Does BIM for manufacturers require a PIM system? The myth of ideal product data

The problem of waiting for the PIM system

In an ideal world, every Product Manager has access to the shiny new PIM system for construction manufacturers (Product Information Management). All products are perfectly catalogued, descriptions translated into 15 languages, and technical attributes grouped according to the latest ISO and ETIM standards. It's a dream. And the reality? Reality is most often a folder with PDFs and editing BIM data in Excel — usually several “immortal” spreadsheets that are controlled by only one person in the company.

Many manufacturers fall into the trap of sequential thinking: “First we need to implement PIM and clean up the minimum data for BIM (which will take 2 years), and only then can we think more broadly about BIM”. It's a strategy that at today's pace of business means one thing: never.

Waiting for “perfect data” is the easiest way to give the market a competitor that works faster, even if less perfectly.

So does BIM require PIM from the very beginning of distribution? We will answer this question in the following paragraphs.

PIM is a process and BIM is a sale

The implementation of PIM for construction manufacturers is often IT project for years. It requires a change in the culture of the organization, the cleaning of bases and the integration of systems. Can your sales department afford to take a break from lead generation for two years because you're “cleaning the backroom”? Of course not.

BIM is a channel of promotion and sales. Treat it like a store. You do not close the store for customers just because you are rearranging the goods in the warehouse. You sell what you have “on the shelf”.

Start with what you have, which is BIM without a PIM system (Excel is OK!)

To run a professional BIM library online, you don't need a powerful enterprise-class PIM system at the start. You need minimum viable data — the minimum set of BIM product data that will allow the designer to use your product:

• Do you have dimensions? Yes.
• Do you have a product name and code? Yes.
• Do you have basic technical parameters? Yes.

Where do you have them? Most often in a spreadsheet. And that's quite enough to get started. For the designer downloading your product, it doesn't matter if it's BIM data from SAP which costed millions or if you import BIM data from Excel. For them, the end result matters: the correct object in the project.

BIMStreamer — a tool for publishing BIM libraries allowing BIM from Excel

Your BIM platform should be Future-Proof and scalable with your digital maturity. In BIMStreamer, a tool for publishing BIM libraries, we designed the architecture of the system so that so you can get started with the BIM platform for manufacturers today, regardless of the state of your IT. Our BIM library management system allows you to implement BIM step by step:

1. Phase 1: Start with Excel (basic level) — don't have a PIM? No problem. BIMStreamer allows you to bulk import BIM data from Excel or CSV. You prepare a simple sheet with the basic parameters, upload it to the system and... it's ready. Your online library works, plugins work, you can manage your data, and designers can download files. You are in the market, and the PIM system is simply not needed at this stage.
2. Phase 2: Evolution (intermediate level) — you implement the PIM system “in the background”. Your organization is maturing. You start to organize product data, categories, add translations. Your BIM platform is already up and running, generating leads for you based on your Excel database.
3. Phase 3: Full Integration (expert level) — the turning point: your PIM and the product data contained in it are ready. It is then when in BIMStreamer we simply “swipe the plug”. We change the data source from an Excel file to a direct API connection to your new PIM.

If you are wondering how to get started with BIM in a manufacturing company, check out our subpage dedicated to BIM implementations with BIMStreamer: https://www.bimstreamer.com/en/how-to-get-started-with-bimstreamer

Does such a gradual implementation of the PIM system harm the image of the manufacturer?

No, the most important thing in the gradual implementation of PIM is that for the end user (designer) this the change is invisible:

• Product links do not change.
• The interface of the library does not change.
• There is no need to reinstall anything.

The only difference is that the data inside the files after the implementation of PIM for construction manufacturers, becomes richer and more detailed.

Start distributing BIM files today and clean up product data tomorrow

Don't let the lack of a perfect PIM be an excuse for not being present in BIM. Your competition doesn't wait for you to sort all the attributes in tables. Deploy a solution that adapts to your current stage of development, not one that requires a revolution from you to start.

Start with Excel, end with full automation. With BIMStreamer, you can scale your technology at the pace that your business, not your IT department, dictates. Contact us and arrange a free demo of our BIM content management solution: https://www.bimstreamer.com/en/contact