For PIM and data teams · evidence around the system of record

The PIM stores what you know. Central proves what's missing.

Connect your PIM, import a CSV slice, or paste a source list. Central discovers missing attributes, verifies values across multiple sources, attaches confidence per field, and writes back under governance rules you control — your taxonomy, your authority, your audit trail.

app.central.to/connectors/pim-akeneo
import discover verify write back
0% Connecting
pim://akeneo-prod · 1,240 SKUs · 30 governed fields · scope=appliances
PIM connector Akeneo Enterprise · OAuth · read linked
Governed fields 30 attrs · taxonomy preserved read-only
Field gaps 18 attrs blank · 1,240 SKUs found
Discovery scanning external sources 15 sources · 14,800 candidates 0.94
Verified facts multi-source agreement 17,250 facts · 2+ sources 0.91
Conflicts PIM vs. external sources 142 routed · steward decides queued
Held claims unsupported / single source 63 held · no write-back held
Write-back pending approval policy 17,250 events · audit on gated
Returns to
PIM (Akeneo) Evidence API Audit log Custom feeds Schema.org Widget ChatGPT
PIM + evidence layer · not a replacement

Your PIM has the fields. Central proves which ones are sourced.

A governed PIM stores the value. It doesn't tell you where the value came from, whether two sources agree, or which attributes are still blank because no source has ever supported them.

Central reads the PIM, runs verification across 15+ external sources, and returns an evidence layer per field: governed by PIM, multi-verified by Central, held because no source agrees, in conflict with the PIM. Nothing overwrites the governed value unless your write-back policy says so.

A PIM that ships only what's governed or verified. Every other field stays held until evidence supports it.
evidence matrix · SKU 8017709293895 · Smeg TSF01-RED

Per-attribute coverage across PIM and 4 external sources

48fields 87%covered
attribute PIMAkeneo Brandspec sheet RetailerMediaMarkt RetailerCoolblue verdict
SKU / GTINidentifier · factual
PIM
Price · EURfactual · merchant-owned
PIM
Power · Wspec · public
VERIFIED
Materialsspec · public
VERIFIED
Weight · gspec · physical
CONFLICT
Dimensionsspec · physical
VERIFIED
Energy labelregulatory · EPREL
SINGLE
Compat. claimmarketing · high-risk
HELD
PIM · governed source agrees conflict held no value
PIM governed 30 read-only · authoritative
Verified by Central 15 2+ source agreement
Conflicts 2 routed to steward
Held 1 no source · no write-back
how the layer works

Connect the PIM. Discover gaps. Write back with provenance.

AI discovers and verifies. Governance decides what flows back into the PIM. Three visible steps from connector to a write-back event your data team can audit.

1connect the PIM

Read every governed field. Preserve the taxonomy. Touch nothing yet.

Akeneo, Pimcore, Salsify, inRiver, contentserv, or a custom REST source — Central reads governed records, maps your attribute taxonomy to the canonical schema, and never writes until policy allows it.

$central.connectors.add('akeneo-prod')
read1,240 SKUs · 30 attrs✓ linked
taxonomy418 categories preservedmapped
writedisabled · awaiting policyoff
2discover gaps

Find missing fields and source candidates around the governed record.

Central scans 15+ external sources per SKU — brand spec, retailers, regulatory registries, manufacturer documents — and surfaces missing attributes with candidate values and source agreement.

gaps18 attrs blank · 1,240 SKUsscan
sources15 per SKU · 18,600 checksdone
verified17,250 facts · 2+ sources0.91
conflicts142 · PIM vs. externalroute
held63 · no sourceheld
3write back with provenance

Push verified facts under your rules. Every event logged.

Write-back is gated by policy: approval required, conflict resolution, audit trail. Sources, confidence, agreement count, and steward decision attach to every change. Nothing silent.

policyPIM wins · Central adds gapson
floorconf ≥ 0.85 · 2 src minenforced
approvalsteward · 142 conflictsqueue
audit17,250 events · who/whyon
payloadsources + score + agreementlinked
eight use cases · for PIM and data teams

Everything Central does between governed gap and signed-off write-back.

