PIM systems are becoming an increasingly important part of many eCommerce stores, especially in mid-sized and enterprise businesses. They are a huge help in managing multiple sales channels and sorting hundreds of products. By storing and distributing product information, this software automates many repetitive tasks and delivers accurate data to a client.
In today’s blog, we will go through the three PIM systems that work very well in Sylius store and can effectively improve the process of managing products on your eCommerce website. Each of them offers interesting yet slightly different functionalities that can create new opportunities to grow an eCommerce business.
Quick Jump
Ergonode
- Software: Cloud
- Price: Start (€299/month), Start+ (€699/month), Pro (from €1999/month)
Ergonode is a modern PIM system that facilitates and improves the eCommerce management of digital resources. It helps the product content team create, edit, manage, and distribute product content across all online sales channels.
The idea behind Ergonode’s creation was to create a PIM software with aspects that revolve around “human-centric design”. By following this idea, Ergonode entered the market as a simple, ergonomic, and efficient system. Its flexible architecture based on microservices allows the system to be freely customized to the business needs.
This PIM system is most often available as a cloud software (SaaS for the “Start” edition and PaaS for the “Pro” edition); however, the “Pro” edition also allows for a self-hosting option. As a PIM designed to streamline and optimize the management of product data across various platforms and channels, let’s check what it can offer to online businesses.
Key features of Ergonode
Product content management: Ergonode is an intuitive tool suitable for any content specialist. From designing product layouts from scratch to putting keywords for search engine optimization (SEO) and translation options, Ergonode provides a great environment for designers and marketing teams to work effectively. Also, category trees allow for segregating content based on the type of products.
Multimedia management: Easily upload media in bulk or manually and connect them with chosen products to create the best product experience that suits your company.
Multi-language: Create multi-lingual content by leveraging translations and AI tools. As the foundation of Ergonode is simplicity, editing text and translating it can be done directly in Ergonode with a simple click. What’s more, each user can be assigned to a specific languages so that your team can work with their native language.
Teamwork: Speaking of the team, Ergonode also facilitates teamwork and business efficiency. While managing a product catalog, users can create product statuses like “Correct” or “Publish” to inform others about the state of work. Additionally, assign your team members to specific roles, e.g., “Manager” or “Copywriter,” to prevent errors and unauthorized access to the parts of your store.
Integrations: Ergonode can be integrated with many popular eCommerce solutions on the market. Simply connect your eCommerce website with PIM using a connector on the Ergonode’s website.
AI tools: Inspire yourself to create and edit content by utilizing AI tools like a content generator, for example, for product descriptions.
Advantages of Ergonode
- Easy to use
- API-first
- Flexible architecture based on microservices
- Multiple languages
- Effective workflow features
- Regular updates and new features
Why is it worth to integrate Ergonode with Sylius?
In the case of the Sylius eCommerce platform, Ergonode introduces significant improvements in product management. Here are the key challenges that Ergonode successfully addresses:
Complex Product Management: Ergonode facilitates more complex product management, meeting modern eCommerce companies’ diverse and multi-faceted needs.
Template Functionality: Ergonode offers the possibility of creating similar products with a common base and extensive structure.
Agile Operations: Possibility of agile product filtering, category management, and handling of product relationships, thus improving sorting, organizing, and listing products.
Content Customization: It makes working on content easier by inserting variables inside descriptions, which increases accuracy, dynamics, and greater adaptation to changes.
Bulk Product Import: The bulk product import functionality is invaluable for companies with large inventories or those that want to quickly scale their operations without having to add products themselves.
Product Building Flow: Ability to establish a product development flow, ensuring a systematic and consistent approach to product development and management.
Overall, Ergonode provides an effective solution for companies using Sylius, solving various product management challenges and increasing the overall performance and adaptability of the platform.
Pimcore
Pimcore is a platform designed for Product Information Management (PIM), Content Management System (CMS), and Digital Assets Management (DAM). It enables the user to use an intuitive UX interface to easily model the data structure and manage it.
However, we will focus only on PIM functionality here (which is a subset of MDM). This open-source PIM software centralizes all information regarding sales, marketing, and technical product information, creating a synchronized source of all vital information for your online business.
There are three Pimcore editions available: On-Premise (Community Edition, Enterprise Edition, and Enterprise Edition Unlimited); Cloud Edition, SaaS (Starter, Professional, and Ultimate).
