Akeneo: The open source PIM system for your product data in e-commerce
The Akeneo PIM as an open-source system is one of the world’s leading solution providers to help e-commerce retailers and brands to offer a uniform and consistent customer experience across all touchpoints. Be it in e-commerce, mobile applications, print (catalogs) or at the point of sale.
The French company Akeneo was founded in 2013 by genuine e-commerce professionals from the Magento environment and provides one of the few open-source solutions for managing product information. With its solutions, Akeneo can easily keep up with competitors such as Contentserv, pimcore, or Hybris and not just in terms of usability.
Based in Nantes, Frédéric de Gombert, Benoît Jacquemet, Nicolas Dupont and Yoav Kutner (former CTO of Magento) founded the company and thus formed a stable foundation for the future of Akeneo. Since then, the team has grown every year and now has locations in France, Germany, England and America as well as a worldwide Akeneo partner network.
But what exactly does the Akeneo PIM system do?
AKENEO FACTS: OPEN SOURCE PIM
Publication
2013
Corporate headquarters
Nantes, France
Application
B2B, B2C
Target group
Companies international
Technology
PHP
Software Model
Open Source
License Model
free licenses (CE) commercial licenses (EE)
For whom is an Akeneo PIM system suitable?
An Akeneo PIM system is suitable for anyone who deals with a variety of product information and has ever had problems accessing all the product data.
In addition, an open source PIM such as Akeneo offers great advantages when the product structure becomes extremely complex (e.g. variants or configurable products) and many stakeholders and interest groups maintain the data of a product.
The advantage: Thanks to the single version of truth, everyone works on exactly one database, which can also be versioned and released.
Find yourself in the examples mentioned and want to maintain your product data more efficiently? Then contact us for a non-binding Akeneo consultation.
- Marketers / Sellers
- Buyer
- Product
- E-Commerce-Manager
- Leading the way in data governance
The Akeneo advantage: Open Source PIM system
The Akeneo PIM is released under an open source license, which in turn is based on an open source framework (Symfony 2). This means that it can be extended and improved at will, both by Akeneo partners and individuals. This in turn ensures that a large number of developers worldwide are working on it and are constantly improving it.
The igniti is an Akeneo partner supports you with the implementation of an Akeneo PIM for your product data.
Contact us for a first non-binding conversation to see which solution is best for you.
This is what we achieve together with an Akeneo PIM:
- Single–Point–of–Truth – Product information is kept centrally in one place
- Translation management – all article data in several languages in one system
- User and role management – with setting of rights and views
- Multi-channel maintenance via one system – whether mobile, print or webshop
- Connection to common ERP and shop systems
- PIM System Quality Check – display of completeness and quality of product data
And why Akeneo as a PIM system?
If you want to establish an open-source PIM for a cross-channel e-commerce strategy, you can’t ignore Akeneo. The multitude of possibilities for data creation, the well-developed workflows and the openness to all systems to be docked positions it in the front rows when choosing a PIM system.
- Individual extensions possible thanks to open-source license
- Availability of different versions: A tailor-made PIM solution for every application
- Connectors to Shopware and Magento available in e-commerce
- Browser-based user interface – secure login possible from anywhere or on-premises for highly sensitive information
- Simple user interface – market leader
- Community Support: Huge forum where questions are answered
- Akeneo Marketplace: Platform for third-party extensions
- Detailed documentation in the Akeneo Help Center
- Fast import and export of product information
- Integrated PAM (Product Asset Management): a system for image, video and document editing. Thus, a dedicated DAM system (Digital Assset Management System) can be omitted and all assets can be processed in a central solution.
How can igniti support decision-making and integration of an Akeneo PIM?
PIM Strategy
The decision for a PIM system based on pure facts is basically simple. PIM in general and Akeneo in particular solve many problems that plague product managers. However, all stakeholders must be brought on board so that no one feels disadvantaged. Under certain circumstances, an Akeneo PIM replaces historically grown systems and everyone must be ready to face the change and follow the PIM strategy.
