Divide product data between PIM, shop and ERP

Divide product data according to its meaning and maintenance responsibility. PIM stands for product information management; ERP means Enterprise Resource Planning, the planning of business resources. For an item known to PIM, the shop and the ERP, each detail still needs an agreed authoritative source.

Map the item unambiguously

In a fictional company, product text from the PIM and available stock from the ERP are to reach the shop. The integration first needs an unambiguous item mapping. The same display name is insufficient when several variants exist. Clarify which identifier denotes the product and which denotes its orderable variant.

Assign responsibility for each detail

The following allocation is agreed for our example. It describes a project decision rather than a mandatory division of roles for every product.

The stock definition needs to be more precise than the word stock: does it mean physically present or available for orders? Have the definition established before transferring a technically valid number.

Decide how changes and exceptions work

If someone corrects a description directly in the shop, the next PIM import could overwrite it again. In the example, permanent text changes are therefore maintained in the PIM. A temporary exception in the shop needs an identifiable end and a rule for when the source applies again.

If a new item lacks a mapping, it is not linked to an existing item by name alone. The case is referred for clarification. It must also be clear whether a missing language text leaves the existing target text in place or removes it. The integration must not silently invent that decision.

Microsoft describes translation layers between systems with different meanings. For this exchange, the mapping can be implemented as an application component; an additional service is not mandatory.

Check the boundaries with sample data

Check an existing item with new text, a variant without a mapping and a record without language text. Then inspect the target values and the details that should remain unchanged. In the example, a text import must not reset the local publication decision. This shows whether the agreed responsibility is preserved during live transfer.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Anti-Corruption Layer pattern