Due to that, an online business can choose a version that suits it best and leverage the flexibility and scalability of Pimcore to meet its specific business needs and growth objectives.
Key features of Pimcore
Data modeling: Pimcore is a multi-domain MDM platform enabling businesses to manage any domain’s data, including relationships and attributes. Here, a data model means the data, its characteristics, and its relationships with other data. Thanks to it, SKUs are organized (e.g., by category), which makes them easily accessible at any moment.
Product Experience Portal (PXP): This feature allows users to create unique product experiences based on real-time information. PXP is highly configurable and flexible, offering capabilities like a product search engine based on Elasticsearch, collections, dashboards, analytics, and more. Access to the core parts of the Product Experience Portal and permissions to edit and manage content can be defined and controlled to maximize security within the platform.
Product data syndication: Grow internationally and increase profits by effortlessly integrating data across various shopping, marketing, and business platforms. Pimcore provides robust data integration, standardization, content tailoring, optimization, and distribution of product data to over 2,500 sales and marketing channels.
Data quality management: Pimcore’s data quality management emphasizes maintaining flawless data quality and compliance, which is crucial for informed decision-making, brand integrity, and customer trust. It offers a user-centric configuration and customization approach, enabling precise navigation and adaptation of data quality and compliance checks alongside automated validations, cross-checking of data attributes, and visual quality assessments to ensure the best data integrity and optimization.
Enterprise translation management: Leverage automated translation processes to eliminate time-consuming manual tasks and increase efficiency with centralized linguistic assets.
Powerful integrations: Pimcore provides easy integrations with many systems and tools like Microsoft Office, Adobe InDesign, n8n workflow automation, and global marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Alibaba. What’s more, API-driven architecture makes it easy to connect Pimcore with any external system that the business currently needs.
Advantages of Pimcore
- Open-source platform
- API-driven architecture
- Multi-language
- Ready-made elements
- Powerful eCommerce solution
- Devoted community
Why is it worth to integrate Pimcore with Sylius?
Open-source technology: Both Pimcore and Sylius are based on open-source software, which allows for extensive customization and adaptation to specific business needs.
Flexibility and adaptability: Both systems are characterized by high flexibility, enabling expansion and adaptation of functions depending on project requirements. This allows you to create personalized solutions for online stores and data management.
PHP and Symfony Framework technology: Pimcore and Sylius are built on the PHP programming language and use the Symfony Framework. This common technological basis facilitates the integration and development of both systems.
Scalability: Both platforms are designed with scalability in mind, which means they can grow along with business requirements without the need for changing systems.
Modularity and expansion: Thanks to their modular structure, these systems can be easily expanded with new functionalities, which is important in the dynamically changing world of eCommerce.
Advanced content and product management: Pimcore offers advanced content and product data management (PIM/MDM) capabilities that can be used with Sylius eCommerce functionality, creating a comprehensive and integrated online store management environment.
Summing up, integrating Pimcore with Sylius can bring added value in the form of better product data management, a more efficient online sales process, and a more personalized customer experience.
As an example of the Sylius and Pimcore integration, take a look at these two stores:
Case study: Planeta Huerto
It is the largest Spanish online store based in Alicante. For ten years, it has been the undisputed leader in Spain and Portugal in the online sale of ecological, organic, healthy, and sustainable products.
Our task was to help replace the proprietary eCommerce system with a solution based on Sylius and implement Pimcore, which was to ensure simpler management of product information (images, descriptions, and translations in two languages). To do so, Pimcore was customized and integrated with Sylius through Kafka messaging.
In addition to PIM, in this project, we also implemented a CMS, a new payment system, and an advanced Elasticsearch search engine.
A full case study is available here.
Case study: ArtNight
ArtNight is a German company established in 2016. Its goal was to provide people with creative entertainment, e.g., by engaging them in creating their own art under the supervision of artists in local bars and restaurants.
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the entire world, ArtNight decided to move its activities to the Internet and organize online events.
Our task was to create a new platform based on Sylius (backend) and integrate it with Vue Storefront (frontend) and Pimcore (PIM system) to provide the client with fast and scalable applications with very well-functioning data and resource management systems, providing excellent value to all interested parties.
Apart from that, we also introduced a gift card system, implemented video courses, and internationalized the entire system (time zones, translations).
A full case study is available here.
Akeneo
- Software: Open-source/Cloud
- Price: Community Edition (Free), Growth (from $25K/year), Enterprise (custom pricing)
Akeneo is a product experience company that delivers tools for creating and managing content. It empowers worldwide brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with advanced technology and knowledge, enabling them to create omnichannel customer experiences that convert visitors into customers.
