#TLDR;

Manufacturers have come a long way in how they showcase their products. As digital catalogs become more common, many now offer full product listings directly on their websites. These online catalogs make things easier for customers as they can quickly access specs, request a quote, and even get after-sales support, all in one place.

However, managing product catalogs is far from simple. It’s about building a website that’s structured to present information clearly, consistently, and efficiently. Many manufacturers are still in the early stages of digitization — having relied on printed catalogs for years, their first step is often converting those into downloadable PDFs, with little adaptation for digital use.

On top of that, product information needs to be made available across multiple channels, such as dealer portals, which makes it even harder to keep everything up to date.

This ebook brings together everything you need to know about digital product catalog transformation. From common roadblocks in managing product information to the key elements of modern architecture and how to choose the right tools for your business. It’s a must-read for manufacturers looking to upgrade and future-proof their product catalogs.

#1. The Real Roadblocks to Managing Product Information

At Hygraph, we recently launched the State of Content Management Report to explore how industry leaders prepare content for the future. We surveyed professionals across various sectors, including manufacturing, and have distilled the key findings most relevant to manufacturers.

This has uncovered many hidden roadblocks: chaotic content structures, outdated CMSs, and tightly coupled systems. Solutions that seemed ideal just a few years ago are now showing their cracks, and you're left wondering where to even start. If you’re facing one or more of these challenges, you’re not alone—and you’re exactly where you need to be.

1.1 From printed pages to structured content

For decades, manufacturers relied on printed catalogs or static PDFs to present product information. Thick, image-heavy booklets mailed to customers or distributed at trade shows. These catalogs were often expensive to produce, hard to update, and only as effective as the sales rep holding them.

These formats served their purpose in the pre-digital era, and to some extent, they still do. However, they’ve become just one of many starting points, and producing a brochure now creates significant overhead when the same information is also needed on the website, dealer portal, customer portal, and more. That’s why, today, these formats have become more of a bottleneck than a solution.

• 86% of manufacturers think their existing CMS is preventing their organisation from unlocking full value from its data and content.

• 48% of manufacturers stated that the biggest challenge they face is that changes can only be made by a small number of people with the right skills.

• 95% of manufacturing organizations need to build and manage custom middleware to connect to other existing content and data sources (e.g. PIM, DAM, SaaS tools, etc.) with existing CMS

• 97% of manufacturers find it very or somewhat challenging to efficiently serve data/content from multiple sources to multiple devices or channels.

• 91% of manufacturers find it challenging to keep different data and content types consistent.

Many companies have started digitizing their catalogs using flipbooks, downloadable files, or structured digital catalogs, but the level of maturity behind each approach varies significantly. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

Manufacturers today are juggling fragmented content and siloed data — and 91% admit it’s a major hurdle. A headless CMS that federates content across all sources changes the game: delivering seamless, modern user experiences without disturbing the legacy systems that run the business. It's the future of manufacturing content strategy — stable at the core, dynamic at the edge.

PDF-based catalogs

The most basic digital catalog is simply a scanned or designed version of the print catalog downloadable as a PDF. For companies with multiple catalogs, this often results in a cluttered, yellow pages-style landing page where users must scroll through a long list of links, clicking on the PDF that seems closest to what they’re looking for. 

It’s easy to publish, but hard to navigate. Search engines can’t index the content properly, and customers have to manually scroll through dozens of pages to find what they need, making it a frustrating and outdated experience. Updates are slow and typically require design resources.

Flipbooks

Flipbook-style catalogs offer a more interactive feel where users can flip through pages like a digital magazine. These are often built with catalog software that replicates a tactile experience.  However, while flipbooks feel modern on the surface, they share many of the same limitations as PDFs: poor searchability, limited accessibility on mobile, and little to no structured product data. They’re more about presentation than function. Even so, the presentation is clunky, and oftentimes it'd be better just to offer a PDF instead.

Fully digitized, structured catalogs

The most advanced and increasingly necessary approach is a fully digitized product catalog built on structured data. This means that product specs, attributes, and categories are managed in a central system (such as a PIM or headless CMS) and dynamically displayed on the website or across digital channels. This setup enables: Fast, intuitive product search and filtering

Easier updates and version control

The most advanced and increasingly necessary approach is a fully digitized product catalog built on structured data. This means that product specs, attributes, and categories are managed in a central system (such as a PIM or headless CMS) and dynamically displayed on the website or across digital channels. This setup enables:

• Fast, intuitive product search and filtering
• Easier updates and version control
• Integration with CAD downloads, configuration tools, or CPQ systems
• Consistent omnichannel product experiences

The shift toward fully digital, structured catalogs isn’t just about aesthetics or convenience. It’s a business necessity. Distributors, engineers, and procurement teams expect immediate access to detailed specs, compatibility information, and downloadable assets, without waiting or digging through static PDFs.

The shift toward fully digital, structured catalogs isn’t just about aesthetics or convenience. It’s a business necessity.

Two common use cases: with and without eCommerce

Manufacturers tend to fall into two website models: those that support eCommerce and those that don’t. In eCommerce-driven setups, the catalog is integrated with inventory and ordering systems. In non-eCommerce setups, the website serves more as a digital showroom. Here, the catalog is crucial in helping visitors explore technical specifications, understand product applications, and connect with a local dealer or sales rep. In both models, the quality and structure of the product catalog directly impact how well the website serves buyers, partners, and internal teams.

1.2 Typical components of a manufacturing website

Before we dive into why product catalogs are often so hard to manage, let’s take a quick look at what typically makes up a manufacturer’s website.

Why? Because the catalog doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s connected to, and often limited by, how the rest of the site is structured. And if we want to improve the catalog experience, we need to consider the full picture.

We’re specifically referring to companies that sell through partners, rather than online stores, and rely on their websites to showcase product content, not to process orders.

Here are the core building blocks we see across most B2B manufacturing websites:

Product catalog

This is the heart of the website. It lists complex products with specs, variations, and applications. There’s no shopping cart, but users expect to easily browse, compare, and request a quote. It’s also where most of the pain comes from—outdated systems, inconsistent data, and cumbersome content updates.

Technical and marketing content

Manufacturers often support their products with additional pages: use cases, application examples, industry-specific solutions, and downloadable brochures or whitepapers. These give context to the catalog but require consistent content and structure to work effectively.

