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Digital asset management (DAM) software and product information management (PIM) software are two different but complementary software:
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.
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:
Some common features in DAM software include:
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 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:
Some of the common features you’ll find in PIM systems include:
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.”
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:
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 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.
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.
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