How it works
A PIM holds the master version of each product's descriptive content. Teams define attribute families, enrich records with copy, specifications and assets, track completeness per channel and locale, and syndicate the result to storefronts, marketplaces and print catalogs. PIMs usually do not own stock or price; those live in the ERP or commerce platform.
Example
A manufacturer keeps 40,000 products in Akeneo with attributes in four languages. Its dealer portal reads the PIM for descriptions and images, while price and availability come from the ERP.
In integrations
The Unify Catalog API is designed to read products, variants, attributes, categories and assets from PIMs such as Akeneo, Salsify, inRiver, Plytix and Pimcore. It keeps attributes typed and localized instead of flattening them to text, and exposes the source's attribute definitions next to normalized core fields. Status per platform is shown on each integration page. For software that serves brands and manufacturers, the PIM is often the cleanest source of product truth. Reading it directly avoids scraping storefronts and gives you attributes, units and translations that storefronts drop.