Digital assets and documentation

From PDFs and CAD files to safety sheets and user manuals, B2B buyers rely on downloadable documents to gain a deeper understanding of your products. These assets need to be up-to-date, organized, and easily accessible from product detail pages.

Multilingual content

Many manufacturers operate in multiple markets and regions, which means product content has to be localized, not just translated. Beyond language, maintaining a consistent design and user experience across these regional websites is also a major challenge. Often, teams end up duplicating work to manage separate sites for each market, leading to multiple versions of the same content scattered across systems. This not only increases the risk of outdated information but also makes scaling and maintaining websites far more time-consuming and error-prone.

Dealer and partner portals

Some sites offer gated access for dealers or distributors. Even if the portal is separate, it still pulls from the same product data. If the catalog isn’t structured properly, these portals become hard to maintain and update.

Lead generation and sales enablement

Without eCommerce, a manufacturer’s website serves primarily as an informational hub — helping dealers, the sales team, and end customers make decisions, and guiding users to the right local dealership through contact forms, quote requests, or distributor finders. But if product content is slow to load or difficult to navigate, users are likely to drop off before they ever get in touch.

1.3 Top challenges in managing digital product catalogs

Making the leap from PDFs and flipbooks to a truly composable catalog requires more than surface-level changes.

Outdated content management process

Most manufacturers still rely on legacy architectures, product information is scattered across disconnected systems, making even small updates time-consuming and error-prone. These setups not only slow down internal workflows but also limit the ability to deliver fast, accurate, and personalized experiences to buyers. 

Most manufacturers still rely on custom-built platforms or legacy systems that are tightly coupled with internal systems. These setups weren’t built to support modern digital demands, and it shows. Even small content updates, such as changing a spec or uploading a file, often require going through IT. In many cases, only a handful of people have the necessary access or skills to make changes.

To understand why managing product catalogs is still such a challenge and how to fix it, we need to look deeper at the systems and processes behind the scenes.

This creates bottlenecks, slows teams down, and stalls progress. As our State of CMS Report shows, 48% of manufacturers cite that their biggest hurdle is that updates can only be made by a small number of qualified individuals.

These legacy systems also fragment product data across disparate platforms including ERP, PIM, and CMS. With no unified view, updates are painful, and delivering consistent product information becomes a constant uphill battle.

48%of manufacturers said their biggest hurdle is that updates can only be made by a small number of qualified people

Data quality and consistency

Manufacturers typically manage large volumes of product data, thousands of SKUs, each with its own specs, documentation, and media assets. But when that information lives in spreadsheets, static PDFs, shared drives, and disconnected portals, things quickly get messy.

Inconsistent data across channels, outdated content lingering on live pages, and duplicated work across regions or languages have become the norm. Without structured content and reusable components, teams are forced to manually copy and paste information into multiple places, introducing delays and errors. It’s no surprise that 91% of manufacturers say keeping different data and content types consistent is a major challenge.

And critically, many traditional CMSs simply weren’t built to handle structured product data at scale. They often come with rigid, opinionated content models out of the box, forcing you to adapt your needs to the system rather than adapting the content model to the data you actually need to manage. Essential details like CAD files, safety sheets, and certifications often end up buried—difficult to update, harder to reuse, and nearly impossible to scale.

91% of manufacturers say keeping different data and content types consistent is a major challenge.

Poor customer experience

When backend systems are outdated, it’s not just your internal teams that suffer, your customers feel the impact too. Slow page speeds, confusing navigation, and hard-to-find product details are still common on manufacturing websites. B2B buyers now expect B2C-level experiences, which creates friction where there should be flow.

According to a survey by Akeneo, 79% of B2B buyers expect clearly written, accurate product descriptions. That’s not a nice-to-have but a baseline expectation. However, even if your content exists, it doesn’t mean it’s accessible. Without structured data and a scalable delivery model, valuable specs and assets often end up buried or overlooked.

As a result, you end up with frustrating search experiences for buyers, longer sales cycles, and lost opportunities for revenue.

#2. Addressing the key challenges

2.1 How to maintain consistent product data across your catalog

Picture this: It's 3 AM, and Sarah, a procurement manager at a major automotive supplier, is frantically refreshing her browser. The bolt specifications on your website show one torque rating, but the PDF she downloaded an hour earlier lists something completely different. Meanwhile, her colleague in Germany is looking at yet another set of numbers on the dealer portal. By morning, three different departments will be working with three different "truths" about the same product. Sound familiar? Welcome to the wild world of product data chaos—where a single, inconsistent detail can trigger a domino effect of confusion, delays, and very unhappy customers.

The usual suspects: Where inconsistency comes from

The great system divide

Meet the unholy trinity of manufacturing IT: ERP, PIM, and CMS systems. Each has its own personality, speaks its own language, and they don't always play nice together. Your ERP system is like the accountant of the group, meticulously tracking inventory, pricing, and logistics. Your PIM system is the perfectionist, obsessing over product details and ensuring everything is just right. Your CMS is the showman, focused on presenting everything beautifully to the world.

The drama starts when these systems stop talking. Imagine your ERP updates a price, but your CMS doesn't get the memo. Suddenly, customers are seeing last month's pricing while your sales team is quoting this month's rates. Cue the chaos.

Real-world example: A machinery manufacturer we know discovered their website was showing discontinued products as "in stock" for three months because their ERP and CMS weren't properly synced. The result? Frustrated customers, embarrassed sales reps, and a lot of awkward phone calls.

The data source jungle

Manufacturing companies are like data magnets— they attract information from everywhere. R&D teams create technical specs in their engineering software. Marketing crafts compelling descriptions in their content tools. Suppliers send updates via email, Excel files, or carrier pigeon (okay, maybe not carrier pigeon, but it sometimes feels that way).

Each source has its own format, its own version of the truth, and its own timeline. At the same time, many manufacturing companies lack the internal IT resources to manage their product catalogs themselves, often relying on external agencies instead. Without team alignment and proper integration, you end up with what we call "data soup"—a messy mixture where finding the right ingredient (or information) becomes a treasure hunt.

The human factor

Despite living in the age of AI and automation, many manufacturers still rely on the time-honored tradition of manual data entry. Picture Dave from product management, coffee in hand, copying and pasting specifications from one system to another at 4 PM on a Friday. What could possibly go wrong?

Manual processes aren't just slow—they're error-prone. And when those errors multiply across multiple systems and channels, small mistakes become big problems.

