PIM and MDM solutions: should you separate them for your site?

For any company that places digital transformation at the heart of its strategy, data management is a key issue. Process improvement and automation, development of customer knowledge, optimization of omnichannel strategy: data management is the cornerstone of any organization's development. To manage this wealth of data, companies have no shortage of tools, including PIM and MDM (Master Data Management). What is the purpose of these complementary solutions, and why should they be separated? And how do you choose between them?

PIM and MDM solutions: two complementary tools... but very different!

A Master Data Management (MDM) tool enables raw data to be collected, sorted and standardized from different sources, and acts as a global repository to ensure consistent use of data throughout the enterprise.

Master Data is essential and critical reference data, for which no risk of error is acceptable. This includes customer, employee or supplier data, accounting and financial data, product data, etc.

The main role of the MDM is to consolidate information in order to obtain a single, complete and reliable data. The information is deduplicated and historically recorded to create a single repository. a single repository The information is deduplicated and historised to create a single repository for the whole of the company's information system.

Connected to the business applications, the MDM allows the data to be distributed in real time: this ensures the reliability of the information and optimises the processes.

The PIMplatform, as a specifically marketing-oriented business application, is a close relative of the MDM, without claiming to replace it. It complements it, since it can collect perfectly compliant product data from the MDM and then enable teams to take the process a step further by enriching product information (technical and marketing descriptions, photographs, etc.).

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In short, where the MDM creates reliable information from raw data, positioned transversally to serve your entire ecosystem, the PIM collects it in order to enrich it collaboratively at marketing department level and distribute it across all your sales channels.

Do you need an MDM in addition to PIM ?

We've just seen that MDM and PIM are complementary, but is it always essential to combine the two? The answer is no! It depends on the way your company operates, its size and its needs.

MDM plays its full role when the data to be referenced is highly complex (governed by standards or strict legislation, for example), have many interdependencies and involve cross-functional decision analysis.

Transforming this extreme complexity of data in order to standardise it and make it available to other solutions is what MDM is all about. In short, Master Data Management is designed and integrated at the level of the IT department and is geared towards the development of Data Management, generally for large companies.

However, if your company's data is already standardized, the PIM 's consolidation and standardization functions will suffice for your marketing teams. You collect raw product data from your ERPYou collect raw product data from the ERP, harmonize it when it is collected on the PIM, and then enrich it as a team on this interface.

The solution is then able to manage the distribution of product information according to the specificities of all your channels. The key is to choose the right PIM !

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PIM and MDM: a combination, not a merger

If you have chosen to deploy a Data Management system and need both solutions, we recommend that you select two distinct tools rather than one all-in-one. Indeed, each tool has its own specificities and is specialized in data processing according to its own objectives.

Think of MDM as a cross-functional solution for standardizing a single repository to serve the whole company. PIM , on the other hand, is dedicated to the marketing department and adapted to any company managing multiple productsregardless of size. It provides a platform for enriching and bringing to life the product repository with a business and customer focus.

By choosing to dissociate the two tools, you ensure the best performance of each to best meet the needs of your company and its businesses. These 2 types of solution can be easily connected to ensure perfect communication, and this should be a prerequisite when looking for a solution.

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A Webinar to learn all about PIM and MDM

A webinar organized by Quable and Next Decision highlights the complementary nature of PIM and MDM in a structured data management strategy. MDM centralizes, standardizes and makes reliable the company's critical data (products, customers, suppliers, etc.), while PIM takes over on the marketing side to enrich product data and adapt it to the requirements of sales channels.

Each has a distinct role to play: the MDM structures information at the global level of the organization, while the PIM enhances its value within a business logic. Together, they ensure consistency, performance and fluidity in the omnichannel distribution of data.

Both solutions need to be combined as soon as data volumes increase, their complexity becomes an issue, or several information systems need to be synchronized. On the other hand, a PIM alone is sufficient if product data is already structured and standardized upstream.

Product data management therefore relies on an intelligent articulation between complementary tools, capable of adapting to the needs, organization and data maturity of each company.

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Conclusion

MDM and PIM platforms are close relatives whose ultimate goals are to streamline data management within your company and improve processes. Their differences, however, make them complementary tools that should first be considered and worked on individually. Secondly, interconnecting the tools will enable you to benefit from the full working power of each one, thus multiplying the benefits they bring to both your company and your business teams. It should be noted, however, that the presence of an MDM is not a prerequisite for the use of a PIM : you need to study the precise needs of your organization and the level of complexity of your product data.