PIM diff, evidence per field, held-claim policy, write-back governance, audit trail, custom-field discovery, taxonomy mapping, and a provenance API — every change has a source, a score, and a steward.

01
[ connector ]

PIM connector with a side-by-side diff

See every governed field next to Central's discovered evidence. PIM values stay authoritative; Central proposes additions and surfaces conflicts.

PainData stewards can't tell which fields the PIM already has, which are blank in the PIM but exist in public sources, and which conflict with brand spec.
ValueDiff view shows PIM, Central proposal, and source agreement per field. Stewards approve, reject, or hold — nothing flows back without a decision.
PIM record · Akeneogoverned
skuTSF01-REDP
titleSmeg TSF01 Retro 2-SliceP
priceEUR 179.00P
powerblankP
materialsblankP
energyblankP
compat.blankP
diff +
evidence
Central proposal · 15 sources+evidence
skuTSF01-REDPIM
titleSmeg TSF01 Retro 2-SlicePIM
priceEUR 179.00PIM
power950 W · 4 sourcesadd
materialsStainless · ABS · 3 srcadd
energyA · brand onlyhold
compat.no sourcehold
02
[ evidence ]

Evidence layer per field — sources, confidence, agreement count

Every Central-discovered value carries the source list, confidence, and how many sources agree. The steward sees the evidence before approving the write-back.

PainPIM values exist without provenance. When the value gets questioned in a regulatory or buyer review, nobody remembers where it came from.
ValuePer-field evidence ledger with source URL, confidence, and agreement count. Steward decisions reference the evidence, not a memory.
Power · 950 Wcentral proposal · power_w
0.96 · 4 src
BBrand spec sheetsmeg.com/tsf01.pdf950 W1.00
MMediaMarktmediamarkt.de950 W0.92
CCoolbluecoolblue.nl950 W0.88
AAmazon EUamazon.de950 W0.84
4 sources agree · 0 conflictready to write back
Compatibility · KitchenAid spare partscentral proposal · compat_claim
held · 0 src
BBrand spec sheetsmeg.com/tsf01.pdfno claim
MMediaMarktmediamarkt.deno mention
CCoolbluecoolblue.nlno mention
FForum post · anonymousreddit.com/r/smegclaim · singlelow
0 reliable sources · 1 unverifiableheld · no write-back
03
[ governance ]

Held claims never overwrite governed data

Set the rule per attribute: PIM wins, Central proposes, two-source minimum, hold below floor. Sensitive fields stay governed even if Central finds a higher-confidence value.

Pain"Automated enrichment" tools silently overwrite governed values with public data. The PIM stops being trusted.
ValuePer-attribute write-back policy. Governed attributes can be set to "PIM always wins" regardless of source agreement. Held claims never reach the PIM.
P
Price · currency
factual · merchant authority
PIM wins · always PIM only merchant
T
Title · short
PIM authority · marketing-owned
PIM wins · always PIM only merchant
D
Dimensions / weight
factual · physical · public
2 src min · 0.85 floor central writes steward reviews
M
Materials / specs
factual · spec sheet
2 src min · 0.85 floor central writes steward reviews
E
Energy label / EPREL
regulatory · brand authority
brand src only · 1.00 review · brand compliance
C
Compatibility claims
marketing · high-risk
no public src OK held · brand only legal/brand
S
Safety / certification
regulatory · highest-risk
brand src · 1.00 held · brand only compliance
04
[ write-back ]

Write-back gates and approval flow

Pick the conflict policy. Central queues the proposal. The steward approves a batch. The audit trail records every write-back event.

