DAM vs. PIM: Core Differences & How to Use the Two in Tandem

Digital asset management (DAM) software and product information management (PIM) software are two different but complementary software:

• DAMs let you store, manage and distribute digital assets like documents, images, videos, 3D models, marketing and sales collateral, and more. The goal of DAM software is to centralize all of your brand assets and metadata information so you can easily share content with team members and stakeholders, oversee digital projects, and report on asset usage. In this system, the focus is on the asset. 
• PIMs are similar in functionality but they are centered around products, so they let you store, update, manage and distribute product information, like SKUs, product specs, virtual product catalogs, pricing, shipping information, and marketing materials. PIMs consolidate data from various sources so you can oversee all product-related information in one hub.

 

In simplest terms: DAMs let you manage all of your brand assets and the associated metadata. PIMs focus on product-related information. 

These systems are often confused because the feature sets are similar and many PIMs have light DAM functionality so you can store relevant brand assets (like product imagery, videos and PDFs) with the products they’re tied to. 

But, at the end of the day, neither software can fully replace the other because PIMs don’t have the features to manage the wide variety of brand collateral that most businesses have, and DAM systems don’t have the features to store super detailed product data in a systematic way.

So if you’re using (or considering) both software, it’s a good idea to pair the systems and use them in tandem. 

In this post, we’ll explain more about DAM vs. PIM and how they complement each other. Then, we’ll talk about Brandfolder’s PIM integration with Salsify and how it works. 

You can schedule a free demo and consultation of Brandfolder to see a walkthrough of our platform and learn more about how we integrate with PIM systems.

Digital Asset Management Software: The Basics

As we explained above, DAMs serve as a single source of truth to manage all brand assets — this goes beyond product-related content like images, videos, product information sheets, and includes everything from brand logos to templates, 3D models, design files, etc. (DAMs like Brandfolder accept hundreds of file types so you can keep everything in one storage solution.)

Digital asset management systems are a step up from cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and Box, and have more advanced features to: 

• Keep your digital asset library organized and current so everybody has the most updated and approved versions of content.
• Share digital assets with internal teams and external partners, restrict access control and keep track of who has access to what. 
• Edit, optimize and repurpose already-approved content so teams can work more efficiently and designers have fewer requests on their plate (which, in turn, lets you improve time-to-market). 
• Distribute assets across various online mediums and create custom print orders. 
• Integrate with other software in your workflows to push information between systems and access DAM assets in those tools.  
• Report on asset usage, monitor how teams use brand assets and where they’re published online, and see what content is most popular with target audiences.

 

Some common features in DAM software include: 

1. Cloud-based storage that you can adjust as your library grows. 
2. User permissions, online share links, and Brand Portals to distribute assets to other teams. 
3. Transformation tools, templates, or content automation to create new collateral on the fly. 
4. Integrations and API to sync the DAM with other software. 
5. Insights and reporting dashboards.

Many DAMs have comparable feature sets; however, some digital asset management systems, like Brandfolder, have extra features that give you more functionality in the DAM. For example, Brandfolder has Brandguide (so you can store and share brand guidelines), Workspace (so you can oversee creative requests and new digital projects), and Smart CDN (so you can publish content from the DAM and use Brandfolder as the source of the file). 

So, who typically uses DAM software? 

DAMs are useful for any team that has outgrown basic cloud storage and needs more robust features to maintain and manage brand assets. This includes creative agencies, sales and marketing teams, retail and eCommerce businesses, manufacturing companies, CPG brands, and more. And although DAM software mostly appeals to mid-size and enterprise teams — and can feel unattainable to smaller businesses — there are options for any team that’s ready to make the switch. The key is finding the right DAM vendor that can tailor the software to your current needs and scale with you.

In summary, DAMs act as a central hub for all of your brand assets, and they can integrate with other tools in your daily operations to feed content to those systems and push data back and forth. 

Product Information Management Software: The Basics

Product information management software is a central source for all of your product data; it stores all of the information you would need to sell, ship, or market products, and it organizes data at the product level. PIM solutions make it easy to keep updated product information (for all variations of your products) and oversee the entire product lifecycle. 

