Why it matters
Every AI-search tactic downstream — spec tables, Product schema, facet pages, cross-reference content — is only as good as the PIM feeding it. The honest first step for many distributors is fixing product-data quality before paying for GEO at all.
In practice
An industrial manufacturer selling through W.W. Grainger uses a PIM (e.g., Salsify's Direct Connection to Grainger) to centralize attributes scattered across its ERP, spreadsheets, and print catalogs, then publish complete, governed product content to the distributor. The same enriched attribute set that satisfies Grainger's content requirements is what makes those SKUs filterable on-site and legible to AI procurement tools that query structured attributes and tend to skip products with incomplete data.
Source: salsify.com