The global puzzle

Going global sounds exciting until you realize that your simple product suddenly needs to speak 15 languages, comply with dozens of regulations, and adapt to different measurement systems. That industrial pump that works perfectly in Texas might need different certifications in Germany, different safety warnings in Japan, and completely different documentation in Brazil.

Manual processes aren't just slow—they're error-prone. And when those errors multiply across multiple systems and channels, small mistakes become big problems.

The format wars

Remember the old VHS vs. Betamax battle? The manufacturing world has its own format wars with BMEcat, IDM, ECLASS, OCI, and dozens of other standards. Each promises to be the solution to all your data exchange problems, but in reality, they often create more complexity. It's like having a universal translator that only works for half the languages you need.

When customers can trust your product information, they make better purchasing decisions. It's that simple.

The sweet rewards of consistency

Lower return rates (And happier accountants)

Here's a story that'll make any CFO smile: A precision tools manufacturer reduced their return rate by 40% simply by ensuring their product specifications were consistent across all channels. Customers knew exactly what they were getting, which meant fewer surprises and fewer returns.

Enhanced customer satisfaction

Consistency builds trust like nothing else. When a customer sees the same specifications on your website, in your catalog, and on your dealer's portal, they develop confidence in your brand. This trust translates into loyalty, repeat purchases, and positive word-of-mouth.

Streamlined operations

Imagine your operations team spending their time on strategic initiatives instead of hunting down the latest product specifications. Consistent product information streamlines everything from order fulfillment to customer support, freeing up your team to focus on what really matters.

True omnichannel presence

Modern manufacturers need to be everywhere their customers are—OCI systems for procurement, eCommerce platforms for direct sales, marketplaces for broader reach, and yes, even printed catalogs for those who still love the feel of paper. Consistent information across all these channels creates a unified omnichannel experience that customers notice and appreciate.

Risk minimization

Consistent product information reduces compliance risks by ensuring regulatory requirements are met across all channels. It also improves internal efficiency by creating clear, repeatable processes for updating and distributing product information

Implementing effective catalog management

Think of implementing catalog management like renovating a house while you're still living in it. You need a strategic approach that doesn't disrupt daily operations while building something better. 

1. Start with a data audit: Before you can fix the problem, you need to understand it. Conduct a comprehensive audit of existing product data sources, identifying where information lives, who owns it, and how it flows through your organization.

2. Establish clear governance: Create clear policies that define data ownership, update workflows, and quality standards. Without content governance, even the best technology will eventually devolve into chaos.

3. Design your technology architecture: Define clear roles for each system— ERP for transactional data, PIM for product information management, CMS for content presentation—and establish integration points that allow seamless data flow. Follow this guide to architect your product catalog.

4. Establish a single source of truth: Designate one authoritative system for product data and route all updates through it. Have downstream systems (eCommerce, CMS, DAM, analytics) consume from this source via integrations rather than maintaining their own copies—this prevents version drift and accelerates change management.

5. Implement in phases: Start with core product lines before scaling to your entire catalog. This approach allows you to learn, adjust, and prove value before making larger investments.

6. Standardize everything: Create consistent data structures, naming conventions, and terminology across all systems. This foundation makes everything else possible.

7. Leverage automation: Use AI and automation to reduce manual effort and improve consistency. From data validation to content generation, automation can handle routine tasks while humans focus on strategy.

8. Train your team: Technology is only as good as the people using it.

9. Invest in training and designate "product data champions" who can drive adoption and best practices.

10. Measure and improve: Establish metrics for data quality, process efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Use feedback loops to continuously improve your catalog management practices.

2.2 How to reduce IT dependency in managing product information

IT and business have long been sparring partners. Traditionally, IT managed not only software but also tasks that weren’t strictly technical, simply because others couldn’t handle them. That dynamic is changing. Today’s tools are more user-friendly, and teams are more tech-savvy. The key is to empower people with the proper setup, enabling them to work independently without hand-holding.

In this section, we’ll break down the issue of IT dependency in product information management. You’ll learn what you can do to reduce reliance on IT and set a flywheel in motion for managing product data efficiently, while delivering the kind of customer experience you’ll be proud to share.

How much is too much?

It’s completely normal for IT to be involved in setting up platforms like a PIM or CMS, handling integrations, and helping colleagues get up to speed. But here’s the question many quietly ask themselves: At what point does helpful support turn into dependency that slows everyone down?

If every update, new product entry, or content change requires a ticket to IT, it’s a sign that your organization may be overly reliant on technical teams for something that should be part of your everyday operations. And if you suspect that this drain on resources is already costing you revenue, that’s a red flag you can’t afford to ignore.

Why IT dependency is holding you back

In many manufacturing organizations, IT teams are caught in a reactive loop: while running critical long-term projects, they're regularly pulled away to address urgent issues from business teams struggling to manage product data. Each request derails their roadmap, forcing them to patch problems with short-term fixes rather than building scalable systems. This constant firefighting not only drains IT capacity but also prevents them from focusing on innovation.

Even worse, that assumes companies have internal IT resources to begin with. Many manufacturers rely on external agencies to manage their websites. In these cases, even simple updates like changing product specs or publishing a new page require time-consuming back-and-forth and additional costs. As a result, high IT dependency directly drives up operational costs.

When the Marketing team wanted to upload a video, they had to send it to the agency. They would upload it to a platform and send it back with an ID for insertion into the previous CMS. It was very time-consuming.

This growing dependency on IT has become a major organizational bottleneck, one that’s backed by industry benchmarks. In our State of Content Management:

48% of manufacturers stated that the biggest challenge they face is that changes can only be made by a small number of people with the right skills.

78% of manufacturers strongly agree that by exposing more data and content in the digital services, they will be able to significantly reduce operational costs. 

Compromised information consistency

Juggling multiple systems like CMS, PIM, and DAM is common in managing product catalogs. But when content has to pass through several teams, such as IT and editorial, before it can be published, the risk of errors increases significantly. Without a single source of truth or clear ownership, inconsistencies in product details, outdated assets, or even contradictory information can easily slip through. The more handoffs and manual steps involved, the harder it becomes to ensure accuracy, version control, and a consistent customer experience across touchpoints.

