This is an excerpt from a newsletter kickoff that a client produced to introduce their brand new PIM purchase to the rest of the company.  It's always fun when clients get excited about PIM like a new favourite toy! And so I must share...

(Their definitaion of PIM)
PIM stands for Product Information Management and comprises all elements required to manage and maximise the use of accurate and structured product data.  When  managed properly in a central repository, product data can than be efficiently used within the group for many different purposes like webshop publication (for example Tradcom), catalogue printing, flyers, datasheets, price lists, quotations and many other e-commerce solutions .

Why PIM? (Product Information Management)
“Yes”, I can hear you saying, “but why do we need such a sophisticated system for that while we have already our ERP systems”? Basically due to 2 main reasons: first of all to be able to meet our customer requirements of quickly supplying them with high quality product specifications (and images) in any format, printed or electronically. This information is not always available in the required formats in the ERP systems. Secondly, the PIM solution will help us to improve our internal efficiency, both in terms of maintenance, search as well as publication.

At this moment, product data is gathered separately in all clusters, mainly by the Master Data Management Departments, supported by the product managers and marketing departments. With more than 3 million items already being used in the 4 major clusters, it is a huge task to make sure all required information is up to date and completed with drawings, datasheets and images. By using a product information system, this can be organized far more efficient, therewith avoiding double work and increasing availability of information to our sales staff and marketing departments.

On the other hand, our customers are more and more demanding and expect from us that we do not only advise and supply them with products, but even support them in becoming more cost effective by providing them with high quality product information in different formats.
In order to be able to publish and sell our products via the internet, central product data and images of high quality is a prerequisite and business card for our company.

When being able to meet these requirements by using a PIM system, we will be both quicker and more efficient than our competition, being able to take market share even when the economy is slowing down.

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I couldn't have put it any better!