It’s not always easy to pitch a PIM investment to your CFO.
Why? Because PIM system doesn’t shout. It doesn’t sit where transactions happen. But it’s the engine room of everything that does.
Here’s how to build a compelling, data-backed business case for PIM based on insights from Einar Augedal, CEO at Bluestone PIM, and Martin Knutson, Senior Business Strategist at Avensia.
Why Your CFO Might Not See the Value Yet
When budgets are tight, finance teams prioritise initiatives they can track straight to revenue.
A transaction is very easy to calculate and to measure. But what leads to a transaction is more difficult. PIM is often hidden behind the scenes, yet it underpins everything from product launches to website conversions.
The fact that PIM doesn’t live at the point of sale doesn’t make it less important. In reality, the ability to sell anything online across multiple channels relies on structured, accurate, enriched product data. Without that foundation, everything downstream starts to crack.
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The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Real
If your business is still managing product data in spreadsheets or bolted into an old ERP system, you're already paying for it. That legacy setup worked back when you had a handful of SKUs and one or two channels. But today, with dozens (maybe even hundreds) of touchpoints the situation has changed and the old systems just won’t cut it any more.
Slow content updates, missed product launches, disjointed campaigns, duplicated work, returns caused by incomplete information and the hours lost manually chasing attributes, fixing errors. These are real costs. All that adds up.
Customer experience starts with product content. It doesn’t matter how good your platform looks or how slick the checkout is, if the product information is weak, trust falls and sales suffer.
Where PIM Impacts Revenue
Better product data improves visibility, drives engagement, and increases conversions. It enables bundling, personalisation, search accuracy, and faster time to market. In practical terms, it lets you move from ideas to live offers in hours, not days.
Without a modern system, teams struggle to keep up with volume. If you’re managing thousands of SKUs but only enriching a fraction of them, then you're not scaling your product business, you’re just keeping it afloat.
With the right setup, you focus on the products that matter most. That alone can have a direct impact on sales.
Watch the full story in the video.
PIM Doesn’t Just Increase Revenue
If you’ve got 20,000 products and can only enrich 5% of them properly, the rest represent missed potential. And manual processes slow everything down. That leaves you with a choice: hire more people, or scale back your range. Neither is ideal.
Without a modern system, you're forced to choose between scaling product content or scaling sales. With the right PIM, you don't have to pick at all.
Composable tools like Bluestone PIM streamline all of that. They support collaboration, reduce admin, and make data more consistent across every touchpoint. Teams spend less time fixing issues and more time improving the customer experience.
They also simplify localisation, syndication, and regulatory compliance, all without creating extra work or extra cost.
Fast Data, AI, and Smarter Operations
Bluestone PIM takes product data management even further with integrated AI features built for scale and speed.
Instead of writing every product description manually, AI Enrich generates content instantly, tailored by language, tone, and channel. AI Linguist refines grammar, improves style, and delivers high-quality translations that stay true to your brand. AI Analyst helps identify gaps, flag incomplete listings, and prioritise fixes, so your team focuses where it counts.
If you’re launching a time-sensitive campaign or expanding into a new market, you need to act quickly. With AI embedded directly in the PIM workflow, you can update content on the fly without compromising quality.
Turning Product Data into Business Value
To make the case, translate the benefits into terms that resonate with finance:
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How much time is spent manually managing product data today?
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How many products are delayed in going live due to slow enrichment?
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What percentage of your catalogue is fully optimised for SEO and conversions?
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What’s the cost of errors, returns or duplicated effort?
Show how a composable PIM improves efficiency, reduces reliance on external services, and shortens time to market. Include what competitors are doing and how the market is shifting. Highlight the role of PIM in future compliance with regulations like the EU Digital Product Passport, and how it positions your business to adapt quickly.
Get the full checklist with 13 essential questions to help you make the right decision. Download it for free here.
Make It Strategic, Not Just Operational
PIM system gives your business the ability to grow without adding manual workload. That’s what turns it from a cost to a smart investment.
If you’re ready to make the case, focus on the numbers, the time saved, and the risks reduced, just talk to our team or book a demo. We’re here to support you.
