasks can be assigned to the various roles both permanently and dynamically. The tasks assigned to a user are displayed individually on the dashboard. The workflow steps (tasks) usually correspond to checkpoints that change a certain predefined status information (status light) of the products assigned to them. The traffic lights can be used to measure the quality of the product data.
For detailed information on workflow, please refer to the iPIM Workflow section.
Product data quality
The quality of the product data is defined by the status (traffic) lights. If all four status lights are green, this means that data maintenance for the product is complete. The events that control the status light colors are typically defined in the workflow tasks (see figure above). When the task is completed, the status light colors change.
The tasks and status light colors assigned to the status lights are defined individually depending on the use case. There are always four status lights, but the number of color options for each status light is not limited. Thus, each status light can have not only the colors red, yellow and green, but also additional colors for different states, such as blue or pink, depending on the complexity of the case.