Time-to-market delays

For manufacturers, especially those managing large or frequently changing catalogs, relying on siloed data, manual processes, or IT-driven workflows makes product launches slow and inefficient. Companies in this position are often “primed for delays” in getting products to market. Komax, a manufacturer of machinery and equipment, saw its time-to-market improve threefold after enabling non-technical users to manage product data directly.

Keeps development costs high

The more your organization depends on developers to manage product data updates, the more expensive and fragile your systems become. Instead of focusing on building scalable features, IT teams are burdened with maintaining workflows that should be owned by business teams. This leads to higher development costs, slower technical progress, and more complex architecture over time. As Markus Schulz, Product Owner and CMS Expert at Turbine Kreuzberg, aptly puts it:

Reduction of IT dependencies is one of the crucial topics in any IT project. It reduces development costs and complexity, ensures transparency and availability, and makes your architecture resilient and future-proof.

Modern tools like headless CMSs and structured content can put more control in the hands of content and product teams, without adding technical debt.

It’s all about breaking down the silos

Earlier, we identified legacy systems as a key barrier to product catalog innovation. These systems were never designed to handle complex product data, omnichannel delivery, or agile content updates. As a result, they often create bottlenecks instead of enabling growth. That’s why more manufacturers are rethinking their tech stack and headless CMS is emerging as a powerful alternative.

In the following section, we’ll break down how a headless CMS can help reduce IT dependency and enable a more scalable, flexible content workflow. Before diving into the how-tos, you should first consider a few fundamental questions, suggested by Schulz.

• Does your architecture meet your requirements?
• How is your current product data management working?
• Which tools and departments are involved?
• How can relevant processes be optimized and automated?
• How can system dependencies within your architecture be minimized and aligned with your strategic goals?

Answering these questions helps uncover where your current setup is holding you back, and where breaking down silos can unlock real business value. Whether it’s reducing friction between teams, giving non-technical users more autonomy, or simplifying how product data flows across systems, these are the first steps toward a more agile, future-ready architecture.

From here, let’s walk through how you can begin reducing IT dependency in practice without disrupting your entire stack.

1. Go headless to decouple systems and avoid breakages

Traditional CMSs are tightly coupled, so even small changes (e.g., adjusting layout or adding fields) can break something on the frontend. As Elastic Path noted, brands may have creative ideas for new product experiences or richer product descriptions. However, legacy systems often require “complicated and expensive hacks” by IT just to support these unique requirements. A headless architecture separates this concern, enabling teams to make updates or restructure content without involving IT every time.

Here, we will share the example of our customer, Komax.  Previously, Komax relied on Sitecore, an on-premise, monolithic system that had become a behemoth at the center of their tech stack.

As maintaining and building on Sitecore became increasingly difficult, teams started adopting alternative CMSs like Typo3 for microsites and acquired brands. This led to a fragmented architecture and rising operational costs.

To regain control, Komax adopted Hygraph’s headless CMS. Their frontend is now fully decoupled from content management and data delivery, making it easier to integrate additional data sources and services. All digital interfaces route through a single entry point, paired with custom identity management, enabling a unified and scalable experience across brands.

Previously, content editors had to manually copy information from the PIM and DAM into the CMS, resulting in significant overhead. Hygraph now manages all of Komax’s content across brands and microsites, centralizing a high volume of structured content at scale. Business systems are now fully integrated. Data from systems like PIM can now be sourced directly, eliminating the need for manual updates.

The setup draws on MACH principles—what Komax refers to as a “data-oriented architecture.” By eliminating opinionated page design, it focuses on delivering efficient data. What does reduced IT dependency translate into? Website updates are published 2–3x faster, and microsites can now be launched in weeks instead of months.

Catch more insights from their migration in the full webinar.

Fragmented setup slowed delivery

Modern stack accelerates delivery today

2. Integrate instead of rebuilding

Tightly related to the previous point, this approach only works if you've already moved away from a monolithic setup. Instead of rebuilding content from scratch, focus on integrating with systems such as PIMs, ERPs, eCommerce platforms, and analytics tools via APIs. A modular, API-first architecture allows new tools to be connected through the API, without hardcoded logic. This reduces the need for IT to custom-build integrations, giving your teams more flexibility to adapt and scale.

These are the most important questions about integration reliability and planning:

• How reliable are these APIs for both internal teams and external systems consuming product information?
• How do you monitor and ensure the consistent uptime and performance of these APIs for critical integrations?
• How predictable and easy is it to estimate the development effort and timelines required?
• What factors, such as API documentation quality, data model complexity, or the availability of reusable API components, make integration planning challenging or straightforward?

For cost control during integration, Schulz recommends:

• Good planning reduces cost: the right choice of platforms and interface, already at the start
• Clearly define benefits with KPIs and implement in phases, proving ROI early

3. Maintain a single source of truth for product information

You don’t want your product information scattered across spreadsheets, legacy systems, PDFs, and emails. Consistency and integrity across systems are non-negotiable for any Product Owner.

The first step is to define a single source of truth—a centralized, authoritative system where all product data lives. From there, implement real-time sharing and updates to ensure every connected tool pulls from the same accurate dataset. As seen in Komax’s example, an API-first architecture makes this possible by decoupling systems while still keeping them in sync. It not only gives you greater control over data flows but also reduces dependency on IT for managing fragmented sources, helping you stay agile and future-proof.

4. Empower editors with the right tools and permissions

A major reason for IT bottlenecks is that non-technical teams lack the tools to manage content confidently.

A headless CMS like Hygraph provides:

• A user-friendly interface for adding, editing, and organizing content
• Granular user permissions so only the right people can make changes
• Workflows and approvals to align with your governance model
• This way, editors and product teams gain autonomy, and IT can focus on high-impact development work.

Schulz emphasizes the importance of self-service capabilities:

By providing intuitive self-service tools for data enrichment, publishing, and potentially basic integration tasks, the CMS shifts ownership to business users. This reduces the volume of IT support tickets and the need for custom IT development for routine product data management and distribution needs, leading to lower operational costs.

When working with enterprise clients, product information management consistently presents the same challenge: attribute structures that need constant modification.

We've seen countless projects where every attribute change, whether adding new fields, modifying existing ones, or removing outdated structures, requires developer resources.

This creates unnecessary bottlenecks in our clients' workflows, delaying product launches and inflating operational costs. That's why we architect modern CMS solutions differently. Our implementations empower content creators and product managers to handle these modifications independently through user-friendly interfaces. Taking back control and liberating the content from barriers. We integrate these capabilities directly into existing QA workflows, maintaining quality standards without technical dependencies.

