Course
The power of product data
The power of standardized & complete product data
- Product Data Management
- Business
Balazs Pinter
Business Consultant
Overview
Once all assortment sources are connected to SCAYLE and the associated product data is transferred, products display in the Product List.
You can perform product data management through the following areas:
- Product List: displays all products available in the system or a specific shop.
- Product Detail Page: displays all information about an individual product.
You can update product data individually or in a mass update.
Product Data Quality
When products are added to the system, their data is usually not complete and must first be enhanced. This can be done individually on the product detail page, as part of a work package (mission), or a mass update.
Merchant vs Shop Products
SCAYLE distinguishes between merchant products and the shop products.
- Merchant Products: contain raw product data as uploaded into the system.
- Shop Products: contain complete product data, ready for sale in the shop.
Merchant products often contain incomplete information. In most cases, the data does not match the desired structure. Attributes, for example, may have a different name (for example, "set" vs. "pair"), or attribute groups may be missing.
Merchant product information must be standardized to ensure product data quality. This standardization is done in several ways, like assigning attributes and refining products. In addition, several merchants may supply the same products to the system. To prevent the customer from being shown the same product multiple times, SCAYLE can merge identical products into one main product. The individual merchant products remain in the system with their raw data so that you can access them later, if necessary.
A shop product has gone through these processes of aggregation and data refinement. It is ready for sale and can be assigned to different shops.
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Product data enhancement and configuration process in SCAYLE
Product Data Structure
The data structure in SCAYLE is based on the following three concepts:
Entities
Entities are the top level of the data structure and are already defined in the system. There are five entities, each of which decides where product information (attributes) is shown on the product details page.
| Entity | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Master | Superordinate product characteristics. | T-shirt |
| Product | Common characteristics below master. | Color |
| Variant | Product being sold with distinguishing characteristics. | Size |
| Media | Product presentation in the front end. | Detail view |
| Brand | Brand properties for front end display. | Sustainable brands |
The three main entity levels are Master, Product, and Variant.
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Product Data is split into three main entity levels: master, product, and variant
Master Categories
Master categories structure the assortment in the back end through a tree structure (for example, Bathroom > Bathroom Textiles > Towels). You create and edit master categories in Settings > Categories. Master Categories are not displayed in the front end. They structure product data and link products with associated product information.
The assignment of attribute groups to master categories determines which information is displayed and saved on the product detail page.
Every product needs to have 1 master category.
Master Categories vs. Shop Categories
SCAYLE distinguishes between master categories and shop categories. Master categories and shop categories may, but don’t need to have the same name.
| Master Categories | Shop Categories |
|---|---|
| Goal: to structure product data in the back end. | Goal: to structure product data for the shop front end. |
| Not visible in the shop front end. | Visible in the shop front end (to customers). |
Configurable in: | Configurable in: |
| Every product has just 1 master category. | Every product can be assigned to 1 or more shop categories. |
Master Attributes
Master attributes are product characteristics (for example, "brown", "wood", or "set"). They can also add additional information, such as care instructions. A product can have numerous attributes divided into attribute groups (for example, an attribute group "color" and its attributes "blue", "brown", "red", etc.).
There are different types of attributes that can be used in different ways (for example, as a filter or a logic in the front end).
Mandatory Attributes
If an attribute group in a master category is configured as mandatory, it must be filled out to achieve the live status for a product. Mandatory attributes are identifiable on the product detail page by an orange arrow and a asterisk (*) next to the attribute group. If the attribute is missing, the product is automatically assigned the enhancement status problem.
Manage Media
You can upload, update, and customize the display order of product images. You can make updates manually for a single product or do several updates at once with a bulk media upload.
The following file formats are supported:
- PNG
- JPG / JPEG
- TIFF
For details on how to work with media files, see Manage Media.
Further education - SCAYLE Academy
