Riversand: PIM Vendor in Focus

In this series we talk to a selection of software vendors about their product management solutions. Ben Rund is General Manager DACH & VP Business Development Europe at Riversand. In the following interview he explains the target group and USPs of Riversand’s PIM.

Which digital trends are relevant for you and your customers? What effect do they have and/or what developments can be expected for your product and/or company as a result?

A mega trend is “hyper automation”, e.g. in e-commerce or personalisation. But if I want to use machine learning or AI, I first have to have my data under control, otherwise automation will fail.

Direct-to-consumer is more than just a hype that is currently reaching a second wave. The advantage but also risk at the same time is to have direct access to the customer. This helps with feedback for product development, optimises time-to-market and margins, but also requires that I have my customer data under control.

At the end of the day, everyone wants to be data driven, but most companies still lack the mindset, change management and the right tools.

Problem-solving orientation: name three distinctive features that stand out your solution from the competition?

More than 120 providers worldwide say they have a PIM solution – the number of solutions that make “customer experience” better is just as high. The question is not who has 499 or 487 features. The question is how I position myself to be successful in the next ten years. For me, this includes:

• Cloud native SaaS: Many have not yet understood the difference between on premise, hosted and cloud native. We are convinced that cloud first/cloud only is the future in order to use the latest updates easily and quickly and, above all, to have a low and transparent total cost of ownership. If you choose the wrong platform now, you will pay the double later.
• To be able to react to new things: If I buy or subscribe to an MDM solution today, how can I be sure that it will quickly solve a completely new, unknown business problem tomorrow? Our platform app concept enables our customers to be flexible and agile, no matter for what and lastly provide optimal experience for all different users to do their job better.

From which company size is the use of your product management solution beneficial? Is your system optimised for a specific target group?

Our customers usually have a turnover of at least 50 million euros, with a few exceptions even below that, but for them data is THE factor for their business model. Small and medium-sized companies use for example our business-ready PIM Ascend solution, with which they can start immediately and are ready to go live after 6 weeks. The industry solutions for manufacturers, retailers & food help with the fast implementation. Complex and large enterprise clients use Riversand for PIM or as a comprehensive master data experience platform for critical data on customers, suppliers, products, etc. Besides retail, CPG, distribution and manufacturers, Riversand is also used by life sciences, pharma, insurance, energy and banking.

Where do companies have the greatest need for action today? What do you advise your customers to do in addition to the introduction of a PIM in order to remain fit for the future?

Be courageous and never stop learning. Do not be afraid of change.

What opportunities are there to get to know or test your product?

There is no free trial access. Which premium product is free of charge? However, we and our partners are happy to show how we can solve specific problems on request. Our customers and partners also use Riversand University, a one-stop shop for the whole experience, with 500 training modules, cloud access, documentation, helpdesk and much more.