USE CASE

Structure Raw Materials Master Data

Create clean, structured raw materials data to support regulation, innovation, and supply chain efficiency. 

For formulators, raw materials are the foundation of everything, compliance, innovation, and operational performance. 
Yet raw material data is often fragmented, inconsistent, or locked in emails, in PDFs or legacy files. 

With ionicPIM, formulators can aggregate, digitize, standardize and maintain , their raw materials information s in a single source of truth. They create their Raw Materials Master Data foundation that will support innovation, new product development, regulatory processes, procurement, quality and many other important processes. 

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ionicPIM is the result of 20+ years of experience in building the largest online catalogs of commercially available chemicals (5,800+ suppliers, 350k products)

ionicPIM brings unique benefits

All the capabilities of a standard PIM system, plus special features for chemical producers and distributors

About the product
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Designed for business users to create and operate

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Built-in chemical data models

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Producer - distributor PIM-to-PIM connection

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Chemical-specific nomenclatures

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Multi-industry product views

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Direct data export with SpecialChem

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Integration with Agilis Digital Commerce platform

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Support with product data input and maintenance

Powered by Agilis & SpecialChem

An information system designed BY and FOR chemical industry professionals

ionicPIM is the product of collaboration between SpecialChem, the world’s leading material selection platform, and Agilis, the premier provider of digital commerce solutions for the chemical industry. Both companies were founded by seasoned industry professionals with decades of experience working for companies such as Arkema and BASF, with the explicit mission of bringing digital buying, selling, promoting, and product information management practices to chemical producers and distributors.

About us

THE CHALLENGE

Raw Materials Data Is Not Ready for Today’s Needs

Formulators rely on hundreds, sometimes thousands, of raw materials sourced from multiple suppliers. 
Each comes with its own product information format. 

In many organizations: 

  • Raw materials data exists in PDFs, spreadsheets, and supplier catalogs 
  • Attributes are incomplete, inconsistent, or outdated 
  • Regulatory and technical data are often managed separately 
  • Laboratory and regulatory often maintain their own datasets 
  • ERP systems can host partial or low-quality data 

When raw materials are not properly digitized and structured, companies struggle to: 

  • Ensure regulatory compliance 
  • Optimize formulations 
  • Scale innovation 
  • Feed reliable data about their own finished products into their ERP 
  • Ensure traceability down their value chain 

Without clean and centralized data, managing raw materials information  becomes slow, risky, and resource-intensive. 

 

THE SOLUTION

A Clean Raw Materials Master Data Foundation

ionicPIM enables formulators to centralize, structure, and govern raw materials data in a coherent Data model, designed specifically for chemical ingredients and formulations. 

This creates a trusted foundation that supports regulation, R&D, AI-driven innovation, and operational systems. 

Regulatory-Ready Raw Materials Data

ionicPIM structures all regulatory information at the raw material level: 

  • Substance composition and confidential data 
  • Regulatory status across markets (REACH, TSCA, FDA, etc.) 
  • Supplier-specific and market-specific constraints 
  • Compliance guidelines linked to usage and applications 
  • Regulatory documentation linked to each raw material 

With centralized and validated data, regulatory teams can manage compliance more efficiently and with full traceability. 
 
In addition to structuring internal regulatory information, ionicPIM can be connected to external regulatory data feeds provided by SpecialChem, including updates from positive and negative lists and brand-specific restrictions. 
This ensures that regulatory status information remains continuously updated and aligned with global market requirements. 

Clean Data for Laboratories and AI-Driven Formulation

Laboratories and formulation teams need reliable, well-maintained data to innovate. 

ionicPIM provides: 

  • Standardized physical, chemical, and functional attributes 
  • Application and performance characteristics 
  • Controlled vocabularies and taxonomies 
  • Versioned updates and data history 

This clean data foundation enables: 

  • Faster formulation optimization 
  • AI-assisted R&D and formulation modeling 
  • Better comparison of alternative raw materials 
  • Continuous improvement (cost, performance, sustainability) 

Without clean raw materials data, AI and advanced analytics cannot deliver value. 
 
Raw materials data can be created, edited, and maintained based on customers’ own technical documents, supplier files, or internal expertise. 
When combined with SpecialChem data, this enables a hybrid model where internal knowledge is enriched with trusted external references. 

Supply Chain and ERP-Ready Data

Raw materials data must flow reliably into operational systems. 

ionicPIM ensures that: 

  • Raw materials are uniquely identified and standardized 
  • Attributes required by ERP and supply chain systems are complete 
  • Supplier, packaging, and logistics data are consistent 
  • Updates propagate automatically to connected systems 

This reduces manual corrections, improves procurement accuracy, and strengthens supply chain performance. 

Rationalize and Remaster Raw Materials Portfolios 

By digitizing and structuring raw materials catalogs, formulators gain a clear view of their portfolios: 

  • Identify duplicates and overlaps 
  • Compare similar ingredients across suppliers 
  • Rationalize raw materials ranges 
  • Simplify formulations and sourcing strategies 

If data is not digitized, remastering raw materials portfolios becomes nearly impossible at scale. 

The Results

From Fragmented Raw Materials Data to Controlled Innovation

Consistency

Centralized, validated raw materials master data

Compliance

Faster regulatory assessments and approvals

Performance

Better laboratory efficiency and formulation quality

Intelligence

AI-ready data for R&D and innovation initiatives

Integration

Cleaner ERP and supply chain integrations

Simplification

Reduced portfolio complexity and operational overhead

Why ionicPIM
Built for Chemical Ingredients and Formulators

ionicPIM was designed to handle the complexity of chemical raw materials, far beyond what generic PIM tools can manage.

Chemical-Specific Advantages 

ionicPIM is designed specifically for chemical raw materials and formulations, combining software capabilities with optional access to trusted industry data from SpecialChem. 

ionicPIM software capabilities include: 
  • Raw Materials and Product Master Data models tailored to chemical substances and formulations 
  • Full versioning, auditability, and data governance 
  • Integration with ERP, LIMS, regulatory systems, and digital channels 
  • Controlled access to sensitive data (e.g. compositions, confidential attributes) 
  • AI-assisted data validation, consistency checks, and harmonization 

In parallel, SpecialChem can provide data services to accelerate and enrich your Raw Materials Master Data: 

  • Continuous updates of regulatory status from positive and negative regulatory lists covering all major markets worldwide 
  • Brand-specific restriction lists integrated into your data model 
  • Digitized raw materials data sourced from SpecialChem’s Master Catalogs 
  • Regulatory and technical data aligned with industry-standard classifications 

Customers can choose to: 

  • Work exclusively with their own internal data, 
  • Use SpecialChem data as a starting point, 
  • Or combine both, with SpecialChem data enriching and validating their existing raw materials information. 
WEBINAR

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DATASHEET

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