Connect collects products from connectors that are connected to your account. Product data is normalised to a Connect format. By normalising all data, Connect can ensure reliable processing and updating of product data and forward these changes to external platforms when necessary.
In this article you will learn more about:
- Product statuses
- New and existing products
- Product deduplication
- Source of updates
- Inactive products
- Deleting products
- Product bundles
- Settings for products
- Product overview
Product statuses
Products in Connect can have one of the following product statuses:
| Connect product status | Explanation |
|---|---|
Active |
This status is the most common. It corresponds to an active state in sales channels and indicates a product is available for sale through other connectors. |
Draft |
Drafts correspond to the draft state in sales channels. Drafts are by default not automatically created through other connectors. |
Removed |
This status indicates that a product cannot be located in its source of updates, and is most likely removed. Connect will never automatically delete removed master products, but you can do so manually. |
New and existing products
The nature of products is that they often exist in multiple sales channels. While these might be displayed differently on sales frontends (with different descriptions or images), they usually feed back to one product in a stock inventory system or primary sales channel. Therefore, Connect creates Master products. Identical products in different connectors are linked to the same master product in Connect, creating a central product catalogue for the account.
When a new connector is integrated, an initial product import will determine whether a product is new or already exists as a master product, based on barcode and/or SKU. If a product already exists, the newly integrated connector will be listed as a product connector on the master product’s detail page.
Product deduplication
In an E-commerce setting, duplicate products can cause issues with stock levels and unfulfilled orders. Connect offers a deduplication setting that, by default, prevents duplicate products. Deduplication is based on SKU and/or barcode. When a duplicate product is created, a notification will be sent.
Please note: If correct stock levels in Connect are not critical (for example, for marketing automation purposes), having duplicate products may not be an issue.
Source of updates
Each master product has a source of updates, which is the connector that provides any updates to the product data. Product information such as titles, tags, and descriptions is imported only from the source of updates. Changes from other product integrations are disregarded. The source of updates acts as a product's main connector and is displayed in both the product overview and product detail page. When multiple product connectors exist for a product, the source of updates can be changed manually or through a bulk edit.
Please note: The source of updates is not necessarily leading for stock levels, as stock levels are managed by connector settings.
Inactive products
If a product has not been updated in three months, including changes in stock level, Connect will attempt to retrieve the product from the source of updates. If the product cannot be found, its status will automatically update to removed. Depending on your duplicate product settings, products with a status of removed may be overwritten when a new product with an existing barcode or SKU is imported.
Deleting products
Connect will never automatically delete products. However, products can be deleted manually or through bulk edit in the product overview.
Product bundles
Several sales channels, such as Lightspeed, Magento, and Prestashop, offer product bundles as part of their default software and are compatible with Connect. Other platforms, like WooCommerce and Shopify, do not offer default bundles but may provide this functionality through third-party software.
In Connect, product bundles are generally handled like a set of single products. However, errors might occur when bundle software creates a unique combined product tailored to selected options. In such cases, the order may contain unknown products and will be rejected, with a notification sent.
Settings for products
While most product settings default to the most sensible options, they can be adjusted according to specific preferences. Detailed settings can be found on the Connector settings detail page.
Product overview
The product overview in Connect allows navigation and management of products. In the overview, the following actions can be performed:
Product Overview
In Connect you can navigate to your product overview. In this overview you can perform the following functions:
- Filter product statuses
- Advanced filter on products
- Bulk edit selections
- Import products manually
- Remove products
- See detail of products
Filter product statuses
In the tabbed bar at the top of the screen, products can be filtered based on their status in Connect. Only statuses that have at least one result are shown.
Advanced filter on products
Clicking the Filter button opens advanced filtering options. These filters include options to filter by source connectors, related connectors, product pricing, and stock status.
Bulk edit selections
After creating a selection, checkboxes can be used to select products for editing. Use the checkbox in the header of the table to select all products on the page or all products in the selection. The Filter button will then change to Bulk actions, offering the option to retrieve (update) or delete the selected products.
Import products manually
A single product can be imported using the manual import feature.
Remove products
By clicking the dot menu at the right-hand side of a product, a manual removal option can be selected. This action deletes the product from the Connect database. Multiple products can also be removed simultaneously using the bulk edit feature.
See detail of products
Clicking a product line in the table opens the product detail view, where all the detailed information about the product is displayed.