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PIM Starter: getting ready for a PIM implementation

A six-week workshop programme that prepares the organisation for a PIM implementation. We train the team, map the processes, and design the data model, the integrations and the workflow. At the end you receive a full set of documentation and an implementation quote based on an agreed scope.

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6 online workshops · 100% remote · no cap on participants · consultation free of charge

Why a programme before the project

PIM implementations rarely fall over on the technology

They fall over on the organisation: the data model is undefined, roles and responsibilities are unclear, and individual departments hold expectations that nobody put side by side before the start. What follows is a run of redesigns mid-project, and every one of them costs more than settling the same question in a workshop.

PIM Starter takes those risks off the table before the implementation itself begins. Over six weeks we walk the organisation through a structured programme: we train the team, map the processes, and design the data model and the integration architecture. Only on that basis is a quote written, and only then does it stand a chance of holding to the end of the project.

In short: a process project before the system project.

Is a pre-implementation analysis essential in a PIM project?

What the programme changes

Four things that are settled before the implementation starts

Each of them is a standard source of delay in a PIM project. The programme resolves them in a workshop, where they cost nothing but time.

Skills

A team that knows what it is talking about

We train everyone who will work with the system: production, marketing, sales, e-commerce, IT and logistics. After the programme every department understands what a PIM system does, and can state its own requirements in language that can be costed.

System choice

A decision made on live systems

We show Akeneo, Ergonode and Pimcore on working installations, not on sales decks. The recommendation follows from your catalogue, your number of markets and your team, not from vendor material.

Budget

A quote based on an agreed scope

We price the implementation only once the data model, the integration list and the workflow have been approved together. That is the difference between an estimate and a range guessed before any analysis.

Risk

Fewer iterations mid-project

A prepared team means fewer redesigns during delivery. It rules out the scenario where a department nobody invited at the start turns up near the end and wants everything done differently.

Programme

Six weeks, six workshops

Each week has one goal and ends in a specific document. The schedule is indicative: the final dates are set once the contract is signed.

  1. 01

    Week 1

    Smart Start

    We build a shared vocabulary. Akeneo, Ergonode and Pimcore are shown live, from every department’s point of view, and we collect what the whole organisation expects. You leave with expectations and challenges listed per department, an early system preference, plus the materials and a recording of the workshop.

  2. 02

    Week 2

    Diagnosis of the current state

    We map how product data moves today: from the source, meaning the ERP, spreadsheets and shared drives, through to publication in sales channels. Operational problems and bottlenecks get named. Output: an as-is process diagram, a prioritised list of problems and a RACI matrix of roles and responsibilities.

  3. 03

    Week 3

    Data structure

    We design the data model on your real products: templates, attributes, categories, variants and language versions. Output: the data model in a spreadsheet plus a sample product structure broken down into attribute groups.

  4. 04

    Week 4

    Integrations

    We design the system architecture with the PIM at its centre: flows from the ERP into the PIM and onward to sales channels, the role of middleware, the demands placed on each API. Output: an architecture diagram and a prioritised list of required integrations, each with its data flow described.

  5. 05

    Week 5

    Workflow

    We design the product workflow: statuses, transitions, permissions per department, validation rules and notifications. What we model is the process the company actually runs, not the one in the documentation. Output: a workflow diagram, a permissions matrix and a list of automated actions.

  6. 06

    Week 6

    MVP and quote

    We prioritise the implementation scope: must-have against nice-to-have. The quote is reviewed and approved, and the schedule agreed. Output: an agreed MVP scope, a schedule with milestones and a quote broken down by role and task.

The programme in numbers

6weeks

From the first workshop to an approved quote

6workshops

Online, one a week, with your own work in between

8documents

In the final pack, in formats you can keep working in

100%

Remote, with no cap on participants on your side

Deliverables

What you receive after six weeks

Eight documents, each in a format you can keep working in. They stay with you whoever ends up running the implementation.

DocumentFormatContents
PIM Starter reportPDFThe complete pre-implementation analysis: current state, target model and a system recommendation with the reasoning behind it.
Data modelSpreadsheetAttributes, templates and categories, ready to be extended during the implementation.
Process modelBPMNProduct data flow in its as-is and to-be variants, with each department’s role marked on it.
Workflow diagramDiagramStatuses, transitions, notifications and the permissions matrix per department.
Integration architectureDiagramThe PIM at the centre: ERP, sales channels and marketplaces, with the data flow described per integration.
Implementation scheduleGanttA week-by-week plan with milestones and a split of responsibilities.
Implementation quoteSpreadsheetA detailed estimate per role and task, and the basis of the implementation contract.
Training materialsPDF and recordingsWorkshop decks, recordings and further reading for the whole team.