For clients requiring maximum automation, we design fully synchronized systems where PIM attribute structures flow directly into the content management platform. This approach eliminates manual effort entirely while ensuring real-time data consistency across all touchpoints.

As a result, our clients achieve the flexibility they need without the traditional technical overhead.

5. Embrace structured content from the start

A traditional setup fails you by tying you to templated frontend. As a result, whenever the content team wants to create a page that fits a unique content type, they request assistance from the IT team.

Structured content means creating your own content models, relationships, and reusable components. With a headless CMS, you can build a custom schema that fits your needs from the very start, defining page types and content relations exactly the way you want. What’s even better, structured content is easier to search, filter, and syndicate.

This makes your content system flexible and future-proof. There’s no need to create new templates or data fields for every new product type or layout variation. Instead of asking IT to build something new, your teams can simply populate and combine existing components.

• This chapter was created in collaboration with Turbine Kreuzberg, who recently launched an AI-powered procurement platform that streamlines and elevates catalog management. Their approach brings intelligence and structure to how product data is processed, helping organizations move faster and with greater consistency.

Find out more about their platform. 

#3. Building an architecture that scales with your catalog

Whenever we open a product catalog, we expect instant access to accurate, localized, and detailed product information, and this is no exception for B2B manufacturing products, whether sourcing wire processing equipment, technical components, building materials, or lighting systems across global markets. But for many manufacturers, delivering on that expectation remains a challenge.

Most product catalogs are built on outdated architecture. In fact, 86% of manufacturers believe their CMS is holding them back from fully leveraging their content and data. Even more striking, 95% rely on custom middleware just to bridge fragmented systems like CMS, PIM, DAM, and other SaaS tools.

These numbers point to a deeper issue: to deliver a truly modernized product catalog experience, you need an underlying architecture that matches the pace of your growth.

3.1 Why architecture matters

Much like eCommerce stacks have evolved from all-in-one platforms to modular, API-first ecosystems, product catalogs now demand a similar transformation.Legacy, or monolithic systems that try to do it all, can no longer keep pace. They’re often inflexible, tightly coupled, and force content and product teams to work around outdated workflows.

In contrast, composable architectures embrace modularity. Specialized tools like a PIM for product data, a CMS for content modeling, and a DAM for assets work together via APIs. This approach enables:

• Structured product content that’s easy to update and reuse
• Localization and translation workflows for global markets
• Omnichannel delivery (websites, partner portals, apps)
• Clean integration with existing business systems

It’s a future-proof model that lets manufacturers scale without starting from scratch.

3.2 Why are legacy CMSs holding you back

Many manufacturers digitize their catalogs in stages. The first step is getting information online, often as downloadable PDFs. The next is making product data fully accessible and always up to date. This is where a CMS typically comes into play, and where teams often start to feel the limitations of legacy systems.

If you began your digitization journey in the 1990s or early 2000s, your CMS was likely built for a simpler time, before mobile, omnichannel, and structured content became the norm. It often lacks the flexibility to structure product information in a way that makes it searchable, reusable, and consistent across a growing number of channels, languages, and markets.

The pros

Legacy CMSs do have their advantages. They’re familiar, already in place, and often deeply integrated with other business tools. Some may even offer industry-specific features or have been custom-built around the unique quirks of your catalog.

And that familiarity matters. Even when legacy systems aren’t perfect, the effort and investment already made in maintaining them can make teams reluctant to switch, especially if the perceived benefit of a new system isn’t dramatically higher.

In many cases, a legacy CMS isn’t the only system in use. Product data may be spread across a patchwork of tools: spreadsheets, shared drives, and custom-built portals, adding even more friction to content management workflows.

The cons

Still, if the list below reflects the challenges you're currently facing, it’s a clear sign that your legacy CMS is holding you back. These issues are common among manufacturers modernizing their digital catalogs, and they’re exactly the kinds of problems a flexible, API-first CMS is built to solve.

Tightly coupled frontend and backend

A typical setup in legacy systems is a traditional CMS. This type of CMS rose to prominence in the late 1990s as a way to manage websites by bundling content with predefined page templates. While this worked well in the desktop era, the rise of smartphones and multichannel experiences has made this model outdated. Because the frontend and backend are tightly coupled, content must be managed page by page, isn’t reusable, and requires full redeployment for even small updates, making it slow, rigid, and difficult to scale.

Content silos

It is common for product information to be stored in multiple locations due to the lack of structured content capabilities in traditional CMSs. This fragmentation necessitates manual updates, increasing the risk of inconsistencies and errors. Managing product data across disconnected systems and spreadsheets becomes especially challenging when teams must duplicate efforts for various channels, regions, or markets. Such inefficiencies hinder scalability and compromise the consistency of product information across platforms.

3.2 Why are legacy CMSs holding you back

The cons

Limited flexibility to adapt and scale It’s often hard to get a traditional CMS to support new use cases. Teams might have good ideas for how to improve the catalog structure, internal workflows, or customer features, but the effort it would take to make the change prevents them from even trying. Holding back business from improving the existing experience, and making it nearly impossible to scale the system to support new content types, languages, and channels.

3.3 Headless CMS: The essential part of a modern digital catalog

In a traditional CMS (Squarespace, WordPress, Sitecore, etc), often referred to as a page builder, the content model is tightly linked to page templates, limiting the ability to structure content to support integrations, omnichannel, and data-driven use cases.

With a headless CMS, content is created as modular blocks that can be used across many different pages and channels. Content data is highly structured so that it can be shared via APIs to any frontend or easily integrated with other systems. This structured approach makes a headless CMS a good choice for complex use cases and high volumes of content, as it combines the efficiency of a database with the user features that make it easy to create and publish content.

Pro: Structured, searchable product content

Product information isn’t managed as static pages but as a database, with companies having full control over the structure of their data. This allows the CMS to handle complex catalogs with thousands of SKUs and makes the product data fully searchable for end users.

An API-first CMS also adds metadata structure to all the content that gives context to the catalog, like product images, CAD files, safety sheets, industry guides, and multilingual content. Ensuring this content is always shown alongside relevant products and is also easily findable via search.

Pro: Omnichannel readiness

A major benefit of structured content is that it can be reused across any digital channel. Teams can manage the catalog in one place, and updates will be instantly seen across the website, mobile app, portals, and any other touchpoints. Making it easy to keep product data consistent.

