Do you have an online store, or maybe two? Are you using Facebook Product ads and Google shopping? Selling via distributors and use marketplaces such as Amazon or Ebay? In case even some of the answers to these questions are “yes”, you might be in the market or even currently using a PIM system and should think about optimising your translation workflow. Forget managing your product information in multiple excel sheets and trying to keep up if everything is ok.
Benefits of a PIM system
Product information management is a system designed to help with these problems. Essentially, it is an easy to use database with API’s and user interface designed to make sense of all things related to products. Or even simpler, a system for handling all the product data needed to market and sell on multiple channels and markets.
The case for a PIM system comes readily in light when thinking about selling in multiple markets. You seldom have exactly the same products with exactly the same product data in all your markets. And what about marketing? For a truly global company, the seasonality of your campaigns varies as seasons are different in different places. Or maybe you just want a smarter way to target which of your products should be This is where a PIM system shines: controlling and maintaining custom product information and distributing those wherever and whenever needed.
This is what Henri Hauhia from Vaimo says about inRiver PIM:
"inRiver offers the most advanced product information management solution on the market. inRiver's PIM solution has been delivered to B2C and B2B companies operating in 20 sectors in 21 countries. The cloud-based, SaaS solution provides companies with centralised product information management, based on optimised and automated processes that enable them to operate efficiently in a continuously changing environment.”
Managing multilingual content in a PIM
Naturally, when your product data is hosted in PIM that means that your translations should be there as well. It’s no use using our Magento plugin to translate your product information if Magento is only the front-end for your product information (although you should still use the plugin for CMS content!). The solution is obvious: automating and integrating translation services with the PIM system will be the way forward. Without automation, a lot of the productivity benefits from a PIM system will not materialise.
Connecting a PIM system and translation automation will enable companies to reach new levels of agility and productivity. Enrich your product data with information about materials, colour, sizing information, how-to-use videos and photos in the PIM and with correct integrations and automation you rest assured that all will be translated to correct languages without you needing to lift a finger.
“You need to translate product information into several languages to do business in a multichannel and international environment. Each language multiplies the time spent enriching product information. To avoid over-burdening the company, this can be outsourced to a translation service, which enables the company to enrich product information in just one language: localised product information is automatically fed directly into inRiver’s PIM solution via a translation-service integration.” - Henri Hauhia, Business Consultant (PIM)
Next steps
No matter if you are already a seasoned PIM veteran or just starting to feel the pain of product management by excel, you should consider how to make life easier for yourself and your team. And don’t forget that better product information is rewarded with both better customer loyalty and better results in search engines.
Interested to hear more about how PIM and translation automation would benefit you? Drop us a message and we’ll be in contact.