PainEither nothing flows back to the PIM (and Central becomes a shadow system), or everything flows back (and the PIM stops being trusted).
ValueConfigurable approval gate per attribute. Default is "propose, don't push". Stewards bulk-approve verified additions; conflicts route to merchant; held claims stay held.
conflict policy · globalPIM wins · Central adds
PIM wins · Central fills gaps
Existing PIM value is authoritative. Central writes back only to blank attributes that meet the floor.
Central wins above floor
Central value with ≥ 2 source agreement and conf ≥ 0.85 overwrites the PIM value. Original PIM value preserved in audit.
Hold all conflicts
Any disagreement between PIM and Central is held for steward decision. No automatic write-back.
Propose only · no write
Central never writes back. Stewards review evidence in Central and update the PIM manually.
approval queue · current batch
Verified additions17,250 facts · 2+ sources · conf ≥ 0.85
auto · ready
Conflict resolution142 attrs · PIM vs. external
steward · pending
Regulatory review3 attrs · EPREL · safety
compliance · pending
Held claims63 attrs · no source
no write-back
Audit log17,455 events · who/why/when
linked
05
[ audit ]

Full audit trail for every Central → PIM event

Every add, conflict resolution, hold, approval, and write-back is logged with the source, the steward, the field, and the previous PIM value.

PainPIM-level audit logs say "value changed" but not why, by whom, against which source. Compliance, brand, and regulatory reviews stall on missing provenance.
ValueQueryable audit log per SKU, per field, per steward. Every write-back event carries source IDs, confidence, agreement count, and the previous PIM value.
write-back job · in flight Q2 evidence reconciliation · appliances scope
scopecategory=appliances · 1,240 SKUs
policyPIM wins · Central fills gaps
approved14,820 / 17,250 facts
targetAkeneo Enterprise · prod
14,820 / 17,250 · 86%est 2 min left
Audit log · most recent9 entries
11:42:18writepower_w set to 950 W on 412 SKUs · 4 sources · conf 0.96
11:41:54approveConflict on weight_g resolved by m.weber · kept PIM value 1.42 kg
11:41:09holdcompatibility_claim held on 63 SKUs · no reliable source · policy=brand-only
11:40:30writematerials set to "Stainless steel, ABS" on 1,238 SKUs · 3 sources
11:39:50runWrite-back batch started by j.fischer · 17,250 facts · target=akeneo-prod
06
[ discovery ]

Custom-field discovery the PIM doesn't have

Central discovers attributes the PIM schema doesn't model yet — like "noise dB", "BPA-free", "smart-home compatible" — with multi-source agreement and ready to add as a custom field.

PainAdding a new attribute to the PIM means a schema review, governance approval, and weeks before the field can be filled. Channels move faster than the PIM schema.
ValueCentral surfaces candidate custom fields with source agreement across the catalog. The PIM team decides which to formalize, with the values already discovered.
PIM schema · current30 attrs
title · description · brandpresent
price · currency · stockpresent
gtin · sku · eanpresent
power · weight · materialsblank · 18 attrs
noise · BPA-free · smartnot modeled
+
candidate
custom
fields
discovered across catalog11 candidates
Noise levelunit · dB · spec sheet3.2src avg0.91
BPA-freeboolean · safety claimbrandonly0.78
Smart-homeenum · Alexa · HomeKit2.4src avg0.88
Energy classenum · EPREL · A–Gbrandonly0.82
Dishwasher safeboolean · spec3.7src avg0.93
Warranty monthsint · 12 / 24 / 362.1src avg0.81
07
[ mapping ]

Attribute and taxonomy mapping — your PIM, your terms

Map PIM categories and attribute codes to Central's canonical record once. From then on, every discovery, conflict, and write-back uses your taxonomy.

PainEvery external tool brings its own product type taxonomy, attribute codes, unit conventions. The PIM gets polluted with foreign labels and re-keying eats steward time.
ValuePIM taxonomy stays canonical. Central maps once to your codes, your units, your category tree. External sources are translated before they touch the proposal.
Your PIM · Akeneopreserved
power_wAttribute · code · intcanonical
poids_gAttribute · code · int (FR)canonical
family · small_appliancesCategory · 23 levels deepcanonical
brand_id · enumReference · 318 brandscanonical
unit · g / mm / Wmeasurement systemcanonical
map
once
External sources · normalizedtranslated
Wattage / Leistung / consommation3 source spellings→ power_w
Gewicht (kg) / weight (lbs)unit conversion→ poids_g
Google · Toasters > 2-slotvendor taxonomy→ family code
Brand string · "Smeg S.p.A."fuzzy match→ brand_id
Mixed units · lbs / oz / kgunit norm.→ g
08
[ API ]

Provenance API — sources, confidence, agreement per field

Read every Central-verified value back through the REST API with full provenance. Connect downstream systems to the evidence, not just the value.