Being able to reuse content doesn’t mean that each channel has to be a carbon copy. Businesses have the flexibility to create their own content model to tailor information to each audience. Such as localized and translated content, regional availability, or custom catalogs on a logged-in portal.

Pro: Efficient content updates

An enterprise-level CMS is going to have editing tools that allow non-technical users to create and publish content without the help of a developer. As well as features like workflows, data validations, versioning, and custom roles and permissions that help teams formalize and streamline the update process.

The modular structure of an API-first CMS also means that changes to one part of the system won’t disrupt the rest. So product and marketing teams can update content without worrying about accidentally taking down the website, and developers can quickly build and test frontend features without the risk of breaking critical functionality.

Pro: Flexible integrations

Having all content and functionality shared via APIs makes it easy to integrate the CMS with other systems like an ERP, PIM, CPQ, commerce platform, or custom database. Businesses can quickly integrate the CMS with existing tools to get up and running, with the flexibility to add and replace data sources over time as needs change.

Data can continue to live in your existing systems, but teams can access and manage that data directly in the CMS. Providing a single source of truth for product content without having to duplicate data.

Pro: Modular, scalable architecture

In an API-first CMS, functionality is broken up into discrete services. Each service communicates with the rest of the system using APIs and can be independently updated or even replaced. This modular design allows businesses to quickly adapt the CMS as needs change and as the catalog becomes more complex.

It also makes it easy to scale the system. New features can be built without having to start from scratch, and both content and infrastructure can be reused to quickly support new channels or launch into new markets.

Overall, this type of CMS supports a composable approach to software architecture. Where businesses have the freedom to “compose” their own tech stack of best-of-breed tools that are designed to easily integrate with others. Rather than being stuck in the traditional replatform cycles of a monolithic system, companies can continuously add, expand, and swap out the components of their stack to quickly adapt to new needs. Making a composite approach a much more future-proof setup.

3.3 Headless CMS: The essential part of a modern digital catalog

Cons: Learning curve

If teams are used to working with a traditional CMS, switching to thinking about content in a modular way can take some getting used to. Training for content creators and developers should be factored into any migration plan and, if in-house teams aren’t familiar with headless development, it can be useful to work with an implementation partner to set up the system.

Con: Implementation effort

The flip side of offering complete flexibility over the content experience is that an API-first CMS doesn’t have an out-of-the-box data structure or website templates. It does take development effort to design the content model, set up integrations, and build out the frontend experience. One part of the implementation process that can be particularly tricky is migrating legacy data, as it likely won’t match 1:1 with your new content structure. Especially if product information is currently spread across different systems without a universal structure.

Con: Cost considerations

An API-first CMS is going to come with upfront costs for implementation and, depending on your legacy system, might have a higher licensing cost.

The total cost consideration should also include the potential savings a more modern system could bring, such as hours saved on maintaining infrastructure, updating content, having sales hunt down product information, and any bottlenecks the new system can eliminate. Along with potential revenue opportunities the new CMS makes possible, such as expanding to new markets and attracting new customers.

3.4 What a modern catalog architecture looks like (without eCommerce)

Not every manufacturer sells directly online, but that doesn’t mean product catalog complexity is any lower. Even in non-eCommerce scenarios, a robust digital catalog is the foundation for:

• Helping users explore technical product variations
• Surfacing relevant CAD files and documentation
• Connecting leads with the right distributor

A composable architecture for such catalogs typically includes:

• Headless CMS: Controls presentation and enables structured content modeling
• PIM: Central hub for product data (SKUs, specs, variants)
• DAM: Stores images, manuals, certifications, and videos
• ERP: Supplies inventory or business-critical data
• Integration Layer (e.g., GraphQL): Connects the systems via API and federates the data

This decoupled setup allows content teams to pull in product data and enrich it with editorial content, without duplicating or manually copying across systems.

Architecture in action: highlights from the field

Komax Group, the wire processing manufacturer, had relied on a tightly coupled CMS where even simple updates required agency intervention.

By adopting a modular architecture with Hygraph as their CMS and a GraphQL integration layer to unify data from PIM and other systems, Komax transformed their digital experience:

• Product data is federated into the CMS in real time.
• Pages are built using reusable components.
• Load times dropped up to 70%.
• Content updates are 2–3x faster, without needing developers.

Komax’s transformation is a prime example of how manufacturers can modernize their product catalog architecture. In the next section, we break down the key takeaways from their journey and what they mean for your own.

3.5 Best Practices for Architecting a Modern Product Catalog

Break free from legacy constraints

Komax started with a monolithic Sitecore setup—tightly coupled, slow to update, and reliant on external agencies. Like many manufacturers, their stack included a tangle of disconnected systems: CMS, PIM, ERP, and CRM, none built to work together. Even small content changes were complex, risky, and time-consuming.

By moving to a modular, API-first approach, they reduced dependency on legacy infrastructure, improved speed to market, and gained the flexibility to evolve their tech stack over time.

Embrace a composable, best-of-breed architecture

Instead of forcing one system to do everything, composable architecture allows each tool: CMS, PIM, ERP, to focus on what it does best. When connected via APIs, this setup enables product data and content to flow seamlessly between systems. It eliminates redundancy, reduces manual effort, and future-proofs your stack.

Decouple the frontend

Previously, Komax had separate, tightly integrated frontends for their website and customer portal. Today, both run on a unified Nuxt 3 frontend, powered by APIs. With data fetched from Hygraph and a GraphQL layer that pulls in PIM data, Komax now delivers a faster, more scalable digital experience, while simplifying development and reducing maintenance overhead.

Structure content as reusable components

In an API-first CMS, content is modeled as modular blocks: download cards, banners, specs, CTAs, that can be reused across pages and portals. This not only speeds up content creation but also improves consistency, reduces errors, and supports scale. For manufacturers with thousands of product variants, this kind of efficiency is a game-changer.

Choose systems that prioritize user experience

Your architecture should remove friction, not add it. That means selecting tools that provide intuitive experiences for both internal users and customers. Whether it’s improving load speed, simplifying navigation, or streamlining editorial workflows, the right stack should support—not slow down—your business.

