What is a PIM?
A PIM (Product Information Management) is a system where product information is collected, enriched, and prepared for each sales channel: descriptions, attributes, translations, categories, and marketplace requirements. It usually sits between the ERP, which is the source of truth for item numbers, EANs, inventory, and prices, and the channels where you sell. A PIM organizes information, but it does not fill itself: someone still has to find images, write copy, and complete fields.
Why many fashion retailers no longer need a separate PIM
In the classic setup, product data comes from the ERP, a team manually adds images and copy to the PIM, and then it goes to the webshop. That manual intermediate step is exactly where products get stuck.
With Photopilot, item data comes directly from your ERP or POS system, such as ACA, LS Central, SRS, Business Central, or easyPOS: item numbers, colors, sizes, EANs, and, where available, attributes and dimensions. Supplier images are imported through Fashion Cloud, Stockbase, supplier portals, or FTP, supplemented with studio photos and AI images.
Photopilot matches each image to the correct item by EAN, item number, and color, edits it according to your template, and writes product descriptions in the languages of your webshop. After automatic or manual approval, images and text go directly to your webshop, such as Shopware, Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. The ERP remains the source of truth for item data and the webshop for presentation, so most fashion retailers no longer need a separate PIM as a manual intermediate step.
When a PIM still makes sense
A PIM remains valuable when the same product information has to go to many places, each with its own rules, and a team is responsible for that data every day. Well-known examples of PIM systems include Akeneo, Pimcore, Plytix, inRiver, and Salsify.
If you have a PIM, the route barely changes. Photopilot reads product data from your ERP, POS system, or a product feed, and delivers approved images and copy to the PIM via FTP, SFTP, the Webshop Excel, a feed, or the API. We define in advance which system is the source of truth for each field, so nothing overwrites anything else.
- Many sales channels and marketplaces, each with different data requirements
- A large B2B catalog with customer-specific assortments or price lists
- Complex specifications that come from multiple departments, such as technical, purchasing and compliance
- Multiple countries, each with its own assortment and product information
Start by asking where items get stuck before they go online. If the bottleneck is images and copy, solve it at the source. If it is channel-specific data, a PIM can help.
ERP + Photopilot or ERP + PIM + manual content
The table compares the two routes for a fashion retailer with one or a few webshops. The amounts and timelines for a PIM are indicative market ranges, not quotes.
| Component | ERP + Photopilot | ERP + PIM + manual content |
|---|---|---|
| Article data | Directly from the ERP or POS system | From the ERP, then enriched in the PIM |
| Images matched to the right item | Automatically by EAN, item number and color | Manual searching, renaming, and uploading |
| Product copy and translations | Automatic per language, with review where needed | Write or deliver manually per channel |
| Publishing | Straight to the webshop after approval | To the online store via the PIM |
| Implementation | Integrations are set up during onboarding | Estimated 2 – 9 months |
| Costs | From €500 per month, generative AI billed by usage | License, implementation, and internal management hours |