PainCompliance, brand, and retailer audits ask "where did this number come from?" — and the PIM has no answer. Provenance is lost between source and field.
ValueREST endpoints expose per-field source list, confidence, agreement count, decision history. Downstream systems can render evidence on demand.
REST · evidence endpoints
GET/api/v1/products/{id}/evidence
Full evidence ledger for one product — every field with its sources, confidence, and decision history.
GET/api/v1/products/{id}/fields/{attr}
Source list, agreement count, and confidence for a single attribute. Use for spot-check or compliance review.
GET/api/v1/audit/writeback?since=…
Streamed audit events for every Central → PIM write-back, with previous value, new value, and steward identity.
POST/api/v1/connectors/{pim}/sync
Trigger a re-read of governed fields and a discovery pass. Returns the evidence diff for the scoped batch.
GET /api/v1/products/8017709293895/fields/power_w200 OK
// response · field with full provenance
{
  "field": "power_w",
  "value": 950,
  "unit": "W",
  "confidence": 0.96,
  "agreement_count": 4,
  "verdict": "verified",
  "pim_value": null,
  "sources": [
    { "name": "smeg.com", "weight": 1.00 },
    { "name": "mediamarkt.de", "weight": 0.92 },
    { "name": "coolblue.nl", "weight": 0.88 },
    { "name": "amazon.de", "weight": 0.84 }
  ],
  "writeback": {
    "target": "akeneo-prod",
    "steward": "j.fischer",
    "at": "2026-05-25T11:42:18Z"
  }
}
how it fits the product

Three connected systems. One verification layer.

The same Central system that discovers and verifies the evidence also adapts the canonical record into every channel — without the PIM having to re-shape data for each surface.

01 · Enrichment Engine

Discovers and verifies the evidence.

Gathers across 15+ external sources per SKU, scores confidence, surfaces conflicts against the PIM, and keeps unsupported claims out of write-back. Every fact carries a source and a score.

verification
sources per SKU15+
verified facts17,250
held for review63
avg. confidence0.91
/features/enrichment-engine →
02 · Channel Studio

Adapts the canonical record to every channel.

Turns the PIM-plus-evidence record into Google Merchant fields, custom feeds, page copy, Schema.org / JSON-LD, and AI-readable outputs — without re-keying or shaping inside the PIM.

channels · per record
Google Merchanttitle cap
Bing · Perplexityready
custom feedsCSV · XML · JSON
JSON-LDx-central
/features/channel-studio →
03 · Product Widget

Verified facts on the product page.

FAQ, Smart Negatives, buyer answers — one script tag and the widget renders only from verified or governed data. Held claims never appear on the page.

on-page
hook layerpercentile callout
details layerspecs · FAQ
advisorverified-only
install1 script tag
/features/product-widget →
proof artifact · same record

The PIM stays governed. An evidence layer wraps around it.

The same product — sparse on the left, complete on the right. The governed PIM data is preserved. Central fills the gaps with verified evidence, holds what it can't prove, and writes back only what policy allows.

akeneo-prod / products / TSF01-RED PIM · alone
Smeg TSF01 Retro · Red
PIM RECORD · 30 ATTRS · 12 FILLED · 18 BLANK
Provenanceno source per field
Confidencenot tracked
Conflict against externalunsurfaced
Custom-field gapsnot measured
Audit · why a value changedlast-edited-by only
Held claimsno concept
Channel readinesschecked at export
Evidence APInot available
12filled 18blank 0sourced
Central
verifies
akeneo-prod + central.evidence / TSF01-RED PIM · + evidence
Smeg TSF01 Retro · Red
30 GOVERNED · 15 VERIFIED · 2 CONFLICT · 1 HELD · AUDIT ON
30PIM
15Verified
2Conflict
1Held
48Audit ev.
price · EUR 179.00 · merchant authorityPIM
title · Smeg TSF01 Retro 2-Slice · marketingPIM
power · 950 W · 4 sources · 0.96Verified
materials · Stainless / ABS · 3 sourcesVerified
dimensions · 31×19×20 cm · 3 sourcesVerified
compatibility claim · no source · heldHeld
15new facts 0silent writes 48audit events
connectors · write-back · evidence ledger

Connect any PIM. Keep governance you wrote. Read the ledger.

