We rebranded.
That’s the short answer, but as with any major business decision, there is lots more to it.
What was flexiPIM?
flexiPIM was a PIM tool created by DCKAP to cater to the product data and digital asset management needs of distributors. It has had quite the journey since its inception in 2019, and is one of many eCommerce solutions offered by DCKAP. For those uninitiated:
What is a PIM?
PIM stands for Product Information Management. It acts as a centralized data storage for all the content and information related to the products a company offers: from product SKU information to images, videos, and other specifications.
By allowing real-time collaboration and information sharing, a PIM tool can help companies manage their product information across multiple channels seamlessly, saving their teams a significant amount of time: time that can be invested instead towards other aspects of the eCommerce brand’s growth.
To summarize, a robust PIM tool can free up time lost in repetitive processes towards more productive areas. More specifically, it can offer multiple day-to-day advantages, including:
Easy Access to Product Data
No more looking at multiple windows and spreadsheets to find the content you’re looking for. Or wondering if they are the updated version. A PIM tool enables centralized product information, which allows fast access to accurate and timely content data for the entire team.
Increases Team Productivity
It’s a no-brainer that when teams aren’t losing precious time in repetitive, error-prone processes, they will have more time to invest in other more crucial aspects of the business. A PIM can help make that possible.
Boost Sales
Product content plays a huge role in influencing the buyer’s decision to purchase a product. eCommerce brands that can provide accurate and detailed information backed by enriched content like product images and videos are better equipped to establish a sense of trust with the buyer. A PIM tool can streamline the collating and enrichment of this data.
Scalability
Seeking a PIM itself is an indicator of business growth. It’s a tool built to ease businesses as they proceed to scale further, supporting the inclusion and management of more SKUs, distribution channels, and platforms: all from a single place.
A flexiPIM Tale: 2019 – 2021
flexiPIM first came to life back in 2019 as a way for distributors to have a smarter way of managing their product information. The Product Information Management tool was equipped with features that made managing product content and digital assets easier, especially when dealing with multiple marketing channels.
As the team understood the product better its key features evolved as well. This shaped the product to be more user friendly, while also offering rule-based workflow automation, bulk editing options, flexible import templates, multi-language support and more. The product, geared towards distributors and manufacturers at the time, saw popularity among Epicor Prophet 21 users and those seeking to sync their product content with external vendors and content aggregators such as DDS or TradeService.
What flexiPIM did, and DCKAP PIM now does
We were happy to introduce flexiPIM as we visited expos, trade shows and user group events like the P21WWUG, where quite a few attendees expressed their interest in having the tool solve their challenges as well.
flexiPIM v2.0: 2022
Then came Thanksgiving of 2021, and flexiPIM debuted its new and improved version 2.0. Factoring two years’ worth of key feedback from users and internal innovations, flexiPIM v2.0 was faster (by at least two times!), sleeker and more powerful version of the PIM tool. It boasts of major user interface upgrades and brand new features including:
- Advanced Filters: More ways to filter content, including ‘Unassigned category’: for easy access to all SKUs yet to have their respective categories filled out
- New Rules: A host of new rules that could be assigned to product relations and variants to help boost upselling and cross-selling strategies
- Family Import: For those handling multiple product families, this allowed easy assigning of attributes to families via spreadsheets, cutting down the manual effort
- More Publishing Features: Features that allow users to distribute product catalogs and collateral on every customer-facing channel in PDF and/or printable formats.
- Resize Images: Transformed media files to various formats and sizes that fit your carousel including thumbnails, portrait or landscape and more!
The Free PIM Plan
With the product having attained the maturity we sought, the tool hit one more milestone: the ability to be offered for free, in a limited capacity. flexiPIM did previously have a free version, but in 2022, it was now in a position where it could meet expected demands and deliver in a way that would meet our own expectations of the product.
Thus, in a bid to make smarter product information management more accessible even to smaller businesses, a free plan was made available for flexiPIM. With access to key features of the PIM tool, the free plan allows users to sign up and start using the product in less than 3 minutes, so they can immediately organize and improve online shopping experiences for their customers.
When flexiPIM became DCKAP PIM
Especially with the release of version 2.0, flexiPIM was certainly geared to support its intended users. At this stage, flexiPIM had its own market presence, right down to its own website and social media presence independent of that of the parent company, DCKAP.
As DCKAP took a more product-led approach, it was time that this tool also reflected that unified stance against Distributors’ eCommerce woes. Standing firmly by DCKAP’s new mission statement, flexiPIM shed its isolated identity and embraced a new one.
flexiPIM is now DCKAP PIM.
DCKAP PIM is flexiPIM rebranded, but also so much more.
The more intuitive name also helps DCKAP PIM reaffirm its role as we tackle challenges that distributors face online, joining the ranks of DCKAP Integrator, DCKAP Analytics and DCKAP Headless among other solutions. It brings together all the popular experiences and upgrades that flexiPIM offered, along with the expertise of a team that is now as unified upfront as it was all this while behind the scenes.
It goes without saying that from here on, it’s only onwards and upwards, as we continue to eliminate hurdles to Distributors’ eCommerce success, and continue to innovate to make your business goals a reality.
Our business goal? Simple enough, and one that all our products now reflect:
Simplifying Commerce for Distributors.
DCKAP PIM is crafted to make product information management easier, faster and better for distributors. The tool helps them deliver error-free, enriched product information that delivers what they expect and more. Head over here, to know more about how DCKAP PIM can help you put your spreadsheet woes aside.
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