E-commerce Dictionary
Not sure what a term means? Find plain-English definitions, real-world examples, and practical tips for PIM, product data, and all things e-commerce.
All Terms
Product Data Accuracy
Product data accuracy is how closely your product information, such as specs, prices, GTINs and images, matches the real product the customer receives.
Product Data Aggregation
Product data aggregation is collecting product information from suppliers, files and systems and combining it into one consistent record per product.
Product Data Audit Trail
A product data audit trail is a record of changes to product data that shows what changed, who or what changed it, and when.
Product Data Compliance Standard
The set of rules your product data must meet to be legal and accepted by sales channels, such as safety, labeling, origin and identifier fields.
Product Data Enrichment Process
Product data enrichment is the process of adding attributes, specifications, descriptions, images and translations to basic product records so they are complete and ready to sell.
Product Data Enrichment Rules
Product data enrichment rules are automated conditions and actions used to enhance product information with additional details, media, or formatting.
Product Data Enrichment Services
Product data enrichment services are external providers or tools that add, verify, or enhance product attributes and content beyond internal data sources.
Product Data Fabric
A product data fabric is an architecture layer that connects product data spread across systems such as PIM, ERP and DAM, so teams can find and use it without moving it all into one database.
Product Data Federation
Product data federation is an approach that shows product data from several systems in one combined view, while each system keeps storing its own part of the data.
Product Data Governance
The rules, roles and checks that decide who owns product information, what counts as correct, and how changes are made.
Product Data Governance Policy
A product data governance policy is a written set of rules for who owns, edits and checks product data, which standards it must meet and how errors are fixed.
Product Data Governance Strategy
A product data governance strategy is a plan that sets who owns product data, which rules it must meet and how quality is checked and improved over time.
Product Data Harmonization
Product data harmonization is aligning product data from different sources to one structure, one set of attribute names and one set of values.
Product Data Health Scorecard
A product data health scorecard combines product health metrics like completeness, accuracy and channel readiness into one score that shows which products are ready to sell.
Product Data Ingestion Strategy
A product data ingestion strategy is a plan for how product data from suppliers, ERP systems and files enters your central catalog: which sources, which format, how often and which checks.
Product Data Interoperability
Product data interoperability is the ability of your ERP, PIM, webshop and marketplaces to exchange product data in a shared structure without manual rework.
Product Data Migration
Product data migration is moving product information, such as SKUs, attributes, prices, categories and images, from old systems or spreadsheets into a new PIM or ecommerce platform.
Product Data Model (PDM)
A product data model (PDM) is the blueprint for how a PIM organizes product data: entities, attributes, families, variants and the links between them.
Product Data Monitoring
Product data monitoring is the ongoing, rule-based check of your product information for missing, wrong or outdated values before shoppers and channels see them.
Product Data Observability
Product data observability is the ongoing monitoring of product data health: completeness, accuracy, freshness and whether each channel receives what it should.
Product Data Onboarding Portal
A product data onboarding portal is a dedicated platform for suppliers or internal teams to submit, validate, and manage new product information directly into a PIM system.
Product Data Ownership
Product data ownership means a named person or team is responsible for keeping each part of your product data accurate, complete and up to date.
Product Data Ownership Policy
A product data ownership policy is a written agreement that names who is responsible for each type of product data, from creating it to keeping it correct.
Product Data Privacy
Product data privacy means keeping confidential product information, such as cost prices, supplier terms and unreleased products, and any personal data out of the wrong hands and channels.
Product Data Quality Metrics
Product data quality metrics are measurable scores, such as completeness, accuracy, consistency and validity, that show how good your product data is.
Product Data Schema
The formal blueprint defining the structure, types, and relationships of all product data elements within a PIM or specific system, ensuring consistency.
Product Data Security
Product data security involves measures and policies to protect sensitive product information from unauthorized access, modification, disclosure, or destruction.
Product Data Sourcing
Product data sourcing is collecting product information from your ERP, suppliers, manufacturers and other sources and bringing it into one place, such as a PIM.
Product Data Standardization
Product data standardization is applying one set of rules for names, units, formats and value lists to all product data, so every product is described the same way.
Product Data Stewardship Program
A structured plan that names who looks after which product data, which quality standards apply, and how errors are found and fixed.
Product Data Transformation Pipeline
A product data transformation pipeline is a series of automated steps to convert raw product data into a structured format for various channels and uses.
Product Data Transformation Rules
Product data transformation rules are instructions that change product data on its way to a channel, such as shortening titles or converting units, without editing the master record.
Product Data Validation
Checking product information against rules for completeness, format and correctness before it goes to a webshop, feed or marketplace.
Product Data Versioning
Product data versioning keeps earlier states of product records, with who changed what and when, so teams can compare, audit and restore them.
Product Import/Export
Product import/export is moving product data into a system from files or other platforms, and out again to webshops, marketplaces and feeds.
Product Information Architecture
Product information architecture is the structure behind your product data: categories, families, attributes, variants and how they relate.
Product Information Exchange Standards
Standardized formats and protocols for exchanging product data between businesses and systems, ensuring interoperability and data consistency.
Product Information Governance (PIG)
Product Information Governance (PIG) is the overarching framework of policies, processes, roles, and standards for managing the quality, security, and lifecycle of all product information.
Product Information Master Record
A product information master record is the single, complete and approved version of a product's data that every channel and system takes its information from.
Product Sustainability Data
Product sustainability data is the information about a product's environmental and social impact, such as materials, carbon footprint, repairability and certifications.
Product Taxonomy
A product taxonomy is the hierarchy of categories and subcategories a store uses to classify its products, from broad departments down to specific product types.
Product Template
A product template defines the standardized set of attributes and data fields required for a specific product type, ensuring consistency and efficiency in product information management.
Product attribute value
A product attribute value is the specific value a product has for an attribute, such as Navy for Color or 42 for Size.
Product data management
Product data management (PDM) is software that stores and controls the technical data of a product during design and manufacturing, such as CAD files, BOMs and revisions.