PLM vs. PIM: The Right Tool for Your Product Data Management

Katharina-Maria Röder 5/26/2023

PLM or PIM? Learn the differences between PLM and PIM and how they complement each other

Table of contents

What is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)?
What is Product Information Management (PIM)?
How do PLM and PIM differ?
PIM vs. PLM
Which tools are suitable for a PLM?
Which tools are suitable for a PIM?

As soon as you seek solutions for effectively managing product information, encounter these acronyms: PLM and PIM. But what exactly is hidden behind them? In this article, we will explain to you what Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Product Information Management (PIM) are, what differences and similarities there are and when which solution is better. Additionally, we take a look at how you can combine PLM and PIM and which tools are suitable for this.

Learn the differences between PLM and PIM, when either system is needed, and how they can complement each other.

What is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)?

PLM is a methodical approach to organizing and managing all processes and data throughout the entire product lifecycle. Roughly three phases can be discerned:

Phase 1: Beginning of Life (BOL) - Development and product design
Phase 2: Middle of Life (MOL) - Production, external and internal collaboration, product information management, warranty service, marketing, and sales
Phase 3: End of Life (EOL) - Disposal, termination, or recycling of products

PLM software is specifically tailored to the needs of businesses seeking to manage their product's full life cycle. This software makes collaboration easier and provides a detailed historical record of a product's entire life cycle. All relevant information is stored centrally, enabling all participants to continuously drive product development and improve, including internal teams, suppliers and manufacturers working together on product development. All involved in the product development have constant access to the current status of the process.

A key function of PLM systems is vendor management, which aids in selecting the best offer from the manufacturers. PLM puts a focus on design and manufacturing. An integrated suite that allows for interactive 3D design processes is a big advantage here. PLM software can be seamlessly integrated into CAD systems or Adobe Illustrating software for ease of use.

An effective PLM system allows businesses to optimize their processes and work more efficiently. It ensures all relevant data is provided to the right people in order to facilitate smooth collaboration between teams, departments, and businesses.

What is Product Information Management (PIM)?

The Product Information Management system is software that supports businesses in efficiently managing, optimizing, and synchronizing their product data to distribute across various channels and reach different target audiences. PIM systems offer a central platform for businesses to store and manage all product information in one place, ensuring it's always up-to-date, accurate, and consistent. PIM systems also enable swift and effective product data updates, leading to improved data quality. Process automation saves time and costs, shortening time-to-market for new products.

Another advantage of PIM systems is the customization of product data to meet the different needs of various channels and target audiences. Businesses can segment and filter their product data to adapt it to different target audiences. This is particularly relevant for businesses operating in various countries or regions and wishing to offer their products in different languages, with different country-specific terms and descriptions.

PIM systems also promote collaboration and communication between different departments involved in creating and managing product data. Central storage and management of product data allow for easier teamwork and efficient communication of changes and updates.

The PIM system further improves the customer experience, providing accurate and consistent product information to facilitate better purchasing decisions for customers. This can help strengthen customer loyalty and reduce the return rate.

How do PLM and PIM differ?

Both systems, PIM and PLM, store product data. Both systems assist businesses in improving and speeding up processes, thus shortening the time-to-market for products. This is where the similarities end.

PIM focuses on improving sales and distribution processes, while PLM aims to better product development and manufacturing.
PIM collects, manages, and distributes product information such as product names, item numbers, SKU numbers, descriptions, attributes like size, color, weight, material etc., and establishes relationships between products, e.g. for cross-selling. Specifications for specific sales channels and localization data, as well as customer reviews, are also stored here. PLM, on the other hand, stores e.g., construction data, production data, quality and test data, service and maintenance data. Anything related to project management and communication can also be found here.
PIM is mainly used by marketing and sales staff, but also dealers can gain access. PLM, however, targets everyone involved in product development and manufacturing, for example, designers and purchasing managers.
PIM is required after product development for sales, while PLM accompanies the entire product development and manufacturing process.

Features	PIM	PLM
Goal	Improvement of sales and distribution processes	Improvement of product development and manufacturing
Main function	Collection, management, and publishing of product information	Storing and managing product information during the entire product life cycle
Focus	Sales and marketing activities	Product development and manufacturing
Data	Product information like product names, item numbers, descriptions, prices, etc.	Technical data, blueprints, materials, etc.
Application area	Sales, marketing, e-commerce	Product development, manufacturing, quality assurance
Target group	Marketing and sales staff	Product developers designers, technicians, purchasing managers
Usage	After product development	During product development and manufacturing

PIM vs. PLM

When is a PIM system required and when is a PLM system required?

A PIM system is needed when businesses manage many products with many different variations, properties, and information on multiple platforms. The PIM system then serves as a central place for storing, editing, and managing all product data. A PIM system makes sense when businesses can no longer keep product data up-to-date, or when there are difficulties integrating product data between different systems. PIM software automates a large amount of manual tasks involved in product management. For example, product data can be automatically distributed to different channels and platforms. This includes e-commerce websites, catalogs, marketplaces, or social media. This not only improves data quality and customer experience but also saves a lot of working hours. This is a big advantage for both small and large businesses.

A PLM system, conversely, is the perfect collaboration tool for product developers, designers, technicians, purchasing managers, suppliers, and department heads. It is required when businesses want to manage and optimize the entire life cycle of a product from ideation to disposal effectively. The more complex the products get, the more important close collaboration between various departments becomes. PLM systems enable teams spread over different locations or even countries to collaborate by providing a common workspace and updating changes to data and documents in real time.

How can PIM and PLM systems complement each other?

PIM and PLM systems complement each other very well. Therefore, it should not be PIM vs. PLM, but PIM plus PLM. PLM focuses on the creation, development, maintenance, and discontinuation of a product, while PIM supports marketing and sales. Combined, both systems can enable central storage of product information from all phases of the product life cycle.

The integration of PIM and PLM leads to a quicker market launch of products and simplifies the entire product data management. It also allows sharing PLM data with external channels to improve the customer experience while simultaneously collecting customer information based on their feedback to enhance the product.

During the various phases of the product lifecycle, PIM and PLM simplify product data management from the get-go, reduce redundant data, and increase efficiency. Early management of product information and good data quality also saves time later.

The integration of PIM and PLM also leads, for example, to the automatic takeover of SKUs into the PIM system, thus enabling centralized maintenance of product data.

In an ideal case, both software solutions are linked to each other to provide all product data structured for the PIM and meet the requirements of different e-commerce providers. If all product data is stored in PLM in one place, the exchange of information with a PIM is much simpler. Seamless integration between PLM and PIM can help improve information flow and automate processes, saving time, money, and resources.

What needs to be considered in the decision PLM vs. PIM?

When you have to decide between PLM and PIM solutions, you should consider several factors. It is crucial to understand which business requirements the system should meet. PIM is specifically tailored to the needs of marketing and sales and makes it possible to provide up-to-date product information across all sales channels. In contrast, PLM is geared towards the specific needs of research and development teams and manufacturers in various sectors, such as chemicals or food (formulas or recipes), textiles (collections and brands), aerospace (parts and components), and others.

When it comes to improving the customer experience, PIM is the better choice, as it provides the sales team with accurate and current product information, ensuring a seamless and positive customer experience. PLM, on the other hand, focuses on managing product information in the different phases of the product life cycle and supports the internal control of business processes. Ultimately, the choice between PIM and PLM depends on your needs and requirements. It is vital to carefully analyze your business processes and needs to choose the right system for you. Whether you need a PIM or PLM system, or even both, is very individual.