The Promise in the PIM: Distribution Gateway to an AI-Driven Future BY DENISE WILLIAMS
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ake no mistake: “artificial” intelligence is real. It’s real, and it’s the future. While the years lead-
ing up to now have introduced software after software capable of managing data in amazing ways, the result is a patchwork of technology solutions that accomplish the same task while using their own unique “language.” In distribution, it shows up as one company using an ERP or design software even as another business leans into e-commerce, for example. However, the true power of AI will be realized only when all those myriad applications are empowered to “talk” to one another through a universal communication mechanism. Companies that fail to adapt to that eventual landscape will find themselves on the wrong end of an industry shakeout, unable to compete. That is also real, but it doesn’t have to be the reality for distributors and suppliers in the building materials niche, according to experts. The technology is already here to start laying the foundation for the transition to a fully AI-enabled future, they say, adding that the
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Freya Hannah (Center) joins colleagues Frederic Pare, Co-Founder of Cienapps Software Suite (L) and Kevin Martin, Cienapps’ Business Development Manager (R) at the recent NBMDA convention in Chicago.
interim benefits are considerable, too. The “change agent” in question, a product information management (PIM) platform, is a novel approach to an existing tool that has been deployed throughout the distribution sector but, despite the advantages, never in the building materials corner of the market. That is no longer the case, thanks to Cienapps, which has developed a PIM platform designed with this workforce in mind and is working with NBMDA to roll it out. Freya Hannah, Head of Business Development North America for the company’s Cieblink platform, breaks down what outcomes a PIM can deliver; what needs to happen for it to succeed; and why industry participants won’t want to miss out on a low-risk opportunity to get in front of the next round of technology evolution affecting how they do business. How It Works, and Why This PIM Is Unique In other industries, a typical PIM scenario involves all manner of suppliers supporting a single distributor, which then spends a pretty penny for the data to be incorporated into their system of choice. It’s costly and, Cienapps observes, it does nothing to better the entire supply chain. The PIM now available to North American building material dis-