Many brands. Many countries. Every channel.
PIM4B gives you one trusted source for automotive parts data. Keep product information governed and aligned with TecDoc, ACES and PIES, distribute it consistently across ERPs, storefronts and marketplaces, and use AI to automatically enrich missing attributes based on OE numbers.
Why automotive parts catalogs break when you grow
Growth multiplies data. Without one governed record, every new brand, market and channel becomes another copy to maintain - which is the point where a PIM for automotive parts stops being a nice idea and becomes the sensible way to run the catalog.
Every brand becomes its own island
Acquire a brand, add a private label, take on a supplier - and inherit another data structure nobody wants to merge.
Every country adds a copy
The catalog gets duplicated instead of extended - and the copies drift apart within a quarter.
Every channel wants a different format
TecDoc, B2B portal, Amazon, eBay, distributor feeds - same product, five rule sets, five exports kept by hand.
Technical attributes typed in by hand
Open a supplier PDF, find a dimension, type it into a spreadsheet, hope it was the right OE reference. At scale, the most expensive line in the catalog budget.
390,000 parts. 12 countries. Many years.
i4B brings strong expertise in the automotive industry and its surrounding data landscape, making them a highly valuable partner for related initiatives. Their domain knowledge enables them to quickly understand complex requirements and deliver meaningful outcomes.
One record in. Every channel out.
Collect
ERPs, supplier feeds, spreadsheets and old catalogs into one model - multi-brand and multi-country from day one.
Govern
Validation and completeness rules define “ready to publish” per brand, country and channel.
Enrich
TecDoc attributes, vehicle applications, images and documents - AI-assisted, analyst-approved.
Publish
ERPs, storefronts and marketplaces through one versioned API, already serving 200+ apps.
Expand
A new country in weeks, not quarters - the structure was built for it.
Stop typing attributes from supplier PDFs
It works the way your data team already works - just faster. This is the part no spreadsheet and no general-purpose PIM will do for you.
Researches by OE number
Give it an OE reference and the data aggregator queries approved sources - OE catalogues, TecDoc and market listings - for the technical values you are missing.
Analysts stay in control
Nothing publishes automatically. Attributes, applications and cross-references are proposed with a confidence score, and an analyst confirms, corrects or rejects each one.
Every value knows its source
Every value is marked as sourced, derived or missing. When a spec is disputed two years later, you show the source and who signed off.
Repeat corrections become rules
A correction your analysts make again and again is turned into an automated rule, so the same error stops coming back on the next batch.
Thirty minutes, built around your own data.
Built for automotive parts, not for generic products
Parts catalog structure
Products, groups, base components and bills of materials - repair kits modelled as what they are.
TecDoc you can see
Reference data at a tracked version; GenArt, vehicle data and OE samples in the same system.
Identification & compliance
EAN management and substance search as part of the record, not a side spreadsheet.
Assets next to data
Images and documents managed with their products and published through the same channels.
Daily data-quality loop
Remarks, Compare and completeness rules turn the annual clean-up into a daily process.
Aggregation & enrichment
Values merged from many sources; the AI agent fills gaps by OE number.
Distribution with a paper trail
Every import/export run with status, source file and time - see why a feed failed at 2 a.m.
One public, versioned API
200+ client apps in production, including B2B storefront and admin.
One catalog, two standards
Taking a European catalog into the US and Mexico normally means a second workflow per market. In PIM4B it is a switch on the same record: TecDoc on one side, ACES and PIES on the other.
TecDoc
Attributes, vehicle links, images and documents, maintained once and published the TecDoc way.
ACES + PIES
The same record, viewed and exported to the North American standards.
Switch any item between views
The same product shows as a TecDoc record or an ACES/PIES record - no separate catalog to keep in sync.
Vehicle mapping that holds up
TecDoc K-type ranges mapped to ACES BaseVehicles per part, including the year-by-year splits where one range becomes several links.
Validated XML exports
PIES 8.0 and ACES 5.0, checked against the current Auto Care schemas before they reach your US and Mexican partners.
Units per market
Imperial for the US, metric for Mexico - every export carries the attributes that market expects.
ACES/PIES output requires your own valid licence to the Auto Care Association databases (VCdb, PCdb, Qdb). We are happy to advise.
Own it. Don't rent it.
No licence fee. No lock-in. PIM4B is a mature product implemented for your business - and the result belongs to you. Support afterwards is a retainer you choose, not a toll you pay to keep the system switched on.
TecDoc is the foundation, not an export plugin
Most PIM platforms treat TecDoc as one more export plugin. i4B has been integrating it since 2005. Attributes and vehicle applications are structured correctly from the start - not mapped at export time.
