The following product master pre-requisites and settings need to be maintained correctly on the Digital Sales Platform in order for users to view the products in the Commerce application.
Product Visibility in Commerce
For any product to be visible in the Commerce application, the following settings are required:
- The product must be assigned a 'Category'
- The product must be assigned a 'Classification' ('Consumable', 'Spare Part' or 'Product')
- The 'Restrict' flag must be set to 'No'
- Ensure the right 'Sales Area' is assigned (may be one or more)
This setup can be done under 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'Detail':
The product will be left out from all search results in the Commerce portal if 'Category' and 'Classification' are not maintained. Due to the API, if the 'Restrict' flag is YES and the read restriction condition 'Product visible to commerce' is active, the product will be restricted from showing in Commerce. 'Sales Area' determines which accounts and contacts have visibility to the product. Commerce contact users who are under a different Sales Area, not assigned to the product, would not be able to see it.
These settings apply for products found in Equipment, as set up in the respective equipment Bill-of-Material (BOM).
Application to sub-components in Bill-of-Material (BOM)
For inquiries made through the Commerce portal, it is usually desired to have a Bill-of-Material (BOM) calculated based on configuration. Besides, the sub-components (products) which are in the BOM should not be sold/inquired of independently.
The following settings are recommended:
- The product should not be assigned a 'Category'
- The 'Classification' should be left blank
- The 'Restrict' flag must be set to 'No'
Products will be left out from all search results in the Commerce portal if 'Category' and 'Classification' are not maintained, preventing them from being purchased or inquired of independently.
BOM explosions will fail if 'Restrict' is set to 'Yes' for any of the products included in the BOM.
Product Information
For a pleasant user experience on the Commerce portal, product images, attachments, and rich text descriptions of the products need to be maintained. This can be done in 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'General Information'.
Within 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'General Information' > 'Product Labels', product labels and rich text descriptions of product details, with localisation options, can be maintained:
Within 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'General Information' > 'Product Images', product images can be managed:
Besides adding and deleting images, a 'Main Product Image' may be specified. Product images are not displayed if 'Restrict' is toggled to 'Yes'. Restricting is not possible if the image is set as the 'Main Product Image'. The sequence of visible product images on the product detail page can be set, where the 'Main Product Image' is shown first, followed by the rest in numerical order.
Another screen to manage product images is within 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'Attachments':
Product images may be added from this screen and will be sequenced behind other existing product images by default. Setting read-restrictions and deleting of images is also possible from this screen.
In addition, 3D images may be uploaded here (See "3D Visualisation" for more information), and the visual product finder can be set up through 'Interactive' for 2D images. (See "Configuring the Visual Product Finder" for more information)
Besides visuals, product information shared in the Commerce portal can be enhanced with details attached as links and files.
As an example of how the resulting product details page can appear, with numerous product images, rich text description and other attachments:
Together with the visual product finder set up through 'Interactive':
(See "Configuring the Visual Product Finder" for more information)
More elaborate and detailed setup of product information can be done for Configurable products in 'Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'Knowledge Base'. where attributes can be defined, Groups and Sub-Groups can be created and configured with attachments and rich text descriptions.
(See "Product Modelling" for more information)
Related Products
Related products are shown in the ‘You May Also Like’ section at the bottom of the product detail page and cart screen, suggesting relevant or recommended products based on the product that users are currently viewing or have added to cart.
The list of products that show in this section can be maintained in Products' > (select the product to be edited) > 'Related Products':
Products can be added using the '+' icon. Clicking the icon will prompt a pop-up to select items in the product catalogue to be added to the list of related products to be displayed.