Rackfinity
Buying job: Requirements and shortlist
PIM Shortlist Sprint
In 10 working days you go from a long list of vendor pitches to 3 validated vendors, your top 50 requirements and a cost range you can take to the budget holder.
- Duration
- 10 working days
- Price
- €7,500 fixed excl. VAT
A 30-minute call to check fit. No vendor pitch.
The problem
The PIM market is a long list of tools that each say they are the right one. Vendor-led demos show the strongest parts of a product, not your work. Teams lose months on a long list, then pick on impressions.
A shortlist you can defend needs three things: requirements written from your own work, an independent screen of the market against them, and a realistic view of cost. The Sprint delivers all three in 10 working days.
Who the Sprint suits
- You know you need a PIM and want a shortlist you can defend to the board or budget holder
- You have a long list, vendor pitches or an analyst report, but no comparison on your own work
- You need a cost range for next year's budget, not a quote from one vendor
- Your team can free up a project lead and a few stakeholders for 10 working days
Better served elsewhere
The 10 working days
- Day 1Kickoff
We agree goals, constraints and stakeholders, and you share a product data sample and your system landscape.
- Days 2 to 3Interviews
Short interviews with the people who create, enrich and publish product data, plus IT.
- Days 4 to 5Top 50 requirements
We write your requirements as scenarios from daily work and prioritise them with you.
- Days 6 to 7Market screen
We screen the market against your requirements, independently of any vendor relationship, and narrow it to a handful of candidates.
- Days 8 to 9Validation and TCO
We test the candidates against your must-haves, settle on 3, and build a three-year cost range for each.
- Day 10Readout
A decision session with your team, the written report, and the next steps for demos.
What you get
- A validated shortlist of 3 vendors, each with the reason it fits and the risks to test in demos
- Your top 50 requirements, prioritised and written as scenarios from your daily work
- A three-year TCO range per shortlisted vendor: licence, implementation and running costs
- A readout session with your team and a written report you can share with the budget holder
Price
€7,500 fixed, excl. VAT. No day rates and no extra costs for the agreed scope.
Credit terms
Sign a selection engagement with us within 90 days of the readout and the full €7,500 is deducted from its fee. If you run the rest of the selection yourself, you keep everything the Sprint delivered.
What you provide
- A project lead who can make decisions and reply within a working day
- Access to the people who own product data, e-commerce and IT, for a short interview each
- A sample export of your product data and an overview of your current systems
- Your timing and budget expectations, even if they are rough
Proof
Rackfinity chose a PIM from an independent shortlist, one it would likely not have considered on its own. Victron chose its PIM and its implementation partner from one shortlist.
Victron Energy
Aligned stakeholders and moved straight into implementation
Questions about the Sprint
What happens after the 10 days?
You have a shortlist, requirements and a cost range you can act on. Most teams move to scripted demos with the 3 vendors, either with us in a scenario-based selection or on their own with the report as the brief.
How does the credit work?
If you sign a selection engagement with us within 90 days of the readout, the full €7,500 is deducted from that engagement's fee. After 90 days, or if you continue on your own, the Sprint stands as a paid piece of work.
Do vendors pay to be on the shortlist?
No. Some vendors pay us for directory listings, referrals or event sponsorship. None of that buys a place on a shortlist. Vendors are screened against your requirements, and the report names any commercial relationship we have with a shortlisted vendor.
We already have vendors in mind. Does the Sprint still help?
Yes. We screen the vendors you name against the same requirements as the rest of the market. If they fit, they stay. If they do not, the report says why.
What if we are not sure we need a PIM yet?
Then the Sprint is too early. The readiness assessment answers that question first, and its findings carry into a Sprint if the answer is yes.
PIM Shortlist Sprint
A validated shortlist of 3 vendors, your top 50 requirements and a TCO range, in 10 working days.