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PIM vs ERP: the difference in short
ERP and PIM are often mentioned in the same breath, and searches like "pim vs erp" show the difference is not clear to everyone. Yet they do very different jobs. An ERP (enterprise resource planning) runs the business: purchasing, stock, orders, invoices and accounting. A PIM (product information management) runs the product information: the texts, attributes, images and categories a customer sees before buying.
A simple rule of thumb: the ERP knows what a product costs and how many are on the shelf. The PIM knows how to sell that product. An ERP item often has a short description for the buyer and the warehouse, such as "CHAIN 11SP 116L SLV". A webshop or marketplace needs a readable title, a description, attributes such as number of speeds and length, and good images. That rich content fits poorly in an ERP, and that is what a PIM is for.
What a PIM system is at its core is explained in what is a PIM system. This article goes one step further: how a PIM relates to an ERP, and where DAM, PLM and MDM fit in the picture.
ERP, PIM, DAM, PLM and MDM side by side
Next to ERP and PIM you will meet three more acronyms. A DAM (digital asset management) manages media files. A PLM (product lifecycle management) follows a product during development, from idea to production. MDM (master data management) makes sure master data such as products, customers and suppliers is the same in every system. This is how the work is split:
| System | Main job | Typical data | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERP | Running the business: purchasing, stock, orders, invoicing and accounting | Item number, EAN, cost and sales price, VAT, stock, suppliers, orders | Purchasing, warehouse, finance, management |
| PIM | Collecting product information, enriching it and sending it to sales channels | Titles, descriptions, attributes, categories, variants, product relations, product images | Ecommerce, marketing, product content |
| DAM | Managing media files, with versions, formats and usage rights | Photos, videos, logos, brochures, brand assets | Marketing, design, communications |
| PLM | Developing a product, from idea to production | Designs, technical specifications, bills of materials, materials, versions | Product development, engineering, production |
| MDM | Keeping master data identical across all systems | One golden record per product, customer and supplier, with codes and mappings | IT, data management |
In smaller businesses the source of price and stock is not always called an ERP. For a shop with a physical store it is often the point of sale system. For a webshop without its own stock it is the wholesaler or supplier that delivers a stock file. They play the same role as an ERP: they are the source of the commercial base data. Wherever this article says ERP, you can also read POS or supplier.
Where they overlap, and which system is the source
The systems overlap, and that is exactly where most errors start. A product name lives in the ERP, in the PIM and in the webshop. An EAN lives in the PLM, the ERP and the PIM. A product image lives in the DAM, in the PIM and on the marketplace. Who changes what, and which version wins?
The answer is ownership per field: one system is the source, the others read from it. A common split:
- ERP, POS or supplier: EAN and item number, cost price, sales price, VAT rate and stock.
- PIM: sales title, short and long description, attributes, category in your own tree, variants, cross-sell and upsell.
- DAM: the original media files and the rights to them. The PIM links the right image to the right product.
- PLM: technical specifications while the product is in development. At launch they move to the ERP and the PIM.
An example. A home goods webshop raises the price of a vase in the till, but a colleague also changes the same price by hand in the webshop. At the next sync one overwrites the other, and nobody knows which price is right. Agree that the price always comes from the till and the text always comes from the PIM, and the problem is gone.
Never let one field be edited in two systems at once. Pick one source per field and make sure the other systems only read from it.
How data flows between ERP, PIM, DAM and PLM
In a setup with all systems, a product usually follows this route:
- PLM: the product is designed and specified. Only at launch does it exist commercially.
- ERP: the item is created with item number, EAN, price and VAT. From now on the ERP tracks stock.
- DAM: the photographer delivers the images, which are stored and approved.
- PIM: the PIM reads the base data from the ERP, adds the images and fills in the rest: title, description, attributes and category.
- Sales channels: the PIM sends the complete product to the webshop, marketplaces and product feeds.
- Back to the source: orders from those channels go back to the system that manages stock and invoicing, so stock stays right.
Example: a bike parts wholesaler
Most webshops and wholesalers have no PLM and no separate DAM. Take a bike parts wholesaler with an ERP and its own webshop, which also sells on Kaufland and eBay. The ERP stays the source for item number, EAN, cost price, sales price and stock. The manufacturers deliver images and data sheets, and those go straight onto the product in the PIM. There, the chain from the earlier example gets a title like "Bike chain 11 speed, 116 links, silver", a description and attributes such as number of speeds, length and colour. The PIM sends everything to the webshop and the marketplaces. Sales on those channels lower the stock, so the wholesaler never sells more than is in the warehouse.
When do you need which system?
Not every business needs all five. Look at your own situation:
- Small webshop with a few hundred products: the webshop itself is often enough as long as you have one channel. As soon as you also sell on a marketplace or import products from a supplier, a PIM helps.
- Shop with a till and a webshop: the POS is your source for price and stock. A PIM adds what the POS lacks, such as descriptions and images, and keeps stock aligned on every channel.
- Wholesaler or distributor: an ERP for purchasing, orders and invoicing, and a PIM for the content towards webshop, marketplaces and business customers.
- Brand or manufacturer with its own product development: this is where PLM and DAM make sense. Lots of visual assets, several languages and approval steps call for specialised systems.
- Organisation with many systems and its own IT team: MDM only becomes relevant when the same master data lives in many systems and starts to drift apart.
Also remember: an ERP does not replace a PIM, and a PIM does not replace an ERP. A PIM does not book invoices, and an ERP does not write product copy for a marketplace. What a PIM brings to an online store is covered in PIM for ecommerce. How to introduce a PIM next to your existing systems is in PIM implementation.
Not sure whether you need a PIM? Count how many places you maintain the same product text. If it is more than one, a single central place saves you work and errors.
Where StoreLinkr fits between ERP and sales channels
StoreLinkr sits between your source of price and stock and your sales channels. It is a PIM with the connections built in, not an ERP and not an enterprise PIM.
What StoreLinkr reads
Products come in through connections with wholesalers, suppliers and POS systems, or through a one-time import of an XLS, XLSX or CSV file with column mapping and preview. For your own systems there is an API covering catalogue, stock and orders, among other things. You can also create products entirely yourself in the PIM. Which systems have a ready-made connection is listed under integrations.
What StoreLinkr holds and enriches
In the PIM you add what the source lacks: descriptions, attributes, metafields, variants, product relations, your own category tree, images with order and alt text, and attachments such as a manual. With product rules you change fields of an imported product without the next import overwriting them. From the EAN you enrich name, description, category and images, optionally with your own AI; see AI product enrichment. A data quality dashboard shows which products lack images, a valid EAN, a brand or dimensions.
Where StoreLinkr sends it
The complete product goes to your webshop (WooCommerce, Shopify, SitePack, CCV Shop, Lightspeed or HikaShop), to marketplaces such as Bol, Kaufland and Mirakl marketplaces, and to product feeds for Google Shopping and others. Per channel you choose the product selection, the price list and the stock locations. Stock stays aligned on every channel and marketplace orders arrive in one overview. How that works for your store is explained at connect your webshop.
What StoreLinkr does not do
StoreLinkr has no separate DAM: it manages product images and attachments on the product, not a standalone media library with rights management. There is also no PLM, no accounting or invoicing as in an ERP, no translated product content per language and no roles and permissions per user. If you do need those, for example as a brand with a large range in many languages, an enterprise PIM is a better fit. The differences are covered in best PIM software, and StoreLinkr's costs are on the pricing page.
One place for your product content, next to your ERP or POS
Read price and stock from your source, enrich the content in the PIM and send complete products to your webshop and marketplaces.