No two ERPs are the same
Every parts business runs an ERP shaped around its own catalog, so a ready-made connector is a fiction. PIM4B treats integration as a layer: one adapter per source, built to your data - the same approach behind the EV charging integrations i4B builds and maintains for e-mobility clients. Prices, stock and master data stay where they belong - the catalog does not try to own them.
Web catalogs & e-commerce
Your online catalog, B2B portal and auto parts e-commerce shop read the same record. Completeness rules run before publication, so a part reaches the shop with its attributes, images and vehicle applications in place - or it does not reach it at all.
Amazon & eBay
Each marketplace gets its own rule set and its own export, generated from one source record. Write a description once and it reaches every channel, instead of being retyped per platform and drifting apart within a season.
200+ client apps
PIM4B exposes a versioned public API, so an integration written today keeps working as the catalog model changes. A new consumer - a portal, a mobile app, a partner feed - connects without a migration project.
PIM4B earns its place when things start multiplying
Multi-brand parts groups
Running catalogs never designed to coexist.
Distributors crossing borders
Who need a new country to take weeks, not quarters.
Parts manufacturers
Reaching and holding TecDoc data supplier status, or taking a European catalog into ACES/PIES markets.
IT & digital leaders
Who inherited a catalog nobody wants to touch - and own its risk.
See PIM4B on your own catalog
30 minutes. We look at how your data flows today, show how PIM4B would handle it, and tell you honestly if you don't need us.
Frequently asked questions
What is a PIM system for the automotive aftermarket?
A PIM (product information management) system for the automotive aftermarket is a central, governed place to store, enrich and distribute parts data - technical attributes, vehicle applications, images, documents and marketing content. Unlike a general-purpose PIM, an aftermarket PIM has to handle vehicle linkage and data standards such as TecDoc, where a single incorrect application means a returned part and a lost garage.
How is PIM4B different from Akeneo or Pimcore?
Three differences. PIM4B is built specifically around automotive parts data and the TecDoc standard. It includes an AI research agent that fills technical attributes by OE number with field-level source traceability. And it is implemented as your own system rather than rented as a subscription - the result belongs to your business, with no recurring licence and no vendor lock-in.
Can PIM4B handle multiple brands and countries in one catalog?
Yes - that is what it was built for. Multi-brand and multi-country structures are part of the data model rather than a workaround, which is why rolling product data into a new country takes weeks instead of quarters.
Does PIM4B support ACES and PIES for the US and Mexico?
Yes. The same record can be viewed and exported as TecDoc or as ACES and PIES, with K-type ranges mapped to ACES BaseVehicles and validated PIES 8.0 and ACES 5.0 XML. Using it requires your own licence to the Auto Care Association databases (VCdb, PCdb, Qdb).
Does the AI agent publish data automatically?
No. The agent researches external sources per OE number and proposes values; your analysts approve them before anything enters the catalog. Every approved value keeps a field-level record of where it came from.
Do we need a PIM if we already have an ERP?
In most cases, yes. An ERP manages transactions - stock, prices, orders. A PIM manages the descriptive and technical data that sells the product and matches it to the right vehicle. They solve different problems and work best connected, which is why PIM4B integrates with ERPs rather than replacing them.
Is PIM4B automotive PIM software you install, or a hosted platform?
Either. PIM4B can run hosted by i4B, or as a dedicated instance on your own servers - the choice is yours and it does not change the product. What it is not is rented software: the implementation belongs to your business, and support afterwards is a retainer you choose rather than a fee you pay to keep the system switched on.
Can PIM4B work as a TecDoc PIM?
That is its native mode. i4B has been integrating TecDoc since 2005, so GenArt classification, vehicle linkage and technical attributes are structured to the standard from the first import rather than mapped at export time. Reference data is held at a tracked version, so you always know which TecDoc release your catalog was validated against.
What does a PIM for automotive parts need that a general-purpose PIM does not?
Vehicle linkage above all - auto parts only sell when they are correctly matched to the vehicles they fit. On top of that: K-type and ACES BaseVehicle handling, GenArt classification, OE cross-references, bills of materials for repair kits, and EAN and substance data for compliance. A general-purpose PIM can store these as custom fields; it cannot validate them.
How do you build the business case for an aftermarket PIM?
Start with the hours your analysts spend copying technical values out of supplier PDFs, then add what wrong fitment costs you in returns, credit notes and garages that do not order again. Against that, put the time it currently takes to open a new country or a new sales channel. We are happy to work through those numbers with you on the call.
Can PIM4B integrate with our web catalog or e-commerce shop?
Yes - that is one of its standard outputs. The same product record feeds your ERP, your online catalog, your B2B portal and your webshop through one versioned API, so a change made once is live everywhere. Where a platform needs its own format, it gets its own export rather than its own copy of the data.