Designing your architecture to allow PIM and DAM to cohabit

As with PIM (Product Information Management) and MDM (Master Data Management), there is a long-standing rivalry between PIM and DAM (Data Asset Management). If the two could be made to cohabit peacefully, what sort of IS architecture would be needed?

PIM (Product Information Management): A must-have to distribute product information

Before buying a product online or in a bricks-and-mortar store, consumers use the internet to compare prices, technical details, product descriptions, users’ opinions, etc. Consistency and seamless dovetailing of product information are therefore absolutely necessary in terms of brand credibility and inspiring consumer trust.

To provide content for paper or online catalogues, and the different sales channels (e-commerce websites, marketplaces, retail chains, etc.), brands and retailers are installing PIM (Product Information Management) systems. Such systems therefore manage data that in fact belongs to the broader family of master data, and they have become essential in e-commerce. Their uses include:

By nature, PIM applications do not communicate much. It is therefore difficult to envisage them being used as master data repositories, given the fundamental point of a master data repository (LIEN https://www.blueway.fr/en/challenges/master-data-repository) is that it talks and synchronises regularly with the functional business applications. A PIM system can be used in isolation when the basic product is highly stable and correctly described, undergoes few upgrades, and does not require synchronisation with other applications.

But when handling a single view is more complicated, because of problems with data quality, or in determining the uniqueness or relevance of scattered input data to your PIM, lifecycle management or complex code conversions, a separate MDM system is essential.

DAM: PIM’s ally in managing media files

At the same time, the multitude of different media resources (photos, logos, 3D images, video, audio, PDFs, etc.) used both internally and externally (for email campaigns, intranet sites, website, press room, etc.) demands careful management using tools designed for the purpose. DAM (Digital Asset Management) centralises all these media files to store them, manage their lifecycles, index them, find them more easily and distribute them as needed.

What is the situation with distributing product-related media? Is PIM not enough? Is DAM necessary?

Catalogues and e-commerce websites are no exception – they also feature media files.  While PIM libraries can connect media files to products, they are ill-suited for handling detailed and specific descriptions of such resource files. Without such metadata, it will be difficult to select a media file on the basis of the use you expect to make of it. As well as objective descriptions, DAM can also include subjective descriptions (mood, emotive factors, etc.).

DAM can then either populate the PIM application by copying the media file (which gives rise to questions around the master copy and how recent the media files available are) or include a URL to a media resource.

Making PIM and DAM communicate

While some publishers offer solutions blending PIM and DAM, pooling all functions within a single platform seems inconceivable while each has its own functional scope and business processes. It is, however, possible to rationalise the IS architecture and get PIM and DAM to communicate using an ESB.

Positioning itself as an application bus within the information system, an ESB will enable data to be circulated while ensuring that the data streams are secure and reliable. PIM and DAM can communicate without needing a direct interface by means of a standardised data interchange structure, which also allows them to integrate more widely with other applications in the IS.

Furthermore, building an API (Application Programming Interface) will also make it possible to open these product information management solutions to the outside world to offer additional services, and facilitate communication with systems run by partners, customers, suppliers, etc.

However, building this type of architecture does require centralised API management. The API Governance module, specifically designed for API Management, that we provide on our platform can be used to centralise management of APIs and share data with users and developers:

This toolkit means your PIM and DAM can play their intended roles while benefitting from product data and media data synchronisation.