A company, in order to ensure production and marketing, as well as all intermediate services, must adopt a management strategy. This will also allow it to effectively coordinate all the sequences. In general, PIM and ERP are part of these management strategies. These two tools, despite their very similar basic interfaces, are totally distinct and each plays a role that the other cannot fulfill. So, what is the particularity of each of these tools?
Understanding PIM
PIM is the abbreviation of Product Information Management. PIM, in simple terms, refers to the management of product information. It allows to centralize the data of the products intended for the trade. Through it, the data can be optimized and distributed appropriately to distribution channels, such as online or paper catalogs, e-commerce sites, websites or mobile applications. These data usually include technical characteristics, advertising characteristics, data to digital assets and commercial characteristics.
The PIM therefore generally allows for the centralization of product data, which then provides sources for the rapid distribution of articles. It enriches commercial and advertising texts, SEO attributes, products and media by adapting to the distribution and communication channel.
Understanding ERP
ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning is a software used for global management. It includes several functionalities such as order management, inventory management, financial administration and invoicing. It also manages human resources via payroll and recruitment.
In general, ERP links several departments such as procurement, manufacturing, warehouse management and logistics. It is mainly used for a relevant follow-up of a flow in a factory: the flow between supply and production, the flow between sales and deliveries, the flow between storage and replenishment.
What is the difference between PIM and ERP?
The two software packages are completely different, but they are both of the same interest. That is why they have been combined to give a reliable and very satisfactory result.
In PIM, products are categorized into different families and sub-families for an orderly classification. While the ERP provides the file to be exported to PIM containing all products. Once the data are enriched and validated, a file can be created from the PIM and sent to other software or distribution channels.
The PIM has the capacity to reference many characteristics and visuals. It allows to work with several variants of each product for each distribution point. While the ERP manages data in an analytical logic. To recap, we can say that the former focuses more on distribution and marketing, while the latter is oriented towards production.