The implementation quote is the most important item here. It comes last, because only once the data model, the integrations and the workflow have been designed is it clear what is being priced. That is the difference between an estimate and a range handed over before the analysis.

Format

How the workshops run

The programme is fully remote and built so that people can take part alongside their day-to-day work.

Rhythm

6 online workshops

One workshop a week, fully remote. Between workshops the team works internally on the tasks from the previous session, with a consultant on hand.

Participants

No cap on headcount

Invite everyone who will work with the PIM system: marketing, sales, IT, e-commerce, logistics and production. The programme is not billed per participant.

Documentation

Materials after every workshop

After each session you receive training materials and working documents, and at the end the full implementation documentation. Nothing stays in our notes.

Fit

Who PIM Starter is for

The programme is a first step for companies that know they need a PIM system but have not yet described their product process. Below we also say when it is not needed.

The programme makes sense if

  • You know product data is a problem, but nobody has described it as a process
  • Several departments work on the same products and each keeps its own version of the truth
  • You are comparing PIM systems and want to decide on your own requirements, not on vendor demos
  • The board is asking about the implementation budget and you have nothing to base a number on
  • An earlier attempt to tidy the data fizzled out, because the departments never agreed anything

Give it a miss if

  • You have an approved data model, your integrations written down and a system chosen: go straight to implementation
  • You are looking only for training on one specific system, with no process design
  • The board has not yet decided on an implementation and there is nobody free to attend the workshops

Next step

Not sure whether this is the moment?

Tell us about the catalogue, the number of markets and the systems the PIM has to integrate with. We will say plainly whether the programme is needed, or whether you can go straight to implementation. The consultation is free and commits you to nothing.

Book a callPIM systems

Materials

Before you book a call

PIM Academy is our video series on PIM implementations from the practical side. The three episodes below cover exactly the stage that PIM Starter organises.

PIM Academy · episode 6

Is a pre-implementation analysis essential in a PIM project?

What the analysis is in practice, what the final document contains, and five steps that will get you ready for the workshops.

Watch the episode

PIM Academy · episode 4

PIM implementation mistakes: eight traps and how to avoid them

Eight situations that cost the most during a project. The preparation programme exists so you can avoid them.

Watch the episode

PIM Academy · episode 3

How much does a PIM implementation cost? Eight factors

What beyond the licence really decides the budget, and why a range quoted before the analysis always drifts.

Watch the episode

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about PIM Starter

What is PIM Starter?
It is a six-week preparation programme that runs before a PIM implementation: a pre-implementation analysis delivered as a series of workshops with your team. Across six sessions we train the participants, map how product data moves today, design the data model, the integration architecture and the workflow, and finish by agreeing the MVP scope and the implementation quote. The result is a full set of documentation that stays with you.
Do we have to choose a PIM system before the programme starts?

No. Choosing the system is one of the outcomes of the programme, not a condition of entry. In week one we show Akeneo, Ergonode and Pimcore on live installations, and we only make a recommendation once we know the data model, the integrations and the processes.

If you want a sense of the differences beforehand, start with the three systems side by side on our PIM hub.

How long does PIM Starter take, and how much of our team’s time will it need?
The programme runs for six weeks: one online workshop a week plus the team’s own work between sessions. The schedule is indicative and the final dates are set once the contract is signed. Budget a little more time than the workshops themselves: some of the decisions need conversations inside the company that nobody has had before.
Who should take part in the workshops?
Everyone who will work with product data: marketing, sales, e-commerce, IT, logistics, production, and a decision-maker from the board. There is no cap on participants and the number does not affect the cost. The more departments hear the same decisions, the fewer corrections turn up during implementation.
How is PIM Starter different from an ordinary pre-implementation analysis?
In the scope of the document, not at all: the output is the same pre-implementation analysis. The difference is the form. An analysis is often run as a series of interviews, after which the client receives a document to read. PIM Starter is a workshop programme: the team learns as it goes and the decisions are taken together in the sessions. That is why the documentation does not then need explaining to the organisation.
Do we have to implement the system with Macopedia afterwards?
No. PIM Starter is a self-contained stage, billed separately, and the documentation, the data model and the quote stay with you. The decision to implement, and the choice of partner, comes after the programme and rests on what we established in it. We treat that as a fair deal: if the analysis goes well, nobody needs persuading about the next step.
How much does PIM Starter cost?
The programme has a fixed price, independent of the number of participants. We give it on the free consultation, together with an indicative range for the implementation itself, so you can plan the whole budget rather than just the first stage. Book a call and we will set out terms matched to the scale of your catalogue.

Start with the process, not with a system demo

Book a call

Let’s talk about your product data

Tell us how many products you have, how many markets you sell in and which systems the PIM has to integrate with. We will reply with what the programme would look like in your case and what should be in the implementation scope.