How Every Team Benefits From a Single Source of Truth for Product Content

Imagine this scene: You’re looking for the most up-to-date price or SKU for a new product launch but (like usual) you’ve ended up deep in an email thread with multiple spreadsheet tabs open — and you still can’t find what you’re looking for.

You’re not alone. It’s a common challenge for brand leaders. Over time, product data becomes scattered across systems, spreadsheets, individual devices, and inboxes.

The inability to effectively find the information you need can lead to consistency, accuracy, and quality headaches in every team — that is, without a single source of truth.

Why Scattered Product Content Is Slowing You Down

When product data is buried in multiple files (probably named something like Product1_v34), software, and on different devices, it’s almost impossible to find the most up-to-date information. Which, you guessed it, can lead to someone unknowingly publishing the wrong price or an old product description.

It can be overwhelming to think about bringing your existing data together in one place. So much so, that it often seems easier to power on through with the systems you already have (better the devil you know, right?).

But here’s where your approach might be slowing you down and even impacting your key company metrics, like your bottom line and customer satisfaction levels.

It Takes Time To Find Product Data

When data is spread across multiple sources, it’s a real effort to track it down. Teams might need to wait to hear back from different stakeholders, and you can very quickly end up in an hours-long wormhole just to find the latest price for a product.

You Open Yourself Up To More Mistakes

Human error is a very real, very common issue. If teams can’t find the information they need, they can end up using out-of-date data which can impact sales and customer experience.

It Leads To Fewer Digital Shelf Insights

You can have all the data in the world, but if it’s not kept together, comparing information, identifying patterns, and making big-picture decisions is almost impossible.

Failing to maximize the data you have available can lead to decisions that don’t benefit your organization.

It Creates Poor-Quality Product Data

If you have internal requirements for how your data should look and be organized, you can’t expect your teams to consistently maintain those standards without help.

You Can’t Manage Product Data Efficiently

You might struggle to manage all your SKUs, variants, and product properties, especially if you make frequent changes or launch lots of new products — you might even be using clunky internal enrichment processes, like copy-pasting the same description across multiple products. 

The Solution: A Single Source of Truth for Product Data

To break free from a scattered approach to data, you need to standardize, centralize, and control your core data. But it’s not just a case of building a central hub that teams can access — they also need to have the autonomy to manage, enrich, and optimize the downstream product experiences.

This is the only way to eliminate the need for endless back-and-forths and department bottlenecks.

Enter the product information management solution (PIM). A PIM is a product data management tool that has dedicated features to help you manage, optimize, and use product data. It aggregates all your scattered data into one central place.

The Q4 2023 report from The Forrester Wave™ reveals critical trends in the PIM market and states that “PIM is now a core capability for any enterprise that sells products in-market.”

The solution is a central source of truth that all teams can access, analyze, and add to. So, when someone needs to find the most up-to-date price for your latest product launch, they can simply log in, find the information they need, and implement their findings. 

How a Product Information Management Solution Supports Every Team

A PIM solution can (and should be) implemented company-wide. The more teams that have access to it, the less chance there is of cross-departmental errors and wasted time spent in email threads.

Here’s how a PIM solution can support most teams.

Ecommerce Teams: PIM Supports Better Online Shopping Experiences

Your ecommerce team is tasked with building and nurturing engaging shopping experiences. To do this, they need access to customer data, product information, and customer journey metrics. A PIM solution can help ecommerce teams centralize, connect, and automate product content to effectively create experiences that sell more and keep customers coming back.

The ability to monitor and optimize product information and import data feeds from multiple platforms means they can spend less time in the weeds and more time focusing on what actually works.

A PIM solution supports your ecommerce teams by allowing you to:

• Quickly access the most up-to-date data;
• Use aggregated insights to build engaging customer experiences; and
• Automate product content to save time manually entering product details. 

Marketing Teams: PIM Improves Personalized Campaigns

Your marketing team relies on using accurate information to build content and reach new customers. Poor quality and patchy data can lead to stifled creativity, false advertising, and even stop your products from getting in front of the right people.

According to Invesp CRO, 87% of marketers consider data their organization’s most underused asset, while 54% of companies say the lack of data quality and completeness is their biggest challenge in data-driven marketing.

A PIM solution can give marketing teams access to standardized product details that support consistent brand messaging and marketing campaigns.

A PIM solution supports marketing teams by allowing you to:

• Ensure you’re using the most relevant data in marketing campaigns;
• Find product information quickly and effectively; and
• Cross-reference customer data from multiple platforms. 

Sales Teams: PIM Drives Faster Lead-to-Close Time  

Your sales team is on the frontline. They’re actively tasked with creating pitches and converting leads into paying customers.

Scattered data makes it impossible for them to share accurate information on time, which can ultimately derail sales. A PIM solution gives sales teams access to accurate, up-to-date product information that supports uniform and compelling sales pitches.

A PIM solution supports sales teams by allowing you to:

• Use real-time data in their pitches;
• Access and share accurate information in seconds; and
• Have a full scope of your organization’s data — enabling greater confidence, flexibility, and opportunity for sharing unique selling points (USPs).

Supply Chain Teams: PIM Supports Easier Forecasting and Demand Planning

Your supply chain team spins a lot of plates. Without easy access to high-quality, up-to-date data, it’s difficult for them to accurately map out the supply chain and ensure there’s enough stock to fulfill demand.

A PIM solution can give supply chain teams access to product data that supports strategic decisions in inventory management, shipping logistics, and demand planning.

A PIM solution supports supply chain teams by allowing you to:

• Use up-to-date insights to optimize the supply chain;
• Compare inventory data across platforms to anticipate demand; and
• Make quick, strategic decisions to avoid stockouts and shipping delays. 

IT Teams: PIM Creates a Seamless Digital Ecosystem  

Your IT team is the glue that holds everything together. They manage your tech stack and are in charge of integrating as well as safeguarding your existing tools and software with any new additions.

Giving your IT team access to a PIM solution will help them seamlessly integrate it with the tools and platforms used globally. This reduces technological complexities and creates a smooth, friction-free digital transformation.

A PIM Solution supports IT teams by allowing you to:

• Integrate key data across existing tools and software;
• Gain and maintain better control over your data, mitigating risk; and
• Create an easy tech workflow that allows for an elevated digital experience. 

A PIM Solution Is a Single Source of Truth For a Wide Range of Teams

It’s a no-brainer. Contending with multiple spreadsheet iterations, endless email threads, and data scattered across different tools is far from effective. It might seem comfortable, but there’s a good chance it’s slowing down your internal teams, causing delays, and impacting your company's key performance indicators (KPIs).

Instead, use a PIM solution to aggregate data from all your platforms in one place — including customer information, product details, and sales figures from your website and any marketplaces you use.

The single source of truth gives every team the information they need at their fingertips without having to jump through hoops, wait on bottlenecks, or risk publishing the wrong details.