PIM Prices: How Much Does A Product Information Management Solution Cost
Product data is incredible and overwhelming. So are its amounts that have to be managed by any eCommerce company that wants to stand the competition.
With the development of product information management solutions and their constant magnification, the product content is no more managed manually. Digital solutions now can automate any data-related processes – from data collection and enrichment to its distribution to any possible sales channel. It’s fast, secure, state-of-the-art, and, of course, not for free.
So how much does a PIM cost, what is the price of the best PIM software, what are the hidden costs of PIM implementation, and the possible pitfalls when choosing a product information management solution? In this article, we’ll give the answers to these questions.
How Much Does A PIM Cost?
PIM Cost: What’s Inside?
Product information management tools can have significantly different prices and depend on a lot of factors, mentioned above. The PIM cost can be divided into one-time costs and ongoing costs. Not all of them apply to small, medium, or large businesses. Some types of costs are related only to companies of a certain scale.
To get a better understanding of the possible PIM price, let’s review it on the example of Gepard product information management software.
One-Time Costs
| Type of costs | Applies to (type of project) | ||
| Small | Medium | Large-scale | |
| Discovery and analysis costs
Costs related to the needs assessment, problem-statement, business processes analysis, and requirement elicitation. These costs can be either associated with your own research or with the workshops held by the consulting/provider company of your choice. |
No | Yes | Yes |
| Setup costs
Costs related to the project initialization include such configuration components as project set up and onboarding, database and data storage setup, tenant set up, etc. Note: These costs are typically included in customization and implementation costs or into license costs depending on the provider. |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customization and implementation costs
Incorporate costs of delivery of system configurations and customizations as per individual client’s needs on top of the solution’s out-of-the-box functionality. Some examples include:
|
No | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations/Connectors costs
Include costs of efforts needed to connect:
Note: the cost much depends on:
|
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Onboarding
Costs associated with employees training and onboarding. Note: The number could vary depending on the number of training sessions and the level of detail. |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ongoing Costs
| Type Of Costs | Applies to (type of project) | ||
| Small | Medium | Large-scale | |
| License costs
License fee typically includes the cost of access to the software modules that you are planning to use, regular automatic updates and access to the latest PIM features, cloud hosting costs, a Service-level Agreement (SLA), and an assigned Customer Success Manager. The license cost has many variables and depends on:
|
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support costs
Typically, support costs are included in the license fee. However, in some cases, you might require additional support hours and could request a support hours extension. |
No | No | Yes |
| Run costs
Run costs reflect the efforts needed for integration/connections support, regular third-party updates monitoring, and their implementation. The more unique and custom connections you have, the higher the cost will be. |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
PIM Costs Calculator
PIM price calculator is a simple tool that gives you an approximate price of a product information management solution depending on your requirements and requests. Generally, most of the PIM online calculators that are found on the Internet are made in the form of a questionnaire that helps PIM solution providers learn more about your needs, current product data management processes and capabilities and, based on the provided information, calculate PIM price for your business or give you PIM software comparison. Let’s review the main factors affecting the price.
1. Your Business Domain And Company Type
The industry the company operates in influences the choice of module functionality that might be useful for this exact business. The industries where a product information management system can be involved are home appliances, electronics, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), construction products, fashion, DIY, pharmaceuticals, and many other. eCommerce types of businesses that are using product information management solution can be manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, B2C or B2B enterprises.
2. Data To Manage
Product data, such as number of SKU (including variations such as color, sizes, etc), number of categories and attributes per category, and types of product data (images, videos, price and stock, documents) is required to get an idea of complexity and functionality of the product that will fit your business needs. This information influences the cost of data storage and cloud hosting.
3. The Number Of Data Input And Data Output Sources
The number of integrations and input/output source configurations is one of the crucial factors influencing PIM cost. It can be easily explained: each integration, connection, configuration, input/output channel requires extra resources from the PIM provider. Even though this is one of the most costly parts of solution implementation, it’s worthwhile from the long-term perspective. The increase of data input/output channels results in bigger levels of data automation and more opportunities for omnichannel business expansion.