Central reads through OAuth or API key, maps the taxonomy once, and writes back only under the policy your data team defined. The evidence ledger is queryable per SKU, per field, per steward.

Ak
Akeneo Akeneo Enterprise / Community
REST · OAuth · attribute map Reference data + family map Scoped write-back
available
Pc
Pimcore Pimcore PIM / MDM
REST · API key Class + variant inheritance Scoped write-back
available
Sa
Salsify Salsify PXM
REST · API key Property + relationships Scoped write-back
coming soon
iR
inRiver inRiver PIM
REST · API key Entity types + LinkConfig Scoped write-back
coming soon
cS
contentserv Contentserv PXM
REST · API key Class hierarchy + attrs Scoped write-back
on request

akeneo-prod · write-back governance

last sync · 4 min ago
conflict policy PIM wins · Central fills gaps existing PIM values stay authoritative; Central writes only to blank attrs that meet the floor enforced
confidence floor 0.85 default · 1.00 for safety below-floor values held; brand-only attrs require brand-source agreement enforced
approval gate steward review · per batch conflicts route to merchant; regulatory routes to compliance; held claims stay held enforced
audit ledger 17,455 events · who/why/when write · approve · hold · run · revert — every event with previous PIM value on
Evidence ledger · most recent3 events shown
write power_w set to 950 W on 412 SKUs · 4 sources · conf 0.96 · prev PIM value = null 3 min ago
approve Conflict on weight_g resolved by m.weber · kept PIM value 1.42 kg · external sources logged 7 min ago
hold compatibility_claim held on 63 SKUs · no reliable source · policy=brand-only · routed to legal 14 min ago

Frequently asked

Does Central replace our PIM?

+

No. Central sits around the PIM as a discovery, verification, and write-back layer. The PIM remains the governed system of record. Central adds an evidence layer per field, fills gaps under a write-back policy you set, and never overwrites governed data without approval.

Will Central overwrite our governed PIM values?

+

Only if your write-back policy says so. The default is PIM wins · Central fills gaps — existing PIM values stay authoritative, and Central writes back only to blank attributes that meet the confidence floor. Per-attribute overrides let you mark fields as "PIM-only" or "held".

Which PIMs are supported?

+

Akeneo and Pimcore are available now via REST and OAuth/API-key. Salsify and inRiver connectors are coming, and contentserv is supported on request. A generic REST and CSV connector covers custom PIMs. The taxonomy maps once per connector; subsequent syncs preserve your codes and category tree.

How is the audit trail kept?

+

Every event — write, approve, hold, run, revert — is logged with the field, the source list, the confidence, the agreement count, and the previous PIM value. The log is queryable per SKU, per attribute, per steward, and per batch. It's available via the REST evidence API.

What about our taxonomy and attribute codes?

+

The PIM taxonomy stays canonical. Central maps once to your attribute codes, your category tree, your unit conventions, your reference data. External sources are translated before they appear in the evidence layer — no foreign labels reach the PIM.

How does write-back work for variants?

+

Central respects variant inheritance from the PIM. Base-product fields inherit by default; variant-specific values can be enriched and written back per variant. The matrix view shows which cells are inherited, which are variant-specific, and which have evidence behind them.

What happens to claims with no source?

+

They stay held. Held claims are visible in Central — so your team knows the gap exists — but they never reach the PIM, the feeds, or the product page. If a brand or merchant source later confirms the claim, the steward can promote it.

Can downstream systems read the evidence?

+

Yes. The REST evidence API exposes per-field source list, confidence, agreement count, and decision history at /api/v1/products/{id}/evidence. The same record powers Channel Studio outputs, JSON-LD with x-central metadata, and the product widget — every surface can show provenance.