Glossary.
The working vocabulary of product information management. Not exhaustive — just the terms that show up in every RFP and every implementation kickoff.
Attribute
A single named property of a product (e.g. "net_weight_grams"). The atomic unit of a PIM data model.
Completeness
The percentage of required attributes that have a non-empty value. The primary operational metric in any PIM implementation.
ETIM
A cross-industry product classification standard widely used in technical wholesale and DIY (current major version: ETIM v10).
Family
A group of products that share the same attribute set. "Yoghurt cups" is a family; every SKU inside inherits its schema.
GDSN
Global Data Synchronization Network — the GS1 standard for exchanging product data between suppliers and retailers.
GTIN
Global Trade Item Number. The barcode-embedded product identifier that every retailer onboarding asks for first.
INCI
International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients — the shared vocabulary for cosmetic product composition.
MDM
Master Data Management. A superset of PIM; MDM governs customers, suppliers, and locations as well as products.
PIM
Product Information Management. The system of record for product content — attributes, copy, media — independent of any single channel.
Syndication
Distributing product data to downstream channels (retailer storefronts, marketplaces) in the exact shape each one requires.
Variant
A child product distinguished from its siblings by a constrained set of attributes (size, colour). All variants share the parent family.