Delta configuration is a critical component in Norce Commerce that enables precise change tracking for all types of product exports and feeds. This system ensures that only relevant product changes are captured and processed, making your export processes more efficient and targeted.
Delta configuration serves as the foundation for change tracking in Norce, providing:
- Efficient export processing: Track only the changes that matter for your specific use cases
- Granular control: Configure exactly which entity changes should trigger product updates
- Optimized performance: Prevent unnecessary processing of unchanged products
- Flexible filtering: Apply specific filters to focus on relevant changes only
Important: Delta configuration should be set up correctly before implementing Delta feeds in production. This prevents Norce from sending all products unnecessarily to Delta processes.
The Delta configuration page contains items that correspond to different entities related to products in your Norce system. Each entity represents a specific data table that can trigger product change notifications when modified.
Delta configurations cover various product-related entities, including:
- Categories: Product category assignments and category tree changes
- Parametrics: Product attribute values and definitions
- Prices: Product pricing information
- Stock: Inventory levels and availability
- Media: Product images and documents
- Relations: Product relations
- Variants: Product variants and variant types
- Flags: Product and variant flags
- And more: Additional entities based on your specific implementation
For detailed information about what each entity does and what the different fields mean, check the corresponding event documentation here SKU Changed Notification documentation.
For each entity, you can configure three types of change tracking:
- Purpose: Tracks when new records are added to an entity
- Example: A new category is created and attached to a product
- Result: Products associated with the new entity are marked as changed
- Purpose: Tracks when records are removed from an entity
- Example: A category is removed from the category tree
- Result: Products previously associated with the deleted entity are marked as changed
- Purpose: Tracks modifications to existing entity records
- Configuration: You can specify exactly which fields should trigger changes
- Flexibility: Granular control over which field updates are considered relevant
Many entities support additional filtering to refine which changes are considered relevant:
- Primary categories: Each product has one primary category used by core business logic
- Secondary categories: Products can belong to multiple additional categories
- Filter behavior: When "is primary" filter is enabled, only changes to the primary category relationship trigger Delta updates
- Use case: Focus on the most important category changes while ignoring secondary category modifications
Delta configuration should be carefully planned and implemented before going into production:
- Analyze your export needs: Determine which product changes are relevant for your business processes
- Map your entities: Identify which data changes should trigger product updates
- Plan your filters: Decide if you need to focus on specific types of changes
- Test thoroughly: Validate that your configuration captures the right changes
- Access the page: Navigate to Product Settings > Delta Configuration
- Review entities: Examine each available entity type
- Configure change types: Enable Insert, Delete, and/or Update as needed for each entity
- Set up filters: Apply entity-specific filters where available
- Validate settings: Test your configuration with sample data changes
- Start conservative: Begin with essential changes only, then expand as needed
- Document decisions: Keep records of why specific entities and filters were chosen
- Consider performance: Balance completeness with system performance requirements
- Plan for growth: Anticipate future needs when making configuration choices
- Leverage expertise: Use Norce support or solution partners for configuration assistance
- Ask questions: Don't hesitate to clarify entity behaviors and field meanings
- Request validation: Have your configuration reviewed before production deployment
- Review export logs: Check that Delta feeds are receiving appropriate data
- Monitor performance: Ensure Delta processing remains efficient
- Track false positives: Identify unnecessary change notifications
- Regular reviews: Periodically assess if configuration still meets business needs
- Update as needed: Modify settings when business requirements change
- Document changes: Keep records of configuration modifications and reasons
Delta configuration directly impacts:
- Feed generation: Which products appear in delta feeds
- Export frequency: How often products need to be processed
- Data volume: Amount of data transferred to external systems
- Processing efficiency: Performance of downstream systems
Consider how Delta configuration affects:
- Pricing updates: When price changes trigger product exports
- Inventory management: How stock changes are communicated
- Catalog synchronization: Keeping external systems in sync
- Marketing campaigns: Ensuring promotional data is current
If Delta feeds contain excessive product updates:
- Review Insert/Delete/Update settings for each entity
- Consider adding or refining filters
- Check if unnecessary entities are being tracked
If expected product updates aren't appearing in Delta feeds:
- Verify that relevant entities have appropriate change types enabled
- Check filter settings for overly restrictive criteria
- Confirm that the specific fields being changed are configured for tracking
If Delta processing is slow:
- Review the number of entities being tracked
- Consider more selective filtering
- Analyze the frequency of changes for high-volume entities
Remember: Delta configuration is highly specific to your business needs and technical requirements. When in doubt, consult with Norce support or your solution partner to ensure optimal setup for your particular use case.