So while DAM libraries are organized by asset, PIM libraries are organized by product.

PIMs let you store:

• Product details like item names and SKU numbers. 
• Product specifications like materials, warranty, sizing information, or product dimensions.
• Marketing materials like website descriptions, approved copy for social media, keywords and target audiences.
• Sales information like pricing, discounts, and FAQ. 
• Channel-centric information like product availability, return and exchange policies. 
• Product-related digital media like high-quality imagery, customer testimonials, user manuals and videos. This is where PIMs and DAMs overlap, but because PIMs don’t accept all brand assets, teams need a corresponding storage solution to manage all of their digital content.

Some of the common features you’ll find in PIM systems include: 

1. Artificial intelligence (AI) to consolidate product data from different sources. 
2. Advanced search so you can quickly find products in your library.
3. Automation rules to power bulk actions, like updates to product information. 
4. Custom workflows and user permissions that give you greater control over what users do in the PIM. 
5. Integrations and API.

PIM systems are popular for eCommerce, retail, manufacturing, CPG and other product-based businesses that have a large product range and need a clear way to keep product information organized and accurate. Typically, PIMs are reserved for enterprise companies because they’re expensive, but mid-size and smaller teams with the budget for this software can also benefit from it. 

Note: There are several names for PIM software. Besides “product information management,” some teams refer to this software as “product content management,” “product resource management,” “product data management” or “product experience management.”

How to Use DAM + PIM Together

When you integrate digital asset management and product information management software, you can reap the full benefits of each — integrations let you push PIM information back to the DAM, and access brand assets in the PIM. You don’t have to manually store or update information in both platforms, it’s done automatically when you make changes in one or the other. 

Here’s how it works:

1. First, You can import and organize all of your brand assets in the DAM solution (this includes product-related assets and all other brand collateral). 
2. Then, you can add all of your products and product information to the PIM. 
3. Next, our team will help you set up the DAM+PIM integration with these steps.
4. From there, the synchronization between systems is powered by Product ID. Navigate to the product you want to sync with Brandfolder and copy the Product ID from the PIM. Then, jump back over to Brandfolder and add that product ID to the asset(s) you want to push to the PIM. Those assets will automatically populate in the PIM, but Brandfolder remains the source of the file; if you make updates to assets in Brandfolder, they will translate to the PIM. 
5. Finally, Brandfolder will analyze product information from the PIM and automatically add that info as metadata in the DAM. (You can choose which properties you want to be transferred between systems.) Then, you can access relevant product information from Brandfolder in a clear, succinct way. If you ever make updates to product information in the PIM, the changes will automatically reflect in the DAM.

 

Connecting DAM and PIM software improves brand consistency and creates a more trustworthy customer experience — everybody is seeing the same versions of your product images, the correct prices, updated inventory information, product policies, etc. across all consumer touchpoints. You can be confident that all information is accurate and up-to-date.  

Brandfolder’s Product Information Management Integrations

Brandfolder has a native integration with Salsify, a robust PIM software with features that help you create high-quality eCommerce shopping experiences across all sales channels. (You can learn more about Salsify on their website.) However, we also have an open-source API so you can build integrations with other PIM software and connect the two systems.

Whether you’re using Salsify or you need to configure a custom integration, our team is available to guide you through the process and make sure you have integrations set up correctly.

It’s also worth noting: Brandfolder offers light product information management capabilities through our custom fields feature. Teams that are interested in PIM software but feel it’s a little too much for their needs can use DAM software to store product information at the asset level. Just create custom fields to coincide with the information you want to store, then you can update the information in Brandfolder. 

Learn More About DAM + PIM with a Free Demo

Want to learn more about DAM vs. PIM software and how you can leverage both systems to streamline business operations? Schedule a call with our dedicated customer experience team to talk more about what you’re looking for in a software solution. We can help you decide if you’re a fit for DAM software, PIM software, or both.