Introduction: Current challenges of digitalisation in the PIM sector
The above-mentioned case involved a complex digital processing chain for media with the participation of a whole range of systems and organisational units. Accordingly, many different stakeholders were involved - from internal specialist departments to external service providers with their own areas of responsibility for the respective systems. Of course, such scenarios are no longer a rarity - on the contrary. The requirements for digital automation processes have become increasingly complex in recent years and involve more and more stakeholders - and systems. The market is increasingly forcing companies to offer digital services that have to be set up across heterogeneous system landscapes and branched organisational structures.
And this is where the wheat is separated from the chaff: modern, cloud-native systems are scalable at the touch of a button and, ideally, automatically - and their service-oriented structure makes them very flexible and quickly customisable. They therefore fit perfectly into complex overall processes. Old-generation monolithic systems are cumbersome to customise and slow to scale. This became very clear in the meeting: in response to the question of how quickly the service providers could scale their systems to meet the increased requirements, the manufacturer of one of the PIM systems involved stated a development period of at least 3 months - modern service-orientated systems, on the other hand, are scalable per se. 3 months of development is simply too long for the increased requirements of digitalisation in the areas of PIM and DAM. PIM systems of this generation are definitely technologically end-of-lifecycle from a technological perspective. PIM manufacturers who are facing the challenge of fundamentally modernising their systems - or discontinuing them - as has now happened with Hybris PCM, are also realising this.
Hybris PCM as a framework from a different generation
Hybris PCM has a classic, server-based basic technology and offers a comprehensive framework for the development of system extensions, which can be developed and provided according to a specific system. And the development of such extensions is absolutely necessary with Hybris PCM. As delivered, the PCM only offers very basic PIM functionalities, such as a basic configured and expandable cockpit or a very extensively expandable data model. Many classic PIM functionalities familiar from other PIM systems are not available in Hybris PCM, which is why manufacturers of classic PIM systems have often not really accepted PCM as a PIM system. It is more of a PIM framework with very good software extension options. And this is precisely what has made it so interesting in the past, especially for companies with a strong e-commerce focus. Hybris PCM was excellently integrated into the SAP Commerce landscape and could be customised to the company's needs as required.
And this is exactly what has happened in many cases. In my career as a PIM consultant, I myself have supported PIM projects based on Hybris PCM and even today I still encounter PCM-based PIM systems in some companies that have been in use for years. In practice, the following characteristics can be observed in these historically developed PCM systems:
- they contain a large number of proprietary extensions developed in-house to cover company-specific requirements,
- they contain complex data modelling in order to map as many company-specific entities as possible,
- they are deeply integrated into the company's system landscape with numerous bi-directional, proprietary interfaces,
- knowledge about the data in the system is partly distributed throughout the company and is difficult to access
- knowledge about the process logic is also distributed and in some cases not sufficiently documented.
In other words, there is a lack of transparency and this costs time in all digital projects. And now SAP Commerce on premise has been discontinued and with it Hybris PCM - companies are forced to migrate to new systems, technologies and structures.
How does that work? How do you manage it? How can the transition to the new world succeed?
Against the background of the historically grown data, interface and extension structures of hybris PCM, the introduction of a new, modern PIM system often sounds like a cost-intensive and lengthy Herculean task. But it doesn't have to be. The key success factors when introducing a new system are:
Standardisation and transformation
Standardisation means thinking strictly in terms of industry or de facto standards when selecting, modelling and implementing a new PIM process based on a modern PIM system. Proprietary, company-specific software extensions are costly to develop, maintain and expand. Thinking strictly in terms of standards means putting such ‘special solutions’ to the test and, in case of doubt, considering organisational adjustments within the company itself instead of changing standard software. Individualisation remains important, but it should also be based on industry standards (such as the M.A.C.H. architecture) in order to remain flexible and keep costs as low as possible in the long term.
Transformation means taking a strategic and iterative approach. The classic approach of selecting a PIM system based on the functions provided and then starting a project in which as many processes and functions of the old world as possible are mapped in the new system is cost-intensive and often not at all effective. Many special requests are simply no longer needed in this form because they can be solved differently. It is worth taking a closer look here, otherwise the company will end up with a new system - but with the burdens of the old world.
The migration project - concrete steps
communicode approaches migration projects of old PIM systems on the basis of Hybris PCM according to the following basic concept.
Identification of proprietary extensions:
As a certified SAP service provider, communicode has extensive expertise with regard to hybris PCM, both in terms of functionality and software extensions. In a first step, we work together with the customer to analyse the extension structure created in Hybris PCM itself as well as the system landscape connected via interfaces.
Identification of the standardisation potential:
The extensions and functionalities identified in step 1 are evaluated with regard to the standards commonly used in the market for PIM systems. As a partner of various PIM manufacturers (such as akeneo, contentserv, etc.), communicode has a broad knowledge of the standard functionalities offered. communicode also examines which of the functions available in Hybris PCM and required by the customer are best mapped by which PIM system.
Management-Summary:
Benchmark modern PIM systems - The information compiled in steps 1 and 2 is presented in a management summary and thus forms the basis for a solid selection of a new PIM system.
Project planning - transformation steps:
Once a PIM system has been selected, the implementation tasks and the identified transformation steps are defined and placed on a sensible timeline. The objective is the successive and iterative transformation into the new world.
communicode has the competence to understand and analyse the old Hybris PCM world. Furthermore, communicode has far-reaching expertise in modern PIM and DAM systems on the market in order to develop - and implement - a successful transformation strategy for a company.
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