Custom PIM in Laravel and Symfony — instead of expensive BaseLinker.
Dedicated Product Information Management systems for mid-market e-commerce. Four implementation models — from a custom PIM written for your business processes (Laravel/Symfony with native Allegro, Amazon, eBay integration), through Pimcore enterprise, to Ergonode and Akeneo. Custom PIM ROI amortizes in 12–18 months at 5,000+ orders per month.
From audit to go-live — 3 to 6 months of structured work.
Every PIM implementation runs according to a proven five-phase process. Iterative 2-week sprints, demo after each sprint, clear milestones and full project status transparency. No surprises at the end.
Catalog and requirements audit
Full analysis of the current product catalog, attribute mapping, duplicate identification, analysis of ERP/store/marketplace structures. Output: requirements document, data model, integration list, time estimate.
Architecture and UX design
Choosing the implementation model (Custom / Pimcore / Ergonode / Akeneo), database schema design, admin panel design, workflow mockups, integration plan. Technical decision confirmed with the client's CTO.
Development and integrations
Core PIM implementation, marketplace integrations, ERP integration, admin panel, permission system, workflow. Iterative development in 2-week sprints with client demos and feedback.
Data migration
Migration of product data from current sources (Excel, store, BaseLinker, ERP). Attribute mapping, duplicate cleanup, quality validation. Rollback plan in case of issues.
Training and go-live
Team training (separately for product managers, marketing, IT), user documentation, soft-launch with a pilot product line, full go-live, monitoring of the first 30 days with dedicated support.
Four business signals, that say — time for PIM.
PIM isn't for every store. If you have fewer than 1,000 SKUs and sell on one channel — the store admin panel and Excel are enough. But there are four specific situations in which PIM pays back the investment in the first year.
Your catalog exceeded 5,000 SKUs
Excel and the store admin stop being enough. Editing 200 products a day takes people several hours, errors multiply, descriptions are inconsistent across channels. PIM centralizes product data in one source of truth — eliminating duplicates, accelerating work by 60–80%, providing full control over information quality.
You sell on 3+ channels simultaneously
Own store, Allegro, Amazon, eBay, Ceneo — each channel has its own description specifics, attributes, field lengths. Without PIM you edit the same product four times in four panels. With PIM — once in one place, automatic synchronization to all channels.
You're entering international markets
Sales in five countries means five product languages, different currencies, local catalog specifics, local marketplaces. Without PIM international expansion ends in chaos already on the second market. PIM manages translations, local versions and syncs everything with international platforms.
BaseLinker costs become noticeable
BaseLinker at 5,000 orders per month is already €350–700 plus per-transaction fees. At 20,000 orders it's €2,300–3,500 per month. Custom PIM amortizes in 12–18 months and provides full control over business logic, integrations and your own logistics — without SaaS limitations.
Pick the model matched to your scale and requirements.
Not every company needs a custom PIM. For some, Pimcore or Ergonode is the optimal solution. In the audit we help you pick the model that matches your scale, budget and business specifics. Each of the four models has its place.
Custom PIM
Our flagship offering is a custom PIM written in PHP — Laravel or Symfony — including logistics elements, product management, and native integrations with Allegro, Amazon, eBay, and optionally BaseLinker. Full control over business logic, no SaaS limitations, no per-transaction fees. This is the solution for companies whose requirements go beyond standard open-source systems.
Who it's for: mid-market and enterprise companies with unique business logic. Implementation time: 3-6 months.
Trade-offs: higher initial development cost; requires a long-term maintenance partner; longer time-to-market than off-the-shelf solutions.
- Full control over business logic
- No per-transaction fees
- Native integrations matched to your processes
- Built-in logistics and WMS elements
- Cost optimization vs BaseLinker in 12–18 months
- Code ownership and development freedom
Pimcore
Pimcore is an enterprise-grade open-source platform combining Product Information Management, Digital Asset Management, Master Data Management, and Customer Experience Management. Unlimited product variants, full workflow automation, the broadest integration possibilities. The choice for companies planning omnichannel scaling with large amounts of media.
Who it's for: enterprise B2B/B2C companies with a large catalog and DAM needs. Implementation time: 4-8 months.
Trade-offs: high entry barrier for the team; requires a senior PHP developer; steep learning curve for users.
- All-in-one: PIM, DAM, MDM, CMS
- Unlimited product variants
- Full workflow automation
- Open Source — no license fees
- Rich API and unlimited integrations
- Multi-tenant, multi-language, multi-currency
Ergonode
Ergonode stands out with the best variant handling — multiple attributes at once (color + size + material + fabric + season), a kanban view for product statuses, and AI-based auto-fill. It's the choice for industries with highly detailed catalogs: fashion, beauty, furniture, automotive parts. Available as SaaS, so fast time-to-market.
Who it's for: fashion, beauty, furniture — industries with complex variants. Implementation time: 2-4 months.
