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Business owners looking to increase their efficiency and profitability should consider exploring the power of Product Information Management (PIM) workflow. Excellent workflow support can help simplify and streamline product data processes, improving their accuracy while also giving you a clear understanding of how work is being handled throughout your company or organization.

According to William A. Foster - “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”

Thus, for business owners to maintain high product quality, PIM workflow management comes to help.

Achieve Quality with PIM Workflow Management

Whenever data is exchanged between two or more entities, a workflow is in effect. This could be a process that is fully dependent on people, automated using technology, or a combination of both. These workflows may be repeated or not and can vary in complexity; however, they are typically at least partially automated.

Workflows are used by various kinds of businesses and sectors. They can be utilized for a variety of purposes, including processing consumer orders, monitoring inventory levels, and maintaining staff records. In addition,workflows are a crucial component of business operations and can have a big impact on productivity and efficiency. They can aid in streamlining processes and enhancing quality control when they are correctly designed and implemented. Workflows, however, can cause complications, delays, and mistakes if they are poorly planned or implemented. As a result, it’s critical to carefully consider workflow design and execution to make sure they’re efficient and successful.

Strategic Focus: Maximize Efficiency with PIM Workflow Management

The practice of designing, documenting, monitoring, and refining the sequence of actions, or workflow, needed to execute a particular task is known as workflow management. Workflow management’s goal is to streamline each stage in the process so that it is carried out accurately, consistently, and effectively.

A trigger in the context of workflow management initiates a process that is determined by the steps necessary to produce the result or outcome. An employee, vendor, consumer, or company partner may act as the catalyst (whether in person or via a digital channel). For example, when a brand alters an ingredient in a recipe, this will activate a step in the maintenance procedure in a PIM solution.

Onboarding processes for new products can be just as important as onboarding new recruits. It is essential to identify the needs of existing customers and communicate any changes that come with the introduction of a new product. Also, a successful onboarding process should include clear communication around features, benefits, and advantages to help customers understand what they are getting out of the new product. It is also important to provide training for staff on how to use the new product and ensure customer support is equipped with the resources they need to answer questions. An efficient onboarding process enables customers to quickly gain an understanding of the product and maximize their usage.

PIM Workflow Management: The Key to Streamlined Product Data Processing

Workflow can take many different forms and be used in PIM solutions. One type is based on rights and roles that apply to both the individual and the group. A different kind is based on product status levels, where content-based gateways are established to advance a product to the following stage.

Rights and roles are the basis of both individual and collaborative PIM workflows. This ensures that only those with the proper authorization are able to view or modify content.

Moreover, only authorized users will be able to access and edit certain items with the aid of rights and roles in a PIM process. This can help to ensure that only the right person is making modifications to items that are in the pipeline and to prevent unauthorized changes to data.

Product status levels may also be the basis for PIM workflows. Depending on their status, products travel through many phases or gates in this form of workflow. This type of workflow ensures the successful transition of products through the pipeline and their readiness for release.

The product status levels in a PIM solution can be used to create a workflow. Each product follows a certain process and goes through different stages, or gates, in the workflow. This ensures that items progress correctly and are ready to be sold.

Onboarding Products: Smooth Sailing with PIM Workflow Management

A lot of product-related information is needed for the online sales and marketing of the product. These specifics are gathered from many divisions, platforms, and sources. A strong PIM system must compile information from several sources and deliver it to its clients in a precise, reliable, and high-quality way.

Effective PIM workflow management involves a variety of elements. Each of these elements entails a number of steps, systems, and other procedures. Everything functions in concert to streamline the workflow.

Here are the examples of workflows:

1. Product onboarding

Creating a great customer experience starts with the product information management workflow. Everything from brand and color to size, cost, weight and more must be inputted into the system in order for customers to receive precise details about their purchase. Product status notifications like estimated shipping dates or being placed on pre-order also play an important role — allowing companies to effectively communicate expected delivery times so that shoppers can track the progress of their item from creation all the way through receipt.

2. Content updates

The PIM develops and updates the product content after the product details are onboarded. All relevant information about the product, such as its description, specifications, videos, images, 360-degree photos, etc., is included in these details. 

The PIM team uses various PIM tools that enable them to quickly and effectively review and proofread all the material. This is crucial since any error could negatively impact customer reviews and result in product returns. The product is prepared for syndication across the various sales channels once the content has been updated.

By studying the experiences of those who have used a PIM system before, you can unlock the full potential of your PIM system. Watching live Lightning Demos from companies such as inriver, contentserve, KatanaPIM and others can give you invaluable insights into how PIM workflow management is utilized in the actual implementation. 

You can watch live demonstrations here

 

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3. Syndication of sales channels

Making sure the products are available through multiple channels is one of the most challenging tasks. To ensure success, the content needed by distributors and vendors must be provided. PIM simplifies this process by creating one product listing that meets the specifications of different channels. This makes it simpler and faster to achieve desired objectives.

Using a PIM system makes it easier to provide consistent product content across multiple platforms. This allows businesses to list products that meet their requirements and location, providing customers with an omnichannel shopping experience. With product content accessible on various platforms, customers can pick and choose which items they want to purchase.

4. Interaction

For effective product sales and marketing, it is essential to have an organized workflow with efficient processes and clear communication. Notifications are sent out at different points to ensure that the data is up to date, and they act as cues to prompt the next step in the automated process.

What are the advantages of having a PIM workflow in place?

The advantages of having a PIM system in place include:

  • improved team collaboration
  • elimination of missing data
  • faster product launch 
  • brand protection
  • better digital customer experience
  • and accelerated approvals

Having a well-organized PIM workflow is essential for companies that want to stay competitive. With the help of a PIM system, businesses can maximize their productivity and profits while guaranteeing that their product information is accurate and up-to-date. If you’re looking for a way to optimize your product data management, our team is here for you. We specialize in helping to select the right PIM solution that is tailored to meet the specific needs of your organization. Reach out to us now and let us help you get ahead of the competition.

Want to learn more about PIM?

If you have any questions regarding Product Information Management, from PIM Selection to Implementation or how a PIM would fit in your IT landscape? Feel free to browse our Knowledge Base of articles on everything PIM related.

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