PRODUCT, PRICE, AVAILABILITY
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Product integration scenarios
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Products and Pricing Scenarios

Scenario 1 - When Norce is Product master

Norce Product master process

When working with Norce Commerce there are many ways to set up how data should flow between systems. Norce Commerce solutions are flexible and can accommodate pretty much any kind of setup required for the client's business processes.

Even though flexibility is key, we have found that a default integration pattern, a defined setup is easier to start discussions from.

  1. Norce Commerce is master for the product catalog, where the products are first created, either automatically by rules or manually by an admin user.
    1. When a product is created an integration is triggered and relevant information is sent to the ERP system. This message contains:
      1. Product Identifier (PartNo) and a short name (That should become the product identifier for the ERP system as well)
      2. Manufacturer Information (Manufacturer Code, Manufacturer PartNo)
      3. Category Code (Category Code can be used to classify the products for the ERP system, so that the correct default settings is set up in the ERP)
      4. Type Only the types of products that should be created in the ERP should be integrated, for example virtual products like ManagedStructure is commonly not passed to the ERP.
      5. Status New Products are usually set to Coming.
      6. Standard price The default price for the product.
    2. When a product is updated in Norce Commerce, a check is done on the fields ERP system is interested in and if some of them are changed an integration is triggered and relevant information is sent to the ERP system for update.
  2. When products have been added to the ERP, they can be used in warehouse processes.
    1. When stock values are changed on the products an integration is triggered that updates stock values on the product for specific warehouse locations, and the UnitCost is updated as well. This message contains:
    2. Product Identifier
    3. Warehouse and Location Identifier(s)
    4. OnHandValue
    5. IncomingValue (optional)
    6. NextDeliveryDate (optional) Only Physical products can be updated with stock values in Norce Commerce. Other types (like Virtual, Service or Fees) are not updated with OnHand information.
  3. Prices are maintained in theNorce. A standard price list is responsible for calculating the standard price on all active products. This is (by default) done from rules based on Unit Cost. The result (Sale Price) is sent to the ERP in 1.a and 1.b above. Other price lists (like campaigns or member) are not sent to ERP, they will only be sent if used on actual order rows.
  4. When products are enriched with content information in Norce, enough for a good presentation in a frontend application the status is changed to Active. This is done manually in the Admin UI.
  5. When products no longer can be manufactured or bought from suppliers the ERP will mark them for expired.
    1. When a product is expiring an integration is triggered, the message contains
      1. Product Identifier
      2. Status (Expiring)
  6. Norce will keep track of expiring products and close them when nothing is left in stock.

Scenario 2 - When the ERP is Product master

Another integration, almost as common as the pattern above, is the solution where all products are created In the ERP first and then sent to Norce. In this case the ERP is master of the product catalog, as well as the standard sale price.

ERP master process

  1. ERP is master for the product catalog, where the products are first created.
    1. When a product is created an integration is triggered and relevant information is sent to Norce. This message contains:
      1. Product Identifier (PartNo) and a short name
      2. Manufacturer Information (Manufacturer Code, Manufacturer PartNo)
      3. Category Code
      4. Type
      5. Status (coming)
      6. Standard price
      7. Unit cost
  2. When products have been added to Norce Commerce, they can be used in warehouse processes, and the standard sale price must be updated as well.
    1. When stock values are changed on the products an integration is triggered that updates stock values on the products in Norce for specific warehouse locations. This message contains:
      1. Product Identifier (PartNo)
      2. Warehouse and Location Identifier(s)
      3. OnHandValue
      4. IncomingValue (optional)
      5. NextDeliveryDate (optional) Only Physical products can be updated with stock values in Norce. Other types (like Virtual, Service or Fees) are not updated with OnHand information.
    2. When standard prices are changed in the ERP, sale price and unit cost is updated in Norce.
  3. When products are enriched with content information in Norce, enough for a good presentation in a frontend application, the status is changed to Active. This is done manually in the Admin UI.
  4. When products no longer can be manufactured or bought from suppliers the ERP will mark them for expiring.
    1. When a product is expiring an integration is triggered, the message contains
      1. Product Identifier
      2. Status (Expiring)
    2. Norce will keep track of outgoing products and close them when nothing is left on stock.

Some variations to the processes

Norce allows for flexibility by giving the possibility to change the client´s solutions from the defaults above. The possibilities are almost endless, but here are some examples:

  • Existing PIM Use Norce Commerce Connect to import data from several systems, add logic in the header to separate between different product sources.
  • More unique fields or logic in the ERP systems Add fields and business logic in the import process to Norce Commerce Connect.
  • Other systems with stock information (Store/POS systems) Have different source systems update different warehouses/locations. Also check out the POS adapters in Norce Commerce (or the Norce partner community).
  • [3rd party content information], like DAM systems Use Norce Commerce Connect to import content from other sources.

Suggested further reading

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