How difficult is it to switch to a new PIM?
Assessing a product or service properly in advance can be tricky. It may seem appropriate at first, but turn out in the long run not to be the right PIM solution for your business after all. Fortunately, you can easily switch in most cases.
Yet this does not happen quickly, because change involves extra work. But did you know that switching to a new PIM system is much less complex than implementing your very first PIM?
Switching to a new PIM system
If all goes well, your product data is already centralised in your current PIM system. This makes switching to a new PIM less complicated. However, it is important to properly analyse the current situation and compare it with the desired and future situation. What do you want to keep? What needs to be changed?
Often, much of your data model can be retained. This is because most PIM solutions use the same types of attributes and similar concepts, such as classifications. If this is also the case at your organisation, switching mainly comes down to transferring the existing structure.
The focus is then mainly on the functionalities offered by the new PIM system. If you want to make optimal use of it, you will also have to change something within your organisation. Think about the way you handle product data, but also about your processes. How does your organisation work with PIM, and what things around it need to be changed? In a good PIM implementation, you include all these components.
A new PIM, but the same supplier
Of course, you don't always have to switch to a completely new PIM system. Instead, you can also update your current version, for example from the Akeneo Community Edition to the Akeneo Enterprise Edition.
This is not a matter of cut and paste. By doing so, you ignore the advantages of the extended version. That is why we always start this type of project with a thorough analysis of the current and desired situation. This way, we map out the difference between the old and the new version and catch any bottlenecks in time.
Stay critical
Keep looking critically at your systems. Do they still meet your current needs? Are you getting sufficient support from your supplier? If you have to answer 'no' to any of these questions, it is wise to consider a possible replacement. That process really doesn't have to be as complicated as you think - and it will benefit you greatly in the long run.