Price Reality Index: how PIMvendors will report real PIM costs

What the index will report

The Price Reality Index will report what organisations pay for a PIM programme, as ranges per segment and vendor tier. List prices and vendor quotes describe only part of the cost. The index adds implementation, integration and internal effort, which together often decide whether a business case holds.

Year one and later years are reported separately. The PIM total cost of ownership guide explains each component in more detail.

Segments and vendor tiers

Each published range sits in a cell defined by buyer segment and vendor tier.

Segment definitions use company revenue, number of products and number of channels. Vendor tiers group platforms by typical deployment scale and pricing model, as described in PIM pricing models. Vendors are not named in the cost tables. Naming them would expose individual contracts in small samples. Each data point is assigned to one segment and one tier before analysis, and the assignment rules are published with the first results.

The 5 data point rule

A cell is published only when it holds at least 5 data points. Cells below the threshold stay empty and say so. A single large or discounted deal cannot then define a range.

Every published cell states its sample size. Ranges are shown as the spread of observed values, with no averages that hide outliers. Where a cell has exactly the minimum, the page flags it as a thin sample.

The threshold applies per cost component. A cell can show a licence range while its implementation range stays empty, when only the licence data meets the threshold.

Data sources and launch

The index launches with the PIM Selection Benchmark 2027 and draws on the same data. Two sources feed it:

1. Cost answers from the PIM Selection Benchmark 2027 buyer survey.
2. Anonymised cost data from PIMvendors selection and contract negotiation work, with every identifying detail removed.

The index contains no figures until the benchmark results are published. The launch will be recorded in the update log. Until then, buyers can model their own costs with the TCO calculator.

Known limitations

The index will state its limitations next to every table. Cost data from a buyer survey relies on memory and on how each organisation books internal time. Engagement data reflects organisations that used an advisor, which can shift costs in either direction.

Discounts vary by deal timing, contract length and negotiation, so ranges will be wide in some cells. Currency effects and inflation are handled by reporting all values in EUR for the year of contract signature.

How to contribute cost data

Buyers can contribute cost data through the PIM Selection Benchmark 2027 survey. Register interest via the contact form on pimvendors.com to receive the survey link when fieldwork opens. Contributions are confidential and reported only in aggregate, within cells of at least 5 data points.

Neutrality of the cost data

Vendors cannot submit, review or correct cost data in the index. Cost data comes from buyers and from anonymised engagement data only. Vendor pricing pages in the hub describe pricing models from public sources, and vendors can correct those facts under the neutrality policy.