Maintain a single source of truth

With content and data often scattered across systems, it’s easy to fall into duplication, inconsistency, and version control issues. Komax solved this by integrating Hygraph as a unified content layer. Connected via GraphQL to existing sources like PIM and ERP, Hygraph enables a consistent experience across all channels while reducing manual work and data fragmentation.

Empower your editorial teams

A modern CMS should work for more than just developers. Hygraph is designed with content teams in mind, offering a clean UI, role-based access, multi-language support, and scheduling tools. For manufacturers operating across markets and portals, this editorial agility is critical. Faster updates mean faster go-to-market and fewer bottlenecks across teams.

#4. How to find the best product catalog management tools for manufacturers

In this chapter, we’ll explore what product catalog management really means, how different tools like PIM and CMS play a role, and what to look for when choosing the right setup for your business.

4.1 What is a product catalog management tool?

A product catalog management tool is any system that helps businesses organize, maintain, and distribute product information across channels, whether for internal teams, buyers, distributors, or end users. These tools ensure that product data such as specifications, descriptions, pricing, media assets, and availability stay accurate and up to date.

Monolithic vs. composable approaches

Before diving into product catalog management tools, it’s worth revisiting why we recommend a composable approach. Monolithic platforms attempt to manage everything: content, product data, digital assets in one tightly coupled system. But this often leads to silos, slow updates, and limited flexibility. If your architecture is monolithic, swapping in a new catalog tool won’t fix the core problems, it just adds another layer to the complexity.

In contrast, a composable setup connects specialized tools (CMS, PIM, DAM, etc.) via APIs. It gives you the freedom to choose the best solution for each function, and makes catalog modernization actually achievable.

To make the most of the tools in this chapter, a composable foundation is essential.

Types of product catalog management tools

Rather than referring to a single type of software, "catalog management" is a functional category. It spans several types of platforms in a composable setup — most commonly:

• PIM (Product Information Management) systems: designed specifically to centralize and enrich product data across teams and markets.

• CMS (Content Management Systems) that manage the presentation of product pages and content on websites.

• eCommerce platforms that include catalog and inventory features as part of their core offering.

• Custom tools or databases built in-house to handle complex or industry-specific catalog needs.

What defines a tool as a catalog management solution isn’t the label. It’s the role it plays in maintaining and delivering product data at scale. For manufacturers, especially, where products often have hundreds of attributes, dependencies, and downloadable assets (like CAD files), having a reliable catalog management setup is crucial to delivering a modern and accurate product experience.

4.2 CMS vs PIM: Key differences and how they work

Content Management Systems (CMSs) and Product Information Management platforms (PIMs) are two types of software solutions that can be used to manage product data. Let’s take a look at the key differences between them and when it makes sense to use a PIM, CMS, or a combination of both to modernize your product catalog.

CMS vs PIM: Definition

PIM

PIMs are specifically designed to handle large and complex catalogs. They organize product information in a highly structured database, which allows teams to centralize product data from multiple sources, make bulk updates to the catalog, and automate tasks like data transformation and enrichment. Being a very targeted solution also means that all the platform’s features revolve around making product management easier. Depending on the vendor, there may be prebuilt integrations, business logic, or product model templates that can be especially useful for companies in the early stages of digitizing their catalog.

A PIM is great for organizing product data, but that’s really all it’s intended for. You’ll still need a CMS to manage how that data is used on product pages, as well as for all the other content that goes into making a digital catalog usable (company information, use cases, marketing content, rich media, contact forms, banners, buttons, etc), and for the overall content model of your website and other channels.

CMS

CMS is a much wider category of software than PIM, with solutions designed to cover a range of digital content needs - from SEO to eCommerce to complex content-driven applications. So, naturally, there is a pretty big variety in how well different CMSs can handle product data.

Which approach is best for managing your product information?

Relying on a PIM alone

Relying solely on a PIM to handle your product content can be a good option if you want to give your internal teams, partners, and customers easy access to up-to-date catalog information, but your website is not a primary lead generation channel. The site may offer a way for existing customers to place orders online, but you don't need marketing content aimed at acquiring new customers, like product comparisons, industry guides, interactive elements, or promotional campaigns.

As mentioned earlier, even if your product catalog is fully managed within a PIM, you’ll still need a CMS (or, in very simple cases, the storefront capabilities of an ecommerce platform) to handle the overall content model and any non-product content on your site.

Using a PIM alongside a CMS

Some companies choose to manage certain parts of the catalog in each system. For example, managing the product hierarchy and attributes in the PIM and using the CMS to manage product media like images, videos, user manuals, spec sheets, and other downloadable files.

This can be a great combination or a frustrating one, and it largely comes down to the CMS you’re using. Trying this with a traditional CMS that lacks the structure to support integrations, or a homegrown content system that only a few people know how to use, often leads to slow, manual processes that make it hard to keep information consistent between systems.

Integrating a PIM with a headless CMS is a much better option. Complex product data can live in the PIM, and the CMS can fetch it in real time, so there is never any duplication. Content editors can work with product data directly in the CMS, enrich it with rich media and editorial content, and easily manage how products are showcased on each digital channel.

This is an especially beneficial approach if you already have a PIM you like. For example, Komax was happy with their PIM, but their legacy CMS was slowing the team and the website down. They switched to a headless approach and set up a GraphQL integration layer to connect the data from all their systems. Product data still lives in the PIM, but the marketing team can now work with it directly in the CMS UI and spin up new pages without the help of a developer.

For the sake of simplicity, we are going to talk about the catalog management capabilities of two overarching groups of CMS solutions, traditional and headless. Even within these groups, however, there is still quite a lot of variation in the ability to manage product data easily and at scale.

Which approach is best for managing your product information?

Using a headless CMS to manage both content and product data With an advanced headless CMS like Hygraph, which offers a highly flexible content model and uses GraphQL to efficiently fetch data from remote sources, it’s possible to fully handle the product catalog in the CMS.

This gives teams a single source of truth for all product and content data, the convenience of managing it all from one system, and a lot of control over how product information is used across channels and localized to different markets.

Using a CMS to manage both products and content can be a particularly good solution for manufacturers that want to create a modern, searchable catalog without the complexity of eCommerce features.

