The wrong PIM strategy is worse than no strategy
Product companies don’t fail at PIM because they chose the wrong software. They fail when they configure the platform before they understand their own requirements.
A strategy engagement forces companies to ask the right questions first. What does your product lifecycle look like? Where does data originate? How many channels need enriched content, and in what format? Who owns what, and who approves it?
The answers to those questions inform your data model, integration architecture, and governance structure. If you get them wrong, every decision you make through the implementation will compound the problem.
How Ntara approaches PIM strategy
Commonalities exist across industry verticals, but each PIM implementation is unique. That’s why we start PIM strategy with an immersion into your business. We get to know the cross-functional teams who work in your product data every day, including ecommerce, marketing, IT, product management, operations and more.
From those workshops, we build:
Requirements definition: Documented PIM requirements tied to your specific business use cases, catalog structure, and channel needs.
Tech stack analysis: A clear picture of how PIM fits between your upstream systems (ERP, PLM, MDM) and downstream channels (ecommerce, distributors, marketplaces, print).
Data model recommendation: The attribute structure, taxonomy framework, and governance rules that will scale with your business and your teams.
Integration architecture: Which systems connect to PIM, in which direction, and how data flows through each touchpoint.
Prioritized roadmap: A phased plan that starts with MVP and sequences integrations, enrichment capabilities, and syndication based on business value.
PXM strategy before PIM software
One of the most common mistakes in PIM projects is letting a vendor’s demo drive your requirements. Our strategy work is platform-agnostic by design. We help you identify what your business needs first. Then, we apply that to your strategy.
What this looks like in practice
When Hyster-Yale Group set out to build a B2B ecommerce presence, the first step wasn’t choosing a platform. It was getting their product data in order. They had more than a million total SKUs and more than 50 years of parts data. It was all spread across disparate systems and managed through generations of different processes.
We surveyed their internal stakeholders, customers, and dealers. The data confirmed that a B2B ecommerce experience was their highest-ROI opportunity, but it required a PIM architecture capable of supporting it. We mapped their product data lifecycle, architected their PIM, and built the centralized data hub that became the foundation for their full B2B ecommerce launch.
Another client, a global cosmetics company, had a similar starting point with 30+ brands, siloed data, and no single source of truth. Six years into our relationship with them, this company has consolidated all brand data into a single PIM. They’re syndicating data automatically to Amazon and TikTok Shops, with new ecommerce consolidation initiatives underway.
What you get
- Documented PIM requirements brief
- Tech stack map showing system boundaries and data flows
- Recommended data model and taxonomy framework
- Integration architecture diagram
- Phased roadmap with sequenced priorities
These artifacts are yours, whether you implement with Ntara or not.
Ready to build a PIM strategy that holds?
Let’s schedule a discovery call to understand your current state and define what “done” looks like for your business.
