08 Dec
Reading time : 5min
How to define Daiteo (PIM, DAM or MDM)?
Excellent question! The acronym PIM (Product Information Management) has become an essential part of any company’s data management software, especially when it comes to product data.
This question is regularly asked by a wide variety of people…
So here are a few ideas to help you answer it:
- What is a PIM in theory?
- Does Daiteo fit into this category?
- Why should we be wary of trying to categorize every solution?
PIM for dummies
According to French product experience specialist Akeneo, PIM is “the tool that enables you to collect, manage and enrich product information, in order to create your product catalog and share it across your various sales channels.“
What is product information?
Product information includes all marketing information (labels, description, keywords, etc.), logistics information (packaging, carton dimensions, pallets, etc.) and commercial information (customs codes, EAN, etc.). All this information can be translated into different languages.
The unique catalog is a set of characteristics (or attributes) that will enable you to describe your products in a unified way, adapted to each sales channel.
The PIM must therefore make it easy to define and organize these characteristics, so that the catalog is adapted to each product typology.
If we stop at this definition, we quickly realize that many solutions can be considered as a PIM..
Is an Excel file a PIM?
If I’m a manufacturer of 10 product references, which can be easily described by 15 characteristics, and which are distributed to a single distributor, my Excel file could be a relevant solution for centralizing, enriching and distributing my product catalog (provided I’ve mastered Excel formulas!).
Of course, this example is a deliberate caricature (in 99% of cases, Excel remains an unsuitable tool for managing a living database), but it does demonstrate one thing: the internal context of the company (size, number of product references, types and number of customers, etc.) will be decisive in defining the PIM.
Is Daiteo a PIM?
Daiteo is a platform that enables manufacturers to improve sales efficiency by automating product and price lists in formats adapted to each sales channel (distributors, e-commerce, partners, etc.).
Specific Daiteo features
To do all this, Daiteo will offer 2 main types of functionality:
- Features to import, centralize, update and structure product catalogs and customer price lists.
- Sales support functionalities to automatically create sales documents adapted to each type of customer (FAB-DIS, BMEcat, Matrices, Product Data Sheets, Price Offers, Promotions, etc.).
Daiteo's goal
Our aim is to offer small and medium-sized industrial companies all the PIM functionalities they need to digitize and simplify the management of their product catalogs.
In other contexts, mainly with larger companies, it’s more appropriate to rely on an adapted PIM solution and connect it with Daiteo, to take advantage of sales support functionalities such as automatic matrix filling. We have therefore developed connections with PIM solutions such as Akeneo and Quable.
The risk of categorizing everything
Of course, with the diversity of software out there, it’s natural to rank them to find which one better fits your needs. This is particularly useful when searching the web for potential solutions.
On the other hand, this practice can be counterproductive. The risk is in starting from the solution rather than the problem.
Starting from the solution: wrong idea
Example: I think I need an ERP tool. I need a PIM. But why do I need it? What are the currently time-consuming, non-value-added tasks that I can automate and simplify, while improving the quality of the results obtained?
Starting from the solution, the risk is to look for the tool with the widest possible catalog of functions, but without taking into account other factors such as ergonomics, support, knowledge of the ecosystem, adaptability to new features, resistance to internal change…
Starting from your needs is the best idea
On the contrary, starting with your needs allows you to :
- Check that the functionalities really do meet my concrete needs
- Easily estimate potential gains
- Simplify adoption of the tool by your teams
To do this, there’s nothing better than taking the time to define your project, spending the time needed with your teams to identify tedious, low-value-added tasks that can be automated.
To conclude
To conclude, determining whether Daiteo is a PIM depends on the company’s context.
Theoretically, a PIM is a tool for collecting, managing and enriching product information in a single repository, in order to create and share a product catalog.
Daiteo offers functionalities to import, centralize, update and structure product catalogs and customer price lists, as well as for creating sales aids.
Daiteo’s aim is to provide small and medium-sized industrial companies with all the PIM functionalities they need to simplify the management of their product catalogs.
In larger contexts, it may be more appropriate to connect to an adapted PIM solution and take advantage of Daiteo’s sales support functionalities.
Ultimately, the definition of PIM depends on the internal context of the company, which must base its search for tools on its specific needs and objectives.