Akeneo PIM is a great solution for anyone who sells products in a few places. It makes it possible to keep the data clean and consistent. Akeneo is based on the Symfony framework, which is recognized as one of the best frameworks for PHP and has many reusable components.
A deployment model of Akeneo depends on the chosen edition of this software and is as follows: Community edition is an On-Premise solution; Growth edition is a SaaS solution; Enterprise edition can operate as SaaS or PaaS
Key features of Akeneo
Collect product data: From Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to Microsoft Excel, gather all necessary data from any system to create a unified and synchronized source of product information.
Time-to-market insights: This feature provide measurements and key performance indicators to monitor the duration required by your teams to prepare products for launch using Akeneo PIM. It also identifies areas for improvement in the product data enrichment process, helping to accelerate the process of releasing the product.
Advanced rights management and Teamwork assistant: Gain or restrict access to products and values that the users need to manage or enrich. What’s more, utilize Teamwork Assistant to show the publication progress of a particular product and its current status, plan your subsequent activities, and allocate responsibilities to the team.
Akeneo Syndication: Akeneo PIM Growth and Enterprise edition can connect with the Akeneo Syndication feature, enabling easy sharing of product experiences across all channels.
Automated eCommerce: Akeneo is equipped with capabilities that simplify and automate routine tasks, enhancing efficiency in processes. It assists in reducing workloads by executing bulk operations and monitoring tasks prior to their publication and validation. By taking over repetitive tasks, it allows your team to dedicate their efforts to more critical tasks.
What is Akeneo Product Cloud?
Akeneo Product Cloud is a complete SaaS-based solution with Akeneo PIM at its foundation. It allows businesses to create and manage every component in order to develop a unique system that meets their requirements. Apart from PIM functionality, it extends its capabilities to include advanced features such as product data intelligence, which helps optimize the quality and relevance of product information. Additionally, this SaaS offering includes various service levels, such as a Serenity mode, which provides automated patching and upgrades by Akeneo.
Advantages of Akeneo
- Open-Source
- API integrations and connectors
- User-friendly
- Big community
- Many hosting options
Why is it worth to integrate Akeneo with Sylius?
Compatible Technology Stacks: Both Akeneo and Sylius are built using modern, compatible technology stacks (such as PHP and Symfony), which facilitates seamless integration and ensures that data flows smoothly between multiple Sylius instances. Moreover, Akeneo can be integrated with Sylius by using the connector.
API-First Approach: Akeneo’s API-first design aligns well with Sylius, also built with a strong focus on APIs. This means both platforms can easily exchange data, including product information, attributes, and pricing details.
Community and extensions: The strong community and extension marketplace surrounding both Akeneo and Sylius provide various plugins and tools that can enhance the integration, making it more efficient and tailored to specific needs.
Improved Data Quality and Accuracy: The combination of Akeneo’s time-to-market and data insights and Sylius’s robust eCommerce framework ensures that customers receive accurate and high-quality product information, enhancing trust and satisfaction.
What should you consider when choosing a PIM for Sylius?
As in the case of many other systems, the PIM system should be suited to the business needs; otherwise, it may be a waste of money on redundant functionalities. The right PIM system can improve the accuracy and efficiency of product data management while also helping the customers find and read about products, which translates into increased customer satisfaction.
Secondly, take into consideration the implementation time of a chosen PIM, as they can vary widely. One system can be implemented in a few days, and another one needs a few months. While estimating that time, the size of a company also plays a big role. Next, remember to try out the PIM system before implementing it. Pay attention to the interface to see if it’s intuitive and clear. To do so, you can request a demo version of a PIM from a vendor’s website.
Finally, get to know the integration capabilities of a system to determine if it can be integrated with all the systems you are currently using. Browse the extensions and connectors to see if they are compatible with your existing software and infrastructure.
Summary
Product Information Management system is often a great way to support an online business and gather all crucial data in one place. The PIM solutions presented in this blog are valuable eCommerce tools that can significantly boost the effectiveness and accuracy of managing product information within multiple sales channels. Delivering accurate and up-to-date product information is essential to effectively selling products online – if you feel that the number of products becomes overwhelming and updating product information across platforms becomes too time-consuming – the PIM system is certainly a way to go.
Control The Data Chaos With Product Information Management (PIM)