4. Functional Requirements
The answers to these questions inform PIM solution providers about your product expectations. If you are interested in any out-of-the-box software functionalities, it’s important to notify providers about them, as those features might not be included in the core system and qualified as add-ons. The basic product information management solution functionalities might be not enough for your business, meanwhile, the extra features increase the price of solution implementation, and should be calculated accordingly.
In the end, remember that the PIM calculator will not estimate exactly how much is a PIM worth but rather will provide the solution providers with enough information to analyze your needs to give you an initial ballpark price offer. The more complete your answers are, the more precise will be the calculated PIM price (with an accuracy of +- 15-20%).
PIM Cost Estimation
Different PIM providers have their specific approaches to PIM cost estimation. Some are offering various PIM plans with different pricing, some are having more personalized approaches.
Here, at Gepard, we follow the rule that one size does not fit all, and that affects the solution price estimation process as well. First and foremost is learning all the customer’s requirements, and business pains, collecting all the important information that might influence the price. Gepard’s top-down approach is split into several stages, to get maximum transparency in price making. It also allows to track how the price change depending on different clients’ requirements.
| Applies to (type of project) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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PIM Cost: The Main Factors Of Price Increase
Can product information management solutions become more expensive? Absolutely. Here are some of the main factors that cause PIM price increase.
1. Increased demand
The digitalized eCommerce market with its need to become omnipresent led to increased demand for automated product information management and its distribution across multiple channels. The Covid-19 outbreak made it clear: if you want your business to survive, you should go online. It brought the problem of managing, enriching, and delivering immense amounts of product content that was too resource and budget intensive to be managed manually. The demand for PIM solutions started to grow by leaps and bounds, which caused the price increase. Yet it remains the most effective way to manage your product data, track all catalogs and inventory in real-time, and syndicate your content across numerous eCommerce platforms, retailers, and sales channels.
2. Platform evolvement
Platform growth is another reason why the cost of PIM software can increase. The more it evolves in functionality, complexity, and business possibilities, the more chances that the PIM cost will get higher.
3. Market share and brand awareness and recognition
Brand promotion is a budget intensive process, and it’s understandable that PIM tool providers want their marketing investments to bring profit. Being on the A-list of product information management solutions grants a company with more confidence in the market and the right to set a price higher than less recognized competitors. The customers also give more trust to providers who gained a certain level of prestige on the market, excellent reviews, and can boast of unparalleled customer service. They are willing to pay more just to be provided with a solution from A-players.
4. Cost of third-party services
Since many businesses work with third-party services (data storage, cloud), the price of their product is linked to the price of those services. If the latter increases, it’s predictable that the PIM price will also rise.
PIM Hidden Costs
The hidden costs of product information management software usually arise if you are buying a package version. Even though you usually get the PIM comparison of different packages, their advantages, and disadvantages, including the prices, that comparison is usually very high-level.
Generally, the additional costs are associated with:
- Integration/connection fees;
- Supplemental customizations or workflows, complex configurations;
- Add-on features that can only be set up for extra fees.
Even though lately most PIM solution providers are trying to be transparent about their prices, the risk of getting an “all-exclusive” deal where you have to pay for all the extras still exists. That’s why it’s worth paying special attention to the discovery and analysis phase of PIM purchase to make sure the provider company understands all your needs, requirements, and pains and can provide you with every little detail about the PIM package.
Another important thing is not to neglect the internal costs associated with the integration of PIM software into internally developed or already existing ecosystems. Do not mistreat the importance of your own investment (at least time resources) in the onboarding and implementation phases. Many think that this relates only to a PIM manager, meanwhile in reality other team members will have to invest in these stages as well.
Gepard PIM: Individual Approach To Your Data
Managing large amounts of data in a highly-digitalized environment is a challenge for companies of any scale. Finding the right PIM solution is yet another one. How to choose the right software and be sure that you are not shortchanged?
Knowing your business goals and setting clear expectations is an important part of the PIM roadmap. If automation of data-related tasks, flawless data management, enrichment, validation, and content collection are on your list of priorities, then Gepard PIM is the right answer for you. Add there data standardization, seamless content distribution to different sales channels, and digital shelf monitoring and you’ll get the right solution to any product information challenges. Focus on your strategic and creative tasks and let our specialists do the rest.
Want to learn how PIM can benefit your business and estimate the solution price? Book your free personalized demo now.
