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What is the future for PIM/Pimcore?

Since their inception, Product Information Management tools have continued to evolve. This article outlines what is the future for PIM and some of the best features of the next iteration of leading PIM solution Pimcore. We also look at future opportunities for the integration of PIM and ERP.

What is the future of ERP?

Many ERPs are evolving slower than other software tools, having been established in businesses for a long time. There are features of newer ERPs that can make the system easier to use, faster and less complex for the average user to navigate. ERPs of the future will:

Reduce the need for multiple integrations, with expanded functionality that means you can eliminate some other apps or services
Be more agile and enable scale and growth across multiple ERP components, including through more regular data synching
Need less maintenance, with cloud hosting and updates occurring automatically

What is Retail ERP?

One area where there does seem to be growth and innovation is with regard to retail capabilities. Retail ERP is a variation on the traditional ERP that not only tackles business processes but components of e-commerce as well. Retail ERPs have enhanced features for:

Product planning
Delivery records
Sales automation
Inventory management
Payment processing and point-of-sale functions

What is the future of ERP as compared to PIM?

ERP is a comprehensive system that manages and integrates various business processes, while PIM is designed to manage product-related information more efficiently and with greater accuracy.

Despite Retail ERP seeking to improve customer experience and transaction activity, ERPs are still primarily focused on what happens behind the scenes. ERPs are already well-refined and can deliver improvements to business processes.

However, where the biggest revolutions for business are happening are online and through interactions with customers in digital spaces. PIM systems enable improvements to the components of your businesses that your customers are seeing, searching, and engaging with.

It is through personalisation, market segmentation and smart communications that the biggest enhancement opportunities for the future arise.

Improving customer experience with PIM

PIM technology will only continue evolving capabilities in its already efficient customer experience handling. There will be enhancements to how product information is presented to customers in regard to their individual preferences and smarter promotions and targeted advertising.

There will be enhancements to product-based interactions such as reviews, refunds, and complaints. PIM is also delivering improved customer experience through product feedback and increased cross-sell and up-sell of products and leading to a reduction in abandoned cards.

Technological improvements to PIM

On the technological front, PIM systems are expected to have increased capabilities for data modelling. Pimcore can already integrate with many other software solutions, configuring PHP, REST and GraphQL APIs. There are also expected to be better integration with platforms such as Shopify, Shopware and Magento.

Marketplace integration is also expanding. With Pimcore you can distribute quality data records through Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and the list of other accessible marketplaces is growing.

Automation in PIM

Automations will be another growth area for PIM. Through automation in PIM you can have access to:

Predictive analysis of data
Image recognition and sorting in product records
Error and inconsistency assessment and correction

Pimcore can also run automated syndication- a technique that enables you to sync data across all channels and tailor the output to meet the formatting requirements of that channel. An example of this would be sending product listings to multiple marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon with the formatting and setup used on the platform.

Through Pimcore can send your products to more than 2,500 marketing, shopping, retail and business channels, tailoring each record to the specific requirements of its destination site.

AI in PIM

We expect that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to be used in and improve PIM. Promotional, cross-sale, and up-sell capabilities will continue to improve through AI assessment of customer records, data, and transaction history. AI in PIM will help to process increasingly large collections of assets and product records, extract data from multiple locations and standardise it, ensuring there is a consistent format.

AI-powered PIM can also identify which products are selling well and which are not, and provide insights into why certain products are more successful than others.

AI brings changes to marketing functionality, which will have a flow on effect through product display and catalogues. Pimcore have reported that leveraging the data from within PIM can improve website search results by more than 40%. It is estimated that deploying AI in marketing can lead to 80% faster content creation and improved content and copy. Pimcore are planning on rolling out an AI strategy during 2024.

Pimcore Platform release 2023.2

Pimcore Enterprise edition customers have access to quarterly platform updates. The most recent Pimcore platform release includes three key new features:

Bookmark lists- for improved organisation and sorting of data objects and assets
Enhanced data quality management- including a rich product display dashboard that include recommendations for data improvements
Enterprise webhooks- automatically generated messages that are communicated from one application to another

Architecture improvements in Pimcore

Pimcore has taken the acronym MACHO to outline the components of its architecture:

Microservices- Microservices provide pre-built data that is low code and ready for you to roll out
API first- Pimcore APIs are easy to use and allow you to access data from whenever you need it
Cloud native- Pimcore can be used on-premises and in a range of cloud-based hybrid settings. Pimcore can be deployed on Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud
Headless- a headless system enables front facing apps and front end tools to evolve and provide consistent data across any channel
Open source- As an open source solution, Pimcore offers a high degree of customisation and can be stacked with PHP/Symfony, MySQL, Elasticsearch, Redis, and Varnish, enabling you to deploy hundreds of web applications

Compliance improvements to PIM

One of the biggest opportunities for PIM involves product management through international markets. PIM tools have always helped provide good data governance. However, with we expect to see increased capability across global markets. Of course, different countries and markets have unique trade regulations and laws. PIM can now ensure businesses are meeting not only local trade regulations but achieve international compliance as well.

Will there be a future of integration between PIM and ERP?

The decline of traditional retail and the rise of online shopping, companies are finding they need to offer more and more of their products and services online. With this comes the need to improve the information they provide about these products and services.

Instead of popping into a store to discuss their needs, customers will browse product manuals and read extensive reviews. There is an increasing demand for detailed product information to be available at the click of a button.
The types of product information that customers require include:

Technical specifications
How to videos showing installation and use
Image
Reviews
Warranty information

ERP and PIM can also work together to improve product handling, such as returns, shipping and stock control.

PIM and ERP – meeting customer need

Customers want information that is complete, detailed and accurate, as well as easy to understand, clear and concise. This necessity can be difficult for businesses to navigate and reconcile. Ensuring product information is pitched at the right level and is customer-focused is key.

A system that can collect information about customer behaviours- how they searched a site, how long they stayed on a page, how many additional resources they downloaded and open can give clear guidance on what. Customer usage and data analytics offered by a PIM can add incredible value and insight to the ERP tool.

Pimcore can provide outstanding customer experience from within an ERP. In fact, Pimcore’s Digital Experience Platform was recognised as a strong performer in the Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer 2023.

Integration requirements for PIM and ERP

The ERP system may draw data from several legacy IT systems and tools, and the resultant data is not prepared or presented with the customer in mind. The product information used by PIM is also often registered in multiple systems, which can cause further inconsistencies and integration challenges.

Integration challenges for PIM and ERP

The integration of PIM and ERP systems requires time and investment. Integration is not really a quick-fix solution. Achieving a fully operational ERP and PIM integration takes time and effort. The risks of integration can include:

Timeline and scheduling blowouts
Unplanned system complexities
Additional data processing requirements
Cost concerns
Scope creep or variation mid-implementation
Project staffing or management issues