ERP systems are built to manage transactions: from production to cash, through inventory management and supply chain. In terms of product information, they essentially process SKU-based attributes like codes, standardized names, normalized packaging types, volumes etc... .
In terms of documents they manage SDS for regulatory purposes and lot-related quality information like COAs (Certificate of Analysis) or COC (Certificates of Conformity). In some rare cases, suppliers decide to host their regulatory information in their ERP in custom designed sections.
But could salespersons find the information they need to sell in your ERP? Could marketers host all their digital assets in an ERP? Could other systems like online catalogs receive information directly from an ERP? Can you really formalize, host and distribute your company's product knowledge thanks to an ERP?
Not optimized for extensive data hierarchy: ERP systems are primarily designed to structure supply chain data, not detailed data models requiring complex attributes, associations, and an extensive list of properties to be stored for specialty materials.
Limited ability to describe complex products: ERPs may work well for simple, structured products, like commodity chemicals, but users will struggle when products are sold based on value, application, or performance.
Weak User Experience (UX): ERPs are designed to interconnect systems and gather the information needed rather than to be user-friendly for everyday consultation by sales, product or marketing staff.
Low adoption among business users: Due to poor UX, sales and marketing professionals often find ERPs difficult to use without extensive training, which makes adoption difficult.
Unlike an ERP, a PIM like ionicPIM is especially built for managing the entire product information: data model, data, documents and knowledge. It serves as a DAM (Digital Asset Management) system as well as an MDM (Master Data Management) system.
ionicPIM is designed for a frequent use by sales and marketing teams and it doesn't require any coding experience nor extensive training. Much beyond centralizing and structuring data, a PIM facilitates its consumption, making product data accessible and usable across the organization by people, digital channels and other systems.
Designed for business users: A well-deigned PIM system enables sales and marketing teams to easily access, update, and utilize product information without training.
Better information diffusion: While ERP collects and processes transaction data end-to-end, PIM ensures data flows effectively from software to users, making it accessible and actionable.
Focused on UX: Unlike ERP, which prioritizes system connectivity, PIMs are built for everyday consultation, searching, filtering, etc... ensuring high adoption rates among commercial teams.
Seamless data integration with ERP: PIM systems like ionicPIM facilitate smooth data exchange with ERP systems, ensuring that structured business processes benefit from rich product information.
| ERP | PIM | |
|
Primary Use |
Product transaction data (volumes, prices) |
Product usage data (applications, benefits) |
|
Product Data |
SKU/Article info |
Comprehensive product information |
|
Data Update Frequency |
Hot data (frequent changes) |
Warm/Cold data (infrequent updates) |
|
Information type |
Primarily internal |
External (customer-facing) |
|
Data Complexity |
Limited, transactional |
Extensive hierarchy and complex attributes |
|
User Experience |
Technical, transaction-focused |
User-friendly for sales & marketing |
|
Adoption by Business Users |
Low adoption without training |
High adoption with minimal training |
No company would store its customer master data inside an ERP. Using an ERP as a CRM would mean storing all customer data into a tool that is not really designed for that purpose. Why Salesforce.com is used besides SAP? Because it is better suited to manage customer data and therefore commercial processes.
Similarly, PIM is the best solution for handling product master data.