Product data drives every part of a distributor or manufacturer’s business. Customers depend on correct specifications. Sales teams rely on clean information. Ecommerce platforms need accurate descriptions and attributes to help buyers find the right product.

But even the best teams struggle with PIM challenges. Spreadsheets break, supplier files vary, and updates get lost between systems. These problems grow quickly as the catalog grows, channels expand, and customer expectations increase.

A Product Information Management (PIM) system gives businesses a single, reliable, and organized way to manage all this data. Below are the 5 most common product information challenges distributors face today—and how PIM solves each one clearly and efficiently.

_{Why Product Data Problems Keep Growing}

As distributors expand their product lines, channels, and customer demands, their product data becomes more complex. Teams must handle:

• More SKUs

• More suppliers

• More digital channels

• More content formats

• More updates and compliance changes

Manual editing and spreadsheet-based workflows cannot keep up. Even the best teams fall behind when systems don’t talk to each other.

A modern PIM like B2Sell PIM brings all product data into one place, making it accurate, consistent, and ready for every channel.

_{Challenge #1: Product Data Is Scattered in Too Many Places}

_{What causes this challenge}  

Most distributors collect product data from many different sources:

• Supplier spreadsheets

• ERP systems

• Emails from vendors

• Internal marketing sheets

• Ecommerce platforms

• Shared drives and folders

When data lives in different places, teams spend hours searching for the correct version. Someone updates the ERP, but the website still shows the old specs. Another team edits a spreadsheet, but the sales team never receives the updated information.

This chaos leads to:

• Confusing product data

• Slower updates

• Wrong specs on the website

• Lost customer trust

• Internal frustration

_{How PIM solves inconsistent product data}

A PIM brings all product data into one single source of truth.

Here’s what it does:

• Collects all data from ERP, spreadsheets, suppliers, and websites

• Stores every product attribute in one structured location

• Syncs updates to ecommerce, catalogs, and apps

• Removes duplicate or outdated entries

• Keeps every team aligned

Instead of guessing which file is correct, teams always see the latest, approved version.

To understand the impact of accurate data, explore this guide: How PIM Software Enhances Product Information Accuracy

_{Challenge #2: Missing, Incomplete, or Inconsistent Product Details}

_{What causes this challenge}  

Missing or incomplete information is one of the most common issues distributors face.

You often see:

• Items missing dimensions

• No compatibility or technical specs

• Wrong units (mm vs inch)

• No images or outdated images

• Different descriptions for the same product

• Inconsistent naming or attribute values

Customers lose confidence when they see unclear or inaccurate information. Search engines also struggle to index the product properly, hurting SEO.

_{How PIM solves missing or incomplete information}

A PIM helps teams maintain complete, consistent, and validated product data.

Here’s how:

• Sets required fields for each product category

• Flags missing or incorrect information

• Uses pre-defined attribute rules (units, naming, formatting)

• Allows bulk updates for thousands of SKUs

• Tracks quality scores so teams know which items need attention

• Centralizes images, PDFs, and documentation

This ensures every product includes all the details customers expect—every time.

_{Challenge #3: Slow and Manual New Product Onboarding}

Every time distributors receive new items from suppliers, teams must manually:

• Format data

• Rewrite descriptions

• Add technical attributes

• Create variant groups

• Fix spreadsheets

• Upload images

• Check compliance fields

This manual work often delays product launches by days or even weeks.

The result?

Lost sales opportunities and a slower ecommerce rollout.

_{How PIM accelerates product onboarding}

A PIM automates and speeds up new product onboarding.

It offers:

• Supplier-specific import templates

• Automatic attribute mapping

• Mandatory-field checks

• Auto-cleaning of messy data

• Bulk content creation

• Approval workflows

• Image and document management

What once took days can now be done in a few hours—without mistakes.

Faster onboarding means products reach the website sooner, and customers start buying sooner.

_{Challenge #4: Hard-to-Manage Catalogs, Variants, and Technical Structures}

As distributors grow, their catalogs become more complex.

Managing:

• Variants (sizes, colors, models)

• Replacement parts

• Related accessories

• Kits or bundles

• Parent-child structures

• Different product families

…quickly becomes overwhelming.

Teams often lose track of which attributes belong to which product group or which images belong to which variant.

_{How PIM simplifies channel distribution}

A PIM simplifies catalog and variant management by:

• Structuring products into families

• Grouping variants under a parent product

• Sharing attributes across product types

• Automating rules for changes

• Tracking all product relationships

• Keeping specs updated across the whole family

This makes large catalogs much easier to handle and reduces costly errors.

_{Challenge #5: Poor-Quality Product Content That Hurts Sales}

Product content plays a big role in customer decisions.

Yet many distributors struggle with:

• Weak or short descriptions

• Old or low-quality images

• Missing PDFs or safety documents

• Incorrect technical details

• No SEO optimization

• Hard-to-read product pages

Poor content leads to fewer conversions and higher return rates.

_{How PIM strengthens data governance}

A PIM makes it easy to improve and enrich product content.

It allows teams to:

• Store and manage all images, datasheets, videos, and manuals

• Write clear, SEO-friendly descriptions

• Maintain consistent tone and formatting

• Apply brand-approved templates

• Update content in bulk

• Deliver clean and structured product pages across all channels

With better content, customers feel more confident—and more likely—to make the right purchase.

For a look at how PIM supports better product content quality, explore: B2Sell PIM

_{Conclusion: Solving PIM Challenges Builds a Strong Product Data Foundation}

These five challenges—data inconsistency, missing information, slow onboarding, channel complexity, and weak governance—are common across distributors and manufacturers. They affect sales teams, ecommerce performance, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

A PIM system brings everything under one roof. It organizes product information, enforces rules, cleans errors, and distributes data everywhere it’s needed—fast and accurately.

When product information becomes clean, complete, and consistent, your entire business runs smoother.

_{Ready to Fix Your Product Information Management Challenges?}

B2Sell PIM gives you everything you need to fix product data issues—simple workflows, fast bulk edits, automated updates, and seamless ecommerce & ERP connections.
If you’re ready to remove data errors and take control of your product content:

👉 Request a Demo of B2Sell PIM
👉 Book a Strategy Call with our experts

Let B2Sell PIM help you deliver cleaner data, better customer experiences, and higher sales—starting today.