Our evaluation, The Forrester Wave™: Product Information Management, Q4 2023, reveals a field of product information management (PIM) vendors that are driving topline business growth by actively managing product information quality within the enterprise and across thousands of channel endpoints. Consumer trends have shaped PIM vendors since our last evaluation due to high expectations for searching, filtering, and faceting product data attributes to comprehensively explore and evaluate products before purchase — online or in-store. PIM vendors are essential for organizations that bring products to market, not only through AI-enhanced product information management capabilities but also through the ability to syndicate product information to a long list of third-party digital shelves. Our 23 criteria shed light on the following key areas:
- The spectrum of supplier and enterprise data in information assembly. Modern PIM systems can ingest data from a multitude of sources and create vibrant product information for syndication, but supplier and enterprise data exists on a spectrum of attribute fidelity, and modern PIMs are stepping into the role to enhance attribute quality for rich product experiences.
- The robotics quotient and digital shelf analytics. As AI capabilities are enhanced through machine learning and generative AI, product teams’ roles are evolving quickly to drive competitive advantage in the market — putting digital shelf analytics capabilities in the crosshairs for business growth through human-assisted intelligence.
- Syndication’s greatest challenge — channel volatility. Constantly changing endpoint requirements impact businesses’ ability to serve high-quality experiences on the digital shelf. Today’s PIM solutions are addressing this need through a myriad of features, including robust API endpoint architectures, workflows, and automated error reporting.
How Do You Determine Which Solution Is The Best Fit For Your Business?
If you are assessing the content management capabilities of your organization, please get in touch with me for an inquiry or guidance session so we can explore the right technology for your business.
Forrester clients can download the full Forrester Wave scorecard (using the Excel download link at the top of the page) and dig into the wealth of evaluative information in the scores and scales. This is an incredibly powerful and customizable tool. Some of our recently released reports provide additional detail to help guide your decisions, including revenue/cost drivers, embedded solutions, and the larger PIM landscape of vendors:
