An older debate we’ve mentioned in a previous blog post is whether organizations should acquire a PIM or a DAM. Many argue that only one is needed as they are essentially the same thing. However, this just shows that there are still many people who don’t understand the differences between a PIM and a DAM solution. This post will explore the differences between the two solutions and show you that one does not replace the other.
What is Product Information Management (PIM)?
PIM stands for Product Information Management, our partner inriver explains a PIM as a fundamental solution that has been around for years. Made to assist various e-commerce and product teams attract and connect with customers. A PIM is essentially a system that manages product data such as images and product information. Including the methods for collecting, maintaining, and processing product data, as well as distributing said data to different media channels of choice. A PIM is an essential tool for retail businesses, specifically ones that manage their products online.
We recommend that you read our case study on our client Coop Norway for a more in-depth look into how beneficial a PIM is for an e-commerce.They are a great example of how a centralized DAM solution with integrations to a great part of your tech stack can help maximize productivity.
Why give a damn about DAM?
Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a solution that provides you with a centralized online hub to create, manage, share, track and find digital assets. QBank DAM gives you complete control of your digital assets and allows you to properly manage the creative processes.
A DAM streamlines management of all digital files including:
- Documents
- Video
- Audio
- Design files
- Presentations
- + Many more
One of the main benefits of using a DAM is the ability to easily find, access, fetch, and use all your digital assets from one main source. It makes sure that all assets are indexed and structured properly with metadata so they can easily be searched for and retrieved. Even if you don’t remember the name of an asset you’re still able to search for it with different parameters such as tags, descriptions, categories and more.
A DAM is outstanding for brand consistency and keeping everything updated no matter where it’s being used. Who is allowed access to what is regulated and controlled by a limited number of authorized users. This allows you to protect sensitive assets and copyrighted material. Even when sharing assets with someone outside of the organization such as partners or distributors, there is no need to worry about illegitimate usage of your assets.
Lastly, a DAM solution improves marketing efficiency and allows you to be more creative. Thanks to integrations with relevant applications such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and social media, it makes it easier for marketing professionals to do the work faster and more efficiently. Workflows and other processes are automatised to minimize the amount of steps required to carry out your tasks.
So, what’s the difference?
A DAM solution stores, organizes and collaborates the organization's digital assets. This includes everything from images, logotypes, to documents, pictures, and so forth. The main goal of a DAM solution is to drive the value of digital assets by allowing people at the organization to easily find, access, and use the assets. DAM shines the brightest when an organization has a large number of digital assets to access, fetch and share, both internally and externally.
A PIM essentially focuses on the products. It integrates product data and information within a centralized hub in order to optimize the product distribution throughout sales- and marketing channels. All the product data that is required for marketing and sale purposes are handled within the PIM solution. If you’re an e-commerce company with multiple different stock-keeping units (SKUs), or any dynamic product range that is often updated, a PIM can be very useful in helping to keep track of all the information needed in order to handle the products effectively.
As described above, DAM and PIM do in fact have certain aspects in common with one another. However, they were designed for different purposes and therefore have particular abilities for their intended use. It is not necessarily a question of which one is better than the other. The solutions work really well together and have various capabilities that complement each other.
Discover more about our integration for inriver PIM