What is PIM?

Global e-commerce has entered an era of high expectations. Shoppers want personalized, consistent experiences across every channel they use—and they expect them to be instantly available.

According to Netcore’s E-commerce Personalization Benchmark Report, 91% of consumers would leave a brand after a poor experience, and 77% now consider personalization a standard.

As these expectations rise, you’re managing expanding product assortments, shorter refresh cycles, and an ever-growing list of selling platforms. Keeping product information accurate and responsive to customer needs takes more than manual oversight. It demands modern, connected e-commerce systems built to scale.

Product information management (PIM) software has become that invisible infrastructure. It powers how your data, people, and channels work together in real time.

On this page, you’ll learn what PIM is, why it’s essential to your growth, and how it drives the next generation of digital commerce.

While PIM software serves businesses across all commerce models, its impact is particularly transformative for B2B organizations managing complex product catalogs, technical specifications, and multi-tier distribution channels.

B2B PIM solutions address the unique challenges of enterprise selling, from handling extensive product configurations to supporting personalized buyer portals and regional compliance requirements.

What are today’s biggest e-commerce challenges?

Your e-commerce engine depends on precision, speed, and consistency. Yet, managing massive volumes of product data across multiple platforms makes that more challenging every year. 

The most common barriers share one root cause: disconnected information. These challenges reveal why an optimized PIM solution is no longer optional for growth.

Disconnected customer experiences

When product data sits in silos, each channel tells a different story. Multichannel retail brands that fail to connect their data risk confusing buyers and losing trust. A centralized PIM ensures consistency across all touchpoints.

Rising operational costs and missed opportunities

Inefficient product updates drain time and budget. The ROI of PIM demonstrates how automated workflows reduce these costs, freeing your teams to focus on value creation instead of manual fixes.

Costly shifting customer expectations

A Deloitte 2023 survey found that 79% of brands believe consumers are impressed by their online experience, yet only 46% of shoppers agree. A PIM ensures product content remains accurate and relevant as expectations continue to rise. 

Expanding channel complexity

New marketplaces bring unique content requirements. PIM software standardizes and distributes your product data effortlessly, ensuring accuracy across every channel.

The B2B commerce evolution

B2B commerce faces distinct challenges as buyer expectations increasingly mirror B2C experiences. Research shows that 49% of B2B purchases now occur online, with e-commerce and in-person sales generating equal revenue for B2B businesses. This shift demands that B2B organizations balance traditional relationship selling with modern digital experiences.

Today’s B2B buyers expect the same seamless experiences they encounter as consumers. According to McKinsey, 80% of B2B customers view certain omnichannel capabilities as minimum requirements, including online product availability and pricing, the ability to purchase from any channel, always-on customer service, and consistent experiences across all touchpoints.

For B2B vendors, this consumerization creates pressure to provide both the detailed technical data that informs complex purchasing decisions and the intuitive buying experiences that differentiate your brand from competitors.

PIM for B2B commerce: Meeting enterprise needs

B2B PIM addresses the unique complexities of enterprise selling, where product information extends far beyond basic descriptions and pricing. B2B organizations manage intricate product hierarchies, complex configurations, technical specifications, compliance documentation, and customer-specific pricing that varies by contract, volume, and relationship history.

A robust B2B PIM solution transforms how enterprises manage this complexity by creating a single source of truth for product data that serves multiple stakeholders across the value chain.

Why B2B companies need PIM

In B2B commerce, the success of every transaction relies on the quality and availability of product information. As organizations embrace circular product journeys and evolving regulatory requirements, transparent and reliable data becomes essential at every stage of the product lifecycle.

B2B PIM systems empower sellers with the agility to activate omnichannel strategies, creating and delivering product content at scale across multiple channels while maintaining the detailed technical accuracy B2B buyers demand. From sourcing materials and manufacturing protocols to after-sales service and sustainable practices, a PIM solution fortifies information clarity throughout each step of a product’s journey.

How B2B teams benefit from PIM

A B2B PIM solution streamlines workflows across every department, enabling teams to work from accurate, consistent product data. The impact reaches across your organization:

• E-commerce teams streamline product data management, improve catalog accuracy, and create compelling online experiences that convert browsers into buyers.
• Sales teams access comprehensive, up-to-date product information that enables them to respond quickly to inquiries and craft persuasive presentations based on verified data.
• Marketing teams accelerate campaigns and deliver consistent messaging across channels with enriched, brand-aligned content ready for immediate deployment.
• Compliance teams ensure product transparency and traceability, meeting regulatory requirements and preparing for emerging standards like Digital Product Passports.
• IT teams simplify infrastructure by consolidating disparate systems into a unified platform that integrates seamlessly with existing technology stacks.

What is the strategic role of PIM today?

A modern PIM turns raw product information into business impact, connecting the back end of your operations to the experiences your customers see. It fuels how you launch, sell, and scale.

