What are DAM and PIM Systems?

Digital Assets Management (DAM) and Product Information Management (PIM) are often conflated in the e-commerce industry. But make no mistake; these are actually two very different systems—each of which brings unique value to marketing teams who run eCommerce storefronts.

What is Digital Asset Management (DAM)?

To start with, DAM is the acronym derived from the words Digital Assets Management. It covers a huge process involving storing, cataloging, and managing all the digital resources of a company. As soon as any company begins to handle a large volume of images, videos, audio, logos, and files shared on different channels and platforms, a DAM system is helpful to maintain control of all those materials and ensure that it shows a uniform image to the world.

PIM is the acronym derived from the words Product Information Management. It is a software tool that manages and organizes a company’s product content that sells catalog products, either through one or several distributions and sales channels, including printed catalogs, mobile apps, websites, and social media.

Product Information Management is powered by the information provided by the company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Moreover, based on all that raw product information, Product Information Management is responsible for enriching and harmonizing content in all the channels in which the products are sold and synchronizing the resources linked to the products (pictures, descriptions, text translations, categories, fields, and families).

In short, Product Information Management ensures that a company’s information and product content is in order and updated. Without errors or gaps that customers and online search engines can detect, that will negatively affect traffic and sales conversion.

As the technology landscape evolves rapidly, organizations may struggle to choose the right solution for their business. Especially in the golden age of content, many solutions, big and small, are available to help safeguard digital content.

Combining Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Product Information Management (PIM) (or not)

If you want to keep up with e-retailers like Amazon, creating a good balance between product information and marketing content is essential. You should aim for “product content as a service”, in which product information and marketing materials are coordinated. Industry expert Theresa Regli shares her vision of combining your DAM and PIM systems in this white paper. She discusses:

• The importance of accurate product information.
• Product content as a service: a good balance between product data and your marketing material.
• The advantages of combining your DAM and PIM system.
• The Difference Between A PLM, PIM, and DAM System

Most products have a long life cycle from idea, product development, and proof of concept (POC) to final product launch. Technology plays an important facilitating role in this process. Additionally, each stage of the product development process has its system for managing product information.

A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system ensures product information management during the early stages of the product development process. In the subsequent phases, the data is migrated to a PIM system. Finally, the marketing assets are managed in a DAM system throughout the process.

Each system stands alone, creating many different product information versions. It is often difficult for stakeholders to determine the most recent version. Furthermore, you can streamline this process by building a fully automated content system.

PIM and DAM: Building A Fully Automated Content System in Retail

Previously, it was normal for the marketer to obtain the necessary product information and marketing assets from various systems, databases, and spreadsheets. The modern approach is to work from complete tech stacks. An essential advantage of the packages is that it ensures consistent communication by internal and external users. The key to retail success is an automated content system. Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Product Information Management (PIM) work together to make this happen. DAM manages digital assets like images and videos, while PIM centralizes and enriches product data. Integration of PIM and DAM makes it easier to create and distribute content, automate tasks, and ensure accurate information. In addition, it makes updating across multiple channels easier and better for customer experience, operational efficiency, and data accuracy in retail.

The Advantages of Combining Your DAM And PIM System

Linking your PIM and DAM systems provides a ‘product as a service’ approach that optimizes the balance between product information and related marketing content.

Your E-commerce investment won’t succeed without Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM). As a result, software solutions like these are in high demand right now.

Both DAM and PIM are data integration solutions foundational to scaling up your business; they are variants of the same kind. DAM tools are the best for E-commerce stores that depend on catalog production, while for goods-producing e-commerce stores, a PIM solution will work best. Whichever your choice is, the following are reasons you should invest in these data management solutions now!

1. Achieve Brand Consistency

Firstly, being on multiple online platforms and sharing product data across different retail channels means you must ensure you’re not giving customers two different perceptions of your brand. Opinions are fickle and can easily get distorted by minor irregularities. Combining DAM and PIM can keep your brand consistent across all touchpoints. As a result, it helps you align messaging, visuals, and product details with your brand identity so you don’t lose your message or look confused.

2. Improves Business Intelligence

Stay sensitive and in sync with trends around your customers with these software tools. The details about their online activities, searches, preferences, and clicks are the tools brands like yours use to provide relevant, user-tailored services and experiences to their customers. Improve your target messaging system so that it’s personalized and user-centric. Beasides, when you’re an online business, you can’t afford to offer experiences that don’t let your customers know you’re top-notch. Respond to inquiries in a timely, relevant, and efficient manner.

3. Faster, Easier, and Efficient Marketing

Instead of relying on speculations and assumptions, PIM and DAM will guide your marketing decisions with accurate facts. With these software solutions, marketing becomes more natural and precise. Moreover, you can serve each customer according to preference, take calculated marketing steps, and strike while the rod is hot. It is essential for brands with numerous varieties. The more products you offer, the more organized you need them to be, so each good is well analyzed and expressed, and there is easy access to information.

4. Real-time Data

Employing data management software makes it easy to monitor every change in product consumption patterns. The tool provides real-time notification of stock levels every time a product is purchased, online or offline. The announcement will allow you to make informed decisions based on accurate sales information. Your marketing efforts will go faster with DAM and PIM integration. By combining the two systems, marketing teams can access product information and assets quickly, create campaigns faster, respond to real-time market trends, and stay competitive.

5. Customer Personalization

In 2020, a mere online presence is not a good enough catch. Today, customers are more inclined to the experience they get from doing business with you than the actual good they are out to buy. The customer personalization effect that PIM and DAM offer do not only uphold that the ‘customer is king.’ The software further accentuates that ‘each customer is king,’ this particular effect can help e-commerce brands scale up their business tremendously. Consequently, customers can confidently check up on your store, knowing you will always have something, particularly for them.

6. A Happy Customer makes for a Healthy E-commerce Business

In today’s business parlance, getting customers is not as crucial as retaining customers. People constantly move around, explore, and try new things, seeking the unusual and most comfortable. No customer wants to carry out full-scale research for every purchase they need to make. Give your customers the best they can get without taking so much time and requiring too much stress, and you have made them happy customers. Control over your SKUs, from customer search experience to order placement, payment process, and delivery, will improve your chances of having your customers return for more trade.

7. Time is of the Essence

Achieve more with less time. Cut out the time taken and the avoidable errors made during the double-entry of data. Create every paragraph with more content. Having DAM and PIM integrated reduces manual tasks, eliminates duplication of effort, and boosts workflow efficiency. A result of this is that you can save money, increase productivity, and increase the time it takes for you to launch a product or campaign.