How to optimise your workflow: PIM, DAM and omnichannel for a better customer experience

The importance of customer experience (CX) has changed fundamentally in recent years: customers now expect consistent, personalised and seamless experiences across all channels. Studies highlight just how critical this issue is: one in two consumers will turn away from a brand after just two bad experiences. At the same time, 64% are convinced that technologies such as AI will significantly improve the quality of CX. For businesses, this means that their own workflow relating to product data, content and channels is becoming a decisive factor for success.

What does customer experience have to do with PIM?

At first glance, a PIM (Product Information Management) system appears to be a purely technical tool. In reality, however, it is one of the key drivers of a successful customer experience. The reason lies in the role of product data: it is often the first and most important point of contact between the brand and the customer.

A PIM ensures that product information is available in a complete, consistent and up-to-date form across all channels. This is exactly what customers expect today – regardless of whether they are browsing an online shop, marketplaces or a physical store. Companies that meet these expectations build trust and demonstrably increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

The challenge here is enormous: around 80% of retailers are not themselves convinced of the quality of their product data. This highlights just how heavily CX depends on internal data processes. An optimised workflow in the PIM ultimately means: fewer errors, faster time-to-market and a better experience throughout the entire customer journey.

The role of DAM in the workflow

Whilst PIM manages structured product data, a DAM (Digital Asset Management) system handles all digital content – images, videos and documents. This is crucial for the customer experience, as visual content is often the deciding factor in purchasing decisions.

An integrated workflow between PIM and DAM enables content to be delivered automatically and in context. The result: consistent brand communication and high-quality product experiences across every channel. Without this integration, media inconsistencies arise – and it is precisely these that lead to declining customer satisfaction, as consistency is now taken for granted.

Tips for marketing and product planners

For marketing and product managers, optimising PIM and DAM workflows means one thing above all else: moving away from isolated processes towards data-driven, integrated strategies.

A key success factor is early collaboration between product management, marketing and content teams. Product data should not be enriched only at the end, but should be considered comprehensively and across all channels right from the creation process. This is the only way to generate consistent content that can later be delivered automatically.

Another important point is prioritising data quality over data volume. More content does not automatically mean a better CX – relevance is key. Personalised content, enriched with high-quality assets, is a key competitive advantage today.

Furthermore, marketing planners should think more in terms of customer journeys rather than campaigns. PIM and DAM systems provide the data foundation for dynamically delivering content along this journey. This transforms a static product catalogue into a personalised experience.

The impact of AI on future purchasing processes

A particularly exciting aspect for the further development of the customer experience is the growing influence of AI-based assistants. Forecasts suggest that, in future, it will no longer be primarily people themselves scrolling through thousands of products, but intelligent systems that will take on this task. AI assistants will prepare or even fully execute purchasing decisions by selecting products based on individual preferences, behavioural data and contextual information.

This fundamentally changes the logic of the entire omnichannel process. Instead of a broad product presentation for the end customer, it is becoming increasingly important that products are selected by algorithms at the ‘decisive moments’. Visibility will then no longer be driven by volume, but by relevance and data quality.

For manufacturers and suppliers, this represents a paradigm shift: only those who provide clean, highly structured and machine-readable product data will be taken into account in these automated decision-making processes. Incomplete or inconsistent data means that products simply will no longer be ‘found’ – not by humans, but by algorithms.

This is where PIM and DAM systems come into play once again. They form the foundation for ensuring that data is not only consistent but also AI-ready. Modern systems must be capable of automatically enriching, classifying and converting data into standardised formats. Ideally, this is largely automated through intelligent workflow mechanisms that continuously ensure and improve data quality.

This development clearly shows that CX optimisation does not end at the user interface. It extends deep into the data architecture and is increasingly determined by the question of how well systems can interact with AI.

Conclusion: CX starts with the data workflow

Optimising PIM and DAM systems is not merely a technical task, but a strategic approach to improving the customer experience. Companies that prioritise their data processes lay the foundations for consistent, personalised and scalable customer experiences.

The key point here is that CX does not originate in the front end. It begins in the back end – in the workflow, in data quality and in system integration. With the increasing use of AI, this connection becomes even clearer: only structured, high-quality and intelligently processed data makes it possible to remain visible and relevant, even in an automated, algorithm-driven shopping world.