4.3 What to look for in a modern catalog management stack

Managing a manufacturing catalog today isn’t just about keeping product specs online — it’s about ensuring every touchpoint, from your internal teams to global dealers, is working with the same accurate, up-to-date information. When evaluating catalog management tools, look beyond feature lists. Consider how well a solution can support the full product experience. Here are six capabilities that matter most:

Structured content support

Structured content is what gives life to a modern product catalog. Instead of manually duplicating specs, downloads, and layout elements across pages or regions, a structured content model lets you reuse and reference product information wherever it’s needed. Whether it's listing the same spec table across 100 product variants or linking the same CAD file in multiple regions, structured components lets you drastically reduce overhead and errors.

 Multilingual and multi-market content handling

For manufacturers operating across borders, managing content in multiple languages and markets isn’t optional but expected. A modern system must go beyond simple translation and enable true localization: supporting market-specific assets, specs, and content structure while keeping everything aligned in one place.

Omnichannel delivery

Product content shouldn’t be locked into your website CMS. Whether your users are browsing your main site, logging into a customer portal, or accessing content via a mobile app, they expect a seamless experience. That means delivering the same consistent product information across every digital channel. API-first CMS like Hygraph lets you define your central source of truth for content that feeds your website, dealer and partner portals, customer apps, and more. Your product catalog management tool should allow you to define product information once, and reuse it everywhere.

Integration with existing systems

No manufacturer starts from scratch. You likely already rely on PIMs, ERPs, DAMs, and custom databases to manage product and business data. A modern catalog system needs to work with what you have, not force a complete rebuild.

Editorial usability and collaboration

Non-technical teams should be able to create, update, and reuse content easily. Look for a platform that supports editorial workflows, version control, and user roles.

Scalability and future readiness

Too many catalog updates still rely on IT teams or external agencies. Something as simple as updating a spec sheet, uploading a new product image, or publishing a localized version should be easy for your content or product team to manage directly.

#5. Hygraph, the best product catalog management tool for manufacturers

Hygraph is a modern setup built for manufacturers who need flexibility, speed, and scalability. You can structure product data for reuse, streamline updates without relying on IT, and deliver fast, reliable experiences across websites and partner portals.

Native GraphQL for advanced integration

Hygraph is built from the ground up with GraphQL, a query language developed by Facebook to handle complex, scalable data needs. Unlike REST APIs, GraphQL allows clients to request exactly the data they need—nothing more, nothing less—making integrations more efficient and maintainable.

This GraphQL-native architecture makes it easy to connect

Hygraph to existing systems like ERPs, PIMs, or commerce platforms. Product data can be fetched from multiple sources, unified in real time, and delivered to any frontend—all without building or maintaining custom middleware.

Content Federation and distributed data

Hygraph’s content federation capabilities allow you to pull data from external sources and unify it through a single API layer. This enables manufacturers to maintain a distributed source of truth—keeping product, marketing, and regulatory data exactly where it belongs—while still delivering a consistent customer experience across channels.

This also gives businesses more flexibility in how they structure ownership of data across teams, systems, and geographies—without compromising on integrity or accessibility.

Structured content and reusable components

Manufacturers often rely on recurring blocks of content—specs, certifications, safety sheets—that appear across hundreds of product pages. With Hygraph, these blocks can be created as structured components, reused across different models, and maintained centrally. This dramatically reduces duplication, improves consistency, and speeds up publishing workflows.

Built-in editorial tools for cross-functional teams

Hygraph offers a user-friendly editing interface that empowers non-technical users to manage content without developer support. Teams can add new product entries, update specs, or build new landing pages using a clean UI with support for custom workflows, versioning, validation rules, and granular permissions. This enables marketing, product, and technical teams to collaborate in parallel—eliminating bottlenecks and reducing time-to-market for content updates. As a result, it also becomes easier to add content that drives conversions, like comparison charts, how-to guides, and campaign landing pages.

Headless by design, composable by nature

Hygraph’s headless architecture means your content backend is decoupled from the frontend, allowing product information to be delivered anywhere—web, mobile, digital displays, portals, and beyond. You can update frontend experiences without touching the content structure underneath.

More importantly, Hygraph supports a composable approach to digital architecture. It’s easy to add, remove, or swap out best-of-breed tools as business needs evolve—whether you’re expanding to new markets, launching new product lines, or integrating with a new commerce engine.

#6. Three tips for a smooth migration

Having spoken with many teams that have successfully made the move from legacy systems to an API-first solution, here are 3 of the most frequently offered pieces of advice.

Involve cross-functional teams early

Building the content model will take an in-depth understanding of the catalog and all its quirks, as well as a big picture view of the full lifecycle of product content from how it’s created, to who maintains it, to how it’s used by customers and internal teams. Putting together a core team of representatives from different departments (product, development, operations, marketing, etc) to give input and feedback helps to ensure the model is comprehensive and to identify potential roadblocks early on. Plus, this team can be good advocates for the new system and help train others on how to use it.

Use an integration layer

A big benefit of headless architecture is the ability to bring together data from multiple sources into one frontend experience. A common way to facilitate this is using an integration layer to orchestrate backend data

This layer decouples the frontend from the backend, so companies can immediately start to use the latest frontend technologies to quickly improve the customer experience while modernizing the backend at a more gradual pace.

When Komax, the equipment manufacturer moved to a headless architecture they set up a GraphQL integration layer to coordinate data between their new API-first CMS, Hygraph, their existing solutions for product and customer data, and a modern frontend built using Nuxt. With this approach, Komax was able to raise their Google Lighthouse Performance score from 74 to 99.

Core web vitals metrics before vs. after Hygraph

Start small

The modularity of an API-first CMS means you don’t have to move off your legacy system in one big bang migration effort, but can step away in stages.

Many companies start with a small pilot project, like using the new CMS to manage a specific product category, brand, or regional site. Allowing them to learn the system and work out the kinks on less business critical areas, then steadily expand the new solution while gradually retiring the legacy one.

A pilot project that can solve a pain point of your current system is also a great way to quickly prove the value of the new solution and gain momentum for change.

#About Hygraph

Hygraph is the first GraphQL-native Headless Content Platform, enabling teams across the world to rapidly build and deliver tomorrow’s multi-channel digital experiences at scale.

It was designed for removing traditional content management pain points by using the power of GraphQL, and take the idea of a Headless CMS to the next level. Hygraph integrates with any frontend technology, such as React, Vue and Svelte.

Get started with Hygraph by creating a free account, learn how our customers are solving real-world problems, gather information about next-generation CMS from our resources or academy, or learn more about the applications of Hygraph.

To discuss how Hygraph can help you transform your digital projects, reach out to us.