PIM Implementation Made Simple: Purple Onboarding with Plytix

Let’s be honest: the idea of implementing new ecommerce software can be daunting, if not downright terrifying. There’s so much time, effort, and expense involved, between transferring everything over to the new system, getting to grips with the new tech, dealing with any technical issues that come up once you’ve made the switch… It’s no wonder many companies get put off investing in new software altogether. It’s a real shame though, as in many cases the new tool would benefit them immensely once they’d made it through the storm of onboarding.

For that exact reason, the team at Plytix has come up with Purple Onboarding. It’s a new way to tackle the onboarding process for PIM software, designed to take out as much of the work as possible and get companies sailing smoothly in record time. I spoke to a few key players at Plytix to get the inside scoop on this process and learn what it is, how it works, and all the other key facts—read on to see what they had to say.

What is Purple Onboarding?

Put simply, Purple Onboarding is the process of getting started with Plytix PIM, and it's all based on the idea that Plytix will do the onboarding for you. Rather than leaving you to stumble through the implementation process on your own, Plytix will be there with you every step of the way, and even take care of some time-consuming data cleanup tasks themselves directly. Why the name, I hear you ask? Let’s ask Plytix CEO Morten Poulsen:

"We knew it had to be something that would stand out, because it is kind of a big deal, you know? Someone said Gold or Platinum Onboarding, and we all thought they were a bit too corporate, they’d both been seen before. So we came up with Purple Onboarding because it’s not only the anti-corporate cousin of gold and platinum, but also our main color. We decided that it was just unconventional enough to portray our culture and to make people remember it."

—Morten Poulsen, CEO and Co-founder of Plytix

How does Purple Onboarding work?

So it’s all well and good to say that Plytix will do your onboarding for you, but how does that actually work in practical terms? While each company has a different setup and therefore might need a slightly different onboarding process, there are some key steps that everyone will go through—let’s walk through the most typical ones now.

1. Kick-off 🚀

First things first, you’ll meet with your designated Account Manager and Implementation Specialist, who’ll handle your onboarding from start to finish. Together, you’ll put together a Kick-Off Plan that clearly lays out your goals for implementing this software, along with a timeline of when you plan to meet them. After that, all you need to do is send over some or all of your product data, so we can proceed to…

2. Data cleaning 🧼

This one couldn’t be easier on your side of things, as all you have to do is sit back and let your Implementation Specialist check out your data. They’ll look over how everything is organized and do whatever data cleanup is necessary in order to make the upload process as smooth as possible, consulting you if they have any questions. There are various things you can do to speed up this process—check out the FAQs down below for some helpful tips.

Implementation Specialists love giant magnifying glasses.

3. Account setup ⚙️

Once your data is in the best state possible, your Implementation Specialist will upload it into the PIM tool themselves and lay the groundwork for your chosen data structuring within the system. They’ll create attributes for your product information, organize those attributes into groups, sort your products into families, and link your product images to their respective products. When they’re done, you’ll have a meeting where they will take you on a guided tour through your PIM account, and you can see if there’s anything you’d like to change or if you’re already happy with the setup.

4. Output setup 🌐

Now that you’ve covered getting your data into the PIM, it’s time to think about getting it back out into the wider world. Wherever it is that you need to send your information and assets, your Implementation Specialist will get you up and running in no time by meeting with you to create an initial output to share your data with one of your channels. 

Time to share your products with the world—sawoo!

5. Go live, go automatic! ⚡

Once you’re happy with your first output, you’ll go live and start distributing your data. Your Implementation Specialist will also show you how to set up outputs yourself for future reference so that no matter what the future holds for your business, you’ll be ready. This is also when you have the option to learn more about different automation options available—this could be setting up automatic data imports from your ERP system or reading up on Plytix’s open API documentation so you can connect to the rest of your tech stack. Either way, your Implementation Specialist will be happy to fill you in on all the details you need.