As an Akeneo agency and e-commerce specialist, we can thus support you in deciding whether a PIM is the solution to the existing problems and, if so, how the new system is best integrated and used in the existing processes.
Structuring existing product data in advance is also important. Often hidden in the multitude of tools is data that is needed in different places. All these attributes have to be collected and categorized in advance so that they can be easily found and maintained in the finished Akeneo PIM. igniti GmbH supports you in this.
PIM System Implementation
After the decision for Akeneo as PIM system, the actual implementation follows. Infrastructure sketches have to be created, as the PIM as a stand-alone system cannot fully develop its potential. For this reason, it must be connected, for example, to the merchandise management systems and, if necessary, CRM systems in order to keep the master data up-to-date at all times. Above all, however, interfaces to the channels on which the product information is displayed must be created. Existing product information should still be able to be imported so that the manual effort of enriching the product information is as low as possible.
PIM system for shop management
Product information needs to be added for new products and updated for existing products. This is a significant manual effort that we support our customers with. Product data maintenance is part of our shop management package. We pay attention to SEO relevance as well as to the readability of the texts. In addition, our shop managers can review the existing data and recommend the addition of new attributes if necessary.
The brand new Akeneo 5.0
FIVE AREAS WITH OVER 70 NEW FEATURES
All about the new features, current insights and whether an update is recommended.
Since the beginning of the year, Akeneo has released the in-house PIM system in version 5 and announced the brand new features.
We have already been able to test the new version in detail and are proud to present you the latest innovations!
Both Community Edition and Enterprise Edition users can look forward to the following new features and improvements.
What’s new around associations
Akeneo Version 5 has introduced innovations with regard to product associations or connections. Thus, instead of the previously exclusively unary connection types, binary connections are now also possible. As a result, connections between product A and product B can now be viewed from both products.
In addition, it is now possible to quantify connections. This means that a set consisting of a table and 4 chairs can also be modeled using the quantifiable connections.
API Improvements – More Detailed API Response
The revised API sends not only the attribute option codes but also the option values to a GET/products in the Answer Body. Thus, up to 5 additional queries per product can be saved. This is accompanied by enormous time savings. Using the same request, the API in the Answer Body also sends information about product information data quality.
In addition, the errors that occur during the transmission of product information data are also counted for each connection.
Other improvements and innovations around productivity:
- Duplicate products now possible
- Create private views
- Display all running jobs for exports and imports
- Running jobs can be stopped
- Variant display in the product overview
- Variant axes can now be changed
- Variants can be converted into simple products
- Boolean attribute (Yes/No) revised
- Own units adjustable (units for size, length, etc.)
Boolean attribute
A frequently criticized flaw of the previous Akeneo versions has been fixed with the update to Akeneo 5. This makes it immediately apparent in the UI whether a Boolean value is set to False or NULL. In addition, the True or False value can also be reset to NULL.
As a result, filtering in the product grid for boolean attribute types is much better.
You want the new Akeneo 5.0 version?!
Are you interested in the improvements of the new version or do you really want to use the new features?
Then ask us, as an Akeneo partner we are happy to advise and support you with technical, conceptual and organizational questions about the upgrade.
If you use the Enterprise Edition, you can make use of the following innovations:
New Data Quality Dashboard
- Better, granular indication of data quality via an assessment by letter
- Check spelling
- More languages supported in UI (Italian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian)
- Products without images are marked separately
Introduction of the Rule Builder
Users of Akeneo Enterprise Edition were used to uploading automation rules as JSON format on the server side. Since version 5, automation rules can be easily created in the frontend using the Rule Builder. In addition, there are some new actions that can be triggered automatically as a rule.
Work with Akeneo to make product data more efficient – starting with the first step
THESE ARE YOUR CONTACTS
Frank Rub
Managing Director
Stefan Lehmann
Managing Director
Anna Kästner
Sales Consultant
