Hello

Todays blog post explains the data import process in Informatica PIM desktop and the various stages that follow. 

Firstly, it is important to understand what exactly Product Information Management (PIM) is and why is it useful.

What is PIM

Product Information Management is managing the information which is required to sell and advertise the products through varying communication channels .

Retailers, distributors and manufacturers get an insight to the end-to-end process of the product supply information and management. This helps companies to efficiently manage and integrate data including omnichannel commerce.

Data Import

To edit data in PIM desktop, it is usually imported into the system. The data source is an external file. Multimedia data is transferred in a special way since only item, product or structure group references are imported into PIM Desktop and not the data itself. The data import process has the following stages :

Preparation

The data can only be imported if the catalog is created. Hence, it is essential to create suppliers, customers and import catalogs first. Create the suppliers and then the catalog. Customer is required if the catalog contains customer-specific data that needs to be imported.

Import

The Import perspective can be used to import both structured data and data in tables. For each import, a source file and the associated assignment file (mapping), are required.

The Data source view shows the data to import into PIM Desktop. The source file must be in one of the following formats: Excel (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm), CSV (*.csv, *.txt) or XML (*.xml). In order to support the widest possible range of data import scenarios, PIM Desktop redefines the existing mapping functionality. Different file formats are taken into account in terms of their characteristics and are checked for a match before the import. Three evaluation criteria are used for the same : 

• Does the total of the columns in the selected source file match the total in the mapping?
• Do the file format specific features match the definitions in the mapping?
• Verification at field level

The assignments for the import are created in the Repository view. This view contains a tree structure showing all available data fields for which user can create assignments. It  can specify which information is imported and which fields it will be assigned to in PIM Desktop.Use the filter function in the Views menu to define whether all data areas will be displayed in the view or only certain areas.

The Content view displays the contents of the file areas selected in the Data source view.The Frequency view shows the distributions of values in the data file.The Details view displays the complete text for an entry selected in the Data source view, which is particularly useful for longer texts such as long descriptions.

In the function view, specify functions for values to be imported, which are to be applied to the data when importing. The Log view shows the logs for the test import or import.

Importing data in tables

The item number is used as a unique identifier on the worksheets. The first step is to load the file containing the different worksheets to the Data source view . Before creating  the mapping for importing the file, edit the display of the repository view. Create the mappings as required. Run a test import to check the mapping created.

Importing user-defined structure systems 

To load user-defined structure systems in PIM Desktop start by importing and edit them if required in the Structure editor. User can also specify a description, the sequence within a level, and a hierarchical number for each material group.

Adding multimedia data

Along with a new catalog file, user can  import multimedia links, but not the multimedia files themselves.

Merge

The merge process enables particular values from a large number of items to be transferred to the master catalog. The merge process enables to make different settings for individual areas as required. The settings for the individual areas and data determine how these are transferred to the master catalog. The settings are either made global in the preferences or for specific catalogs.

Process overview

The Process overview perspective shows all current and completed processes in PIM Desktop. The overview view shows the process categories in a tree-like structure. Here, user can select the category for which to view the processes in the Current and past processes view. In the Log view, the log for a selected process can be seen, if one exists. Double-clicking on a line in the log opens a detailed view of the entry.