6. Cross the finish line 🥳

You’ve made it! At this point, you should be well set up in the PIM tool, with your data and assets organized just how you like them and flowing in and out of the software with ease. This isn't goodbye though, as once you’re happy with your initial setup, you’ll continue working with your designated Account Manager to up your data management game.

You made it! Have a gold star.

7. Bonus steps: workflows, training sessions, and check-ins 🧑‍🏫

One example of this is setting up automatic workflows within the PIM, whether they’re smart lists full of the right products for the right channels or automated completeness checks to guarantee that every part of your product listings will be complete, everywhere that you sell. You’ll also have training sessions available for anyone on your team who needs them so that you can get everyone up to speed and fully familiar with the software. On top of that, regular check-ins with your Account Manager will mean that your system stays in tip-top shape at all times.

What are the benefits of Purple Onboarding?

Now that we’re familiar with how the process works, let’s get into why this way of onboarding is so beneficial for new users.

Put simply, nobody knows your data like you do, but nobody knows PIM software like Plytix. The implementation team at Plytix has tons of experience getting people started with PIM, so they can speed up the process significantly and neatly flatten the learning curve for you. Jon Gorospe, head of Customer Success at Plytix, has this to say:

There’s always a first initial setup that's a little bit frustrating, irritating, and tedious. For someone new to PIM to do it, it's not the worst thing in the world, but they need to figure out their way through the system first. That means dealing with the learning curve on top of doing all of those setup-related things, which slows things down a lot. But if we do that painful first setup for them, we speed up the process and they don't suffer through that first step. They get more of a soft landing in the tool, and then they can pick it up from there.

—Jon Gorospe, Director of Customer Success at Plytix

Having someone from Plytix get your initial data into the PIM means you can avoid the all-too-frequent roadblocks that appear when implementing new software. Without this assistance, many new users end up making mistakes while getting started and spending time and money re-uploading data as a result.

On that note, there’s also the cost factor. Many software providers only provide limited customer support during the onboarding process, and then charge extra amounts for any additional assistance required. There are also companies who choose to refer clients to external agencies instead—for a high price, of course. In comparison, the level of whiteglove onboarding that Plytix provides is truly something unique within this price range.

Picture this, but wearing white gloves.

Are there any limitations to Purple Onboarding?

In a nutshell, Plytix will take care of everything related to the PIM itself. The implementation team will get your data into the PIM, get you set up however you like there, and make it as easy as possible for you to connect the PIM to the other systems you’re using. However, they can’t go into those systems for you—that’s literally and metaphorically not their domain. They can’t program your website for you, code for you, or deal with your API, but will of course coordinate with whoever on your team is responsible for those areas in order to help get everything connected to Plytix as efficiently as possible.

Also, you can rest assured that any changes made to your data in the initial cleanup process will be superficial in nature. Nobody from Plytix is going to go in and make changes to the content of the data itself because, to be honest, that’s definitely something better handled by someone from your company!

We won't change your actual data—we'll just clean it up!

Finally, it’s worth stressing that this is an implementation process, i.e. the process of getting started with the tool. Once you’re set up and familiar with how the software works, it’ll be over to you to update your data as and when necessary, add in new products, remove old ones, and so on. However, thanks to the Purple Onboarding process this should be a walk in the park, and if any issues do arise, you can always get in touch with your Account Manager for help.

Learn more about Purple Onboarding

Purple Onboarding has proven itself pretty popular with Plytix users. If you’d like to hear what some real users have to say about the process, then review sites like G2 provide a wealth of information and customer stories for you to look through—just search for “onboarding” on the Plytix page to see how many people are calling it “amazing,” “second to none,” “thorough,” “efficient,” “terrific,” or (my personal favorite) “easy-peasy.”

To learn how it would work for your business in particular, your best bet is to talk to someone at Plytix directly. They’ll be happy to assess your data needs and see if the software is a good fit. So don’t be shy—click the button below to get started!