The Colours of PIM

I am borrowing the simple “Six Hats” concept advanced by Edward de Bono to exemplify the discipline of Product Information Management (PIM) in a creative manner. Given that I am also tired of seeing PIM defined, purported, marketed and trumpeted in the same way in many quarters i.e. a repository of product data to bla bla bla, I will sprinkle a few insights I am working on to really start looking at PIM from a new and more adequate angle.

Now, de Bono's method aims to force us to move outside our habitual thinking style to get a more rounded view of a situation. 

He effectively uses six colours to describe six different angles (hats) to see a situation. As you can imagine, this has nothing to do with PIM but the intuitive meaning attributed to colours offers a nice way to look at six key constituents of PIM.

Let’s put the PIM hats on!

This is the traditional way of understanding PIM as a repository of product data. It is a paramount foundation upon which anything else is built.

Think of feelings. Think of warmth. PIM gives the opportunity to turn raw data into something you can relate to. Imagine the compulsive and non-rational purchase act customers often perform when presented with stories around products curated with a relevant script and touching pictures and/or videos.

Black is the colour of critical thinking which translates into a rigorous search for efficiency. The PIM black hat points out how something does not fit the resources and fix it. In fact, PIM maximizes the impact on costs by streamlining the production of products.

Think of value. Think of optimism. This is the colour of the benefits delivered to customers and the revenue growth coming out of this mutual relationship. This is where PIM shines :-) in bringing about growth and expansion. 

Think of vegetation. Think of new leaves and branches. Under the green hat we put forward new ideas e.g. how to sell products across multiple touch points, how to extend product range across multiple segments, how to appeal to key suppliers, etc. 

Think of the blue sky. Think of 'overview'. Think of big picture. The blue hat is like a conductor of the orchestra. PIM is like the ringmaster of a circus who manages the performance, introduces the various tasks in the value chain (e.g. drop shipping), and guide the users through the entertainment experience :-)

It may seem a bit of a stretch but it was funny writing about it. Any colour you'd like to add?