Product data management comes with a lot of abbreviations: PIM, DAM, SKU, GTIN, BMEcat, ETIM. This glossary defines the terms that actually come up in a specialist retailer's day-to-day work — one or two sentences each, with a link to the full explanation.
Systems and boundaries
- PIM system
- A PIM (Product Information Management) system is software that pulls product data from every source into one place, structures it, and publishes it to shop and marketplaces in each channel's own format. The need starts at roughly 500 SKUs from multiple suppliers or three channels run in parallel. What is a PIM system?
- DAM system
- A DAM (Digital Asset Management) system manages the media that belongs to a product — images, videos, datasheets, certificates — including versions, usage rights and per-channel format variants. What is a DAM system?
- PIM and ERP
- The ERP owns commercial master data: stock, purchase price, supplier, accounting. The PIM owns the sales-facing data: copy, attributes, categories, translations. Most retailers run both. PIM vs. ERP
- PIM and CMS
- The CMS runs the website and its content. The PIM holds the channel-neutral product catalog that also feeds marketplaces and exports — so product data never gets trapped inside a single site. PIM vs. CMS
- PIM and DAM
- The PIM manages structured product data, the DAM the media files that go with it. In practice the two belong together, because a product without images does not sell on any channel. DAM vs. PIM
Product identifiers
- SKU
- A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is the internal article number a retailer uses to identify one specific product variant. You assign it yourself — unlike the GTIN, which comes from outside. What is a SKU?
- GTIN and EAN
- The GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the globally unique product identifier issued through GS1. EAN is the older name for the 13-digit version of the same number. GTIN vs. EAN
Data structure and standards
- Attribute mapping
- Attribute mapping translates field names and values from a supplier file into your own data model — on two levels: field to field and value to value. Skip it and the same property ends up stored several times in different spellings. What is attribute mapping?
- BMEcat
- BMEcat is the XML standard for electronic B2B product catalogs in the German-speaking market. It carries article data, prices, classification and media references in a fixed structure. What is BMEcat?
- ETIM, eCl@ss and GDSN
- Classification standards define which properties a product group must carry. ETIM is common in electrical and plumbing trades, eCl@ss spans industrial supplies, and GDSN is the network for master data exchange in consumer goods. GDSN, ETIM and ECLASS explained
Catalog and channels
- Product catalog
- A product catalog is the complete listing of an assortment with data, images and prices — today usually a shop assortment, a feed or a generated PDF rather than a printed book. What is a product catalog?
- Product syndication
- Product syndication means distributing product data to every sales channel automatically — each in the format, scope and field structure that the individual channel requires. What is product syndication?
- Omnichannel
- Omnichannel means being present and consistent across every channel: the same product data, the same prices, the same availability information, wherever the customer looks. What does omnichannel mean?