Trade-offs: less flexible API than Pimcore; SaaS — monthly fee; fewer integrations than competitors.
- Best product variant management
- Kanban view for product status
- AI-based attribute auto-fill
- SaaS — fast start, low overhead
- Intuitive interface for the marketing team
- Polish vendor, Polish support
Akeneo
Akeneo is the world's most popular open-source PIM, with the largest developer community, integration library, and extensions marketplace. Available in a Community (free) and Enterprise (workflow, reference entities, AI) edition. A solid choice for companies wanting a standard solution with a strong partner ecosystem.
Who it's for: companies looking for a standard PIM with a strong community. Implementation time: 3-5 months.
Trade-offs: only 2 native variants (color + size); Enterprise tier is costly; requires on-premises or PaaS hosting.
- Largest global PIM community
- Rich integration and extensions library
- Community version free
- Enterprise tier with workflow and AI
- Proven solution for mid-market
- Easier to find talent than for Pimcore
Eight functional pillars of the flagship custom PIM.
Our dedicated implementation in Laravel or Symfony includes all the functionality mid-market e-commerce expects — from basic product attribute management to advanced marketplace and ERP integrations. Every module customized for your business processes.
Product management
Product attributes, unlimited variants, multilingual descriptions, multimedia (images, videos, PDF), category tree, attribute mapping per sales channel.
Logistics and warehousing
Stock levels per location, reservations, WMS synchronization, availability control, critical stock alerts, inventory forecasting.
Marketplace integrations
Native integrations with Allegro (REST API), Amazon (MWS/SP-API), eBay (Trading API), Ceneo (XML feed), Empik, Erli — listing, stock sync, real-time price updates.
ERP integrations
Comarch ERP XL/Optima, Subiekt GT/Nexo, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP B1, Sage 50. Two-way product, stock, price and order sync.
Workflow and approvals
Product statuses (draft, review, approved, published), kanban view, roles and permissions, approval paths, audit log of changes — quality control before publication.
Multi-language and currency
Unlimited product languages, attribute translations, local prices per market, local taxes (VAT EU OSS), country-specific product versions.
API and webhooks
Rich REST API plus GraphQL endpoint, webhooks on every event (product.created, stock.updated, price.changed), SDK for frontends, Swagger/OpenAPI documentation.
BaseLinker bridge (optional)
If you already use BaseLinker — we can build a bridge so your implementation migrates gradually. Custom PIM as master, BaseLinker as a legacy dropship integrator. Transition without business risk.
Turning point — 5,000 orders per month.
BaseLinker is an excellent solution for small and medium stores up to about 5,000 orders per month. Above this scale its fees plus per-transaction costs start to exceed the amortization of a custom PIM. The calculation below shows when custom PIM starts to make business sense.
Above this scale, BaseLinker's costs start to outweigh custom PIM amortization.
Initial development (PLN 80-150k) spread over 3 years plus annual SLA.
Custom PIM at the same scale costs around PLN 35,000 per year.
No per-transaction fees — only initial development cost and SLA.
Three packages matched to the stage of your business.
Whether you want to first audit the current situation, deploy a standard open-source PIM, or build a dedicated custom PIM — we have a structured package for every situation. Detailed pricing after a short initial conversation.
PIM Audit
Analysis and model recommendation.
• Audit of current product management process
• Mapping of business requirements
• Model recommendation (Custom / Pimcore / Ergonode / Akeneo)
• Initial 3-year TCO calculation
• Implementation roadmap with phases and timeline
Standard implementation
Pimcore / Ergonode / Akeneo.
• Full deployment of the chosen open-source PIM
• Marketplace integrations (up to 3 channels)
• Integration with existing ERP
• Product data migration
• Team training (up to 10 people)
• 3 months of post-launch support
Custom PIM
Laravel / Symfony · Flagship.
• Dedicated PIM written for your processes
• Logistics and WMS elements
• Native marketplace integrations (Allegro, Amazon, eBay)
• ERP integration (Comarch, Subiekt, Dynamics, SAP)
• Approval workflow, multi-language, multi-currency
• BaseLinker bridge for gradual migration
• 12 months of SLA support
Product management panel for smart shopping carts.
Challenge. ZeroQS — an innovative startup in the food retail sector — was designing to revolutionize brick-and-mortar shopping through automated smart carts with tablets. They needed a reliable partner to build a tablet-based front-end application and a comprehensive admin panel managing products, inventory and carts in real time.
Solution. We built a tablet front-end application in Vue.js and a richly featured admin panel enabling central management of the product catalog, inventory monitoring, real-time cart tracking and access to analytics. We combined classic PIM elements (product management) with in-store logistics and real-time data flow.
Business outcome. The startup successfully introduced an innovative shopping experience, positioning itself as a pioneer of retail automation. The admin panel gave comprehensive operational control and the data needed to make quick business decisions. The cooperation transitioned into continuous development and SLA — maintenance, new features and scale-up support for a broader market.