1. Power personalization and customer experience

Accurate data enables relevance. When your PIM system keeps every attribute, image, and specification up to date, you can personalize at scale without risking mismatched or outdated content.

2. Accelerate product launches

Speed defines success in e-commerce. A centralized PIM platform helps you prepare listings faster, meet retailer requirements instantly, and get new products in front of buyers without delay.

3. Drive omnichannel performance

Your PIM platform ensures every channel, from marketplaces to direct-to-consumer sites, delivers consistent, optimized content. This omnichannel experience strengthens brand trust and conversion rates.

4. Build confidence across teams

When teams know the data they’re using is accurate and up-to-date, they work faster and make better decisions. PIM software becomes the shared foundation that keeps collaboration effortless and performance measurable.

PIM as the growth driver in the digital era

E-commerce growth now depends on how well you manage and activate your product data. Modern PIM software provides the agility to scale into new markets, automate manual tasks, and drive emerging technologies like AI. With a single, accurate source of truth, your teams can respond to market shifts instantly and launch faster than ever.

Why modern brands invest in PIM

How does PIM support your team in the modern era?

A modern PIM platform brings structure and intelligence to the constant movement of your product data, helping every team work from the same single source of truth.

What your PIM manages for you

A connected PIM solution centralizes the product information that powers your entire operation, including:

• Technical data
  SKUs, specifications, dimensions, materials
• Digital assets
  A+ content, images, videos, documents, PDFs, CAD files
• Localization
  Multi-language fields, region/market-specific content
• Channel-specific formats
  Tailored content for Amazon, Zalando, Wayfair, etc.
• Lifecycle metadata
  Launch dates, phase-out info, and internal status flags
• Marketing content
  Headlines, descriptions, storytelling, SEO keywords
• Compliance data
  Safety labels, documentation, sustainability info
• Product relationships
  Variants, bundles, accessories, and configurations
• Brand data
  Logos, messaging, and storytelling

How it strengthens collaboration

With real-time updates and shared workflows, your PIM bridges the gap between departments.

• Marketing can create consistent, brand-aligned content faster.
• E-commerce and sales gain accurate, complete product data for every listing.
• Merchandising and operations use unified information to streamline updates across markets.
• Compliance teams rely on verified data for audits and product regulations.

Every department in your company stays aligned, every update is reflected instantly, and every channel reflects your latest product story. That’s what modern product information management makes possible.

What is PIM software able to do?

PIM technology allows you to maximize the value of your product data by turning data flows into revenue streams. Instead of functioning as a static database, a modern PIM platform connects systems, automates enrichment, and scales in line with your growth ambitions.

Advanced PIM systems are built on three core pillars:

Connected

Seamlessly integrate systems to deliver consistent product data across every channel. 

Optimizing

Automate and enrich product content with AI-powered tools and smart workflows. 

Scalable

Future-proof your business with a configurable and extensible PIM data model.

Advanced capabilities for B2B and ecommerce

Leading PIM platforms extend beyond basic product data management to deliver specialized capabilities for B2B organizations and ecommerce operations:

For B2B operations:

• Customer-specific catalog views and personalized pricing
• Complex product configuration and bundling
• Multi-tier channel and distributor management
• Technical specification management at scale
• Integration with B2B commerce platforms and portals

For ecommerce excellence:

• Automated syndication to marketplaces and digital channels
• Digital shelf analytics for performance monitoring across platforms
• AI-powered content generation and optimization
• Real-time inventory and pricing synchronization
• Channel-specific content rules and templates

Organizations implementing these advanced capabilities see measurable improvements in efficiency, revenue, and market expansion speed.

Core capabilities of a modern PIM

Every platform should deliver these essentials:

• Centralized product data
• Data enrichment and organization
• Data validation and quality assurance
• Multi-language, multi-market support
• Workflow and team collaboration
• Distribution of product data across all sales channels

To meet evolving expectations and scale efficiently, your PIM software must be adaptable and capable of supporting new data models, integrations, and business structures as your product ecosystem expands. Analyst research in the Gartner Market Guide for Product Information Management Solutions reinforces how flexibility and scalability now define next-generation PIM platforms.

“The ultimate purpose of PIM is to speed up your time to market, improve all aspects of sales and deliver compelling product experiences across any touchpoint.”

Gartner©, Market Guide for Product Information Management Solutions, Helen Grimster, 20 September 2022 

Do I need to upgrade my PIM software?

Having a PIM system implemented is no longer enough. Many organizations now realize that the real competitive advantage comes from how their PIM performs. Outdated systems limit agility, slow down launches, and make scaling more difficult than it should be.

If your teams still rely on manual enrichment, rigid workflows, or disconnected data models, it might be time to modernize. The PIM Buyer’s Guide helps you evaluate your current system and benchmark your strategy against today’s leading capabilities.

Check out what a difference an upgrade makes: