Inconsistent Answers
Inside sales give different answers depending on who the customer talks to.
Menu
Language
Contact
Where Digitalization Truly BeginsPIM in Practice
Many companies want to improve their web presence, portals, or digital customer experience. Ambitions are often high, but the outcome is limited by something more fundamental than technology choices or platforms: the availability of correct, centralized, and usable product information.
In practice, it is rarely the systems that are the problem; it is the information.
Most PIM projects fail because they start with software, not structure. Download the guide to see how successful B2B companies map their data flows and roles before implementation.
When ERP Data Isn't Enough and Ownership is Unclear
For most organizations, the ERP system is the natural starting point for basic product data. It holds SKUs, descriptions, and sometimes pricing logic and business rules. However, an ERP is rarely built for what currently determines customer experience and efficiency in sales and marketing. Images, videos, illustrations, certificates, safety data sheets, guides, texts, GIFs, and variations per market or customer segment often belong somewhere else. The question is where - and who is responsible for them?
When this is not clear, a vacuum is created. Marketing stores assets locally. Product specialists work in their own folders. Sales reps download versions that quickly become outdated. Updates are made but do not reach everyone. The organization might believe it is working in a data-driven way, but in practice, it is still dependent on individuals.
The Hidden Consequences: When Information Doesn't Connect
In our conversations with companies across various industries, the same pattern recurs:
Disconnected Updates
Product specialists update information that never reaches the web, the portal, or the quote material used to sign contracts.
Customer Doubt
Large customers question documentation that doesn't match the delivered product.
Compliance Risks
Regulatory requirements are missed because the wrong version of information is used.
This is rarely due to a lack of competence. On the contrary, there is often enormous knowledge within the organization. The problem is that information is not structured, centralized, or available where needed.
Single Source of Truth - But for What?
A common misunderstanding is that a "Single Source of Truth" means a single system for all data. In practice, it is about ensuring every type of information has a clear master source.
- ERP continues to be the System of Record for business logic and master data.
- PIM becomes the hub for product information to be shared, presented, and reused across all markets and channels.
- Media is handled in structures adapted for images, video, and documents.
The point is not to move everything-but to clarify where each piece of information belongs and which source rules. Only then can you create consistency across the web, quotes, portals, and documentation.
The Preparation Phase - Where the Real Work Begins
Before talking about technology, the organization needs to gather around a few fundamental questions. This is often where the greatest value is generated.
- What product information do we need to support the business and customers?
- What information do we have today-and where is it?
- What information is missing or of low quality?
- Which data sources are actually used in practice, consciously or unconsciously?
Just as important is responsibility.
- Who owns the information long-term?
- Who creates and updates the content?
- Who reviews and ensures quality?
Here, we often distinguish between roles such as Product Owner, Information Owner, Editor, Product Expert, and Data Responsible. Roles that are not always formally defined but already exist within the organization. Clarifying these responsibilities is often a bigger breakthrough than the choice of system.
Starting in the Right Order - Instead of Trying to Do It All
Companies that succeed with PIM rarely start with the entire assortment. They start where the business value is clear.
- One product family.
- One business area.
- One language or market.
- The top sellers.
- The items with the best existing data.
You define which fields are mandatory, which are optional, and which can be added over time. Then, the information is connected to real-world usage-on the web, in quotes, or in portals. It is only when information is actually used that quality begins to improve for real.
PIM as an Enabler - Not an Isolated System
Once the structure is in place, the conditions for further digitalization change. New channels become easier to launch. Self-service becomes possible. Customer-specific views can be built without custom hacks. Integrations become more stable because they work against a clear information model. Here, many realize that PIM is not a project. It is a foundation.
Our Guide and Workshop - A Structured Start Without Over-Investment
Our PIM guide and associated workshop are designed for exactly this phase. The focus is not on tools or implementation, but on creating consensus, structure, and a realistic roadmap.
Together, we identify relevant information, clarify responsibilities, map data sources, and define a first, delimited next step. The result is a decision basis that can be used regardless of how or when you choose to proceed.
A Step That Makes Everything Else Easier
Gathering product information can feel like a massive internal task to be tackled "someday." Our experience is that it is rather the step that determines whether the rest of your digitalization becomes manageable, predictable, and scalable. When the information is in place, everything else falls into place too.
About This Publication
This publication is produced by Glanser - a digital product company helping organizations and corporate groups build, further develop, and manage digital solutions in a more structured and predictable way.
Glanser was founded by individuals with extensive experience from established agency and consulting environments, with the ambition to make digital development simpler, clearer, and more sustainable over time. Our work is based on ready-made, proven functions and clear responsibility-rather than projects with open scopes. This guide is based on practical experience from working with product information, digital platforms, and integrations in organizations with complex businesses, large product ranges, and high demands on accurate and accessible information. The purpose is to contribute a concrete, experience-based perspective on how PIM can be used as an actual enabler for further digitalization-not as an isolated system or a goal in itself.
Next Steps
If you would like to see how this could be applied to your organization (without starting a massive project), we are happy to explain how and walk through the process during a short call.
A Roadmap, Not an IT Project.
Is your product data scattered in folders, Excel sheets, and the heads of colleagues? Before you invest in expensive systems, let us show you how to create order and structure with our PIM workshop. Book a short call, and we will walk you through the setup for a simpler start.