In the digitalization era, companies are offering more products online to their customers, increasing the need to provide accurate product descriptions in the form of technical specifications, images, videos, etc. Such product information is offered via different channels, such as web pages, mobile phones, tablets, stores, and printed catalogs. Sometimes, different information technology (IT) systems are used to provide information for different sale channels, potentially leading to inconsistent information across these systems. To address this issue, many companies engage in the use of product information management systems (PIMSs), which are systems focused on centrally managing customer-oriented product information. Although companies are increasingly using such systems, the academic literature on the topic is sparse. Moreover, the challenges companies face when implementing PIMS have hardly been addressed. To contribute to this area, we explore the challenges that arise during the scoping phase of PIMS projects through a case study of a multinational company. Eighteen main challenges and their causes were identified.

在数字化时代，公司在线向客户提供更多产品，越来越需要以技术规格、图像、视频等形式提供准确的产品描述。此类产品信息通过不同的渠道提供，例如网页、手机、平板电脑、商店和印刷目录。有时，不同的信息技术 (IT) 系统用于为不同的销售渠道提供信息，这可能会导致这些系统之间的信息不一致。为了解决这个问题，许多公司开始使用产品信息管理系统 (PIMS)，这些系统专注于集中管理面向客户的产品信息。尽管公司越来越多地使用此类系统，但有关该主题的学术文献却很少。而且，公司在实施 PIMS 时面临的挑战几乎没有得到解决。为了在这一领域做出贡献，我们通过对一家跨国公司的案例研究，探讨了 PIMS 项目范围界定阶段出现的挑战。确定了 18 个主要挑战及其原因。