Creating products

A product is an item or a group of items that exhibit the same attributes. You might want to add products to your catalog during various times of the year to reflect marketing goals.

About this task

There are two different ways that you can add a product:

  • By copying an existing product

  • By creating a new product

    You cannot create a new product in the sales catalog. Add a new product by copying an existing one from the master catalog.

If you are using the extended sites model and are currently in the extended site store, you can add a product that belongs to the asset store by copying a current asset store product.

  1. Open the Catalogs tool.

  2. To copy an existing product, on the explorer tree, click the category the product belongs to. To find the product, see Finding a catalog entry .

    1. In the list view or explorer tree, right-click the product; then click Copy . If you are using the extended sites model, you can see if a product belongs to the asset store by the small blue arrow added to the product icon

      , or by looking at the Store column in the list view.

    2. In the list view, right-click on any field; then click Paste. The Product Properties view displays.

    3. Fill in the required fields and click Save.

    A new product is added with the same attributes.

    When you copy a product, the defining attributes, offer price, SKUs, and merchandising associations for that product are not copied over. For efficiency, it is not recommended to copy more than 30 products.

  3. To add an entirely new product, from the File menu, click File > New > Product . The Manage Product tab displays in the Product Properties view.

  4. Expand the General Product Information section. Complete the following information:

    Option Description
    Code The product entry code.
    Name The name of the product entry. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Short description Type a brief description of the product entry. This field is not displayed by default in the list view. To display the field as a column in a list view, right-click on a column heading in the list view and click Configure Columns. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Long description Type a detailed description, if applicable. This field is not displayed by default in the list view. To display the field as a column in a list view, right-click on a column heading in the list view and click Configure Columns. This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Keywords  Type one or more keywords, separated by a comma and a space, that describe the contents of the Web page. Some Internet search engines use these keywords to determine whether your page satisfies a search query.This field can be edited in multiple languages.
    Manufacturer Type the name of the manufacturer or vendor.
    Manufacturer part number Type the part number for the product entry, uniquely defined by the manufacturer. The part number is different from the code.
    Parent Category The category to which an object such as a category, product, or SKU belongs, or the catalog to which a top category belongs. See Moving a catalog entry for an example of how to change the parent category.

  5. Expand the Publishing section. Complete the following information:

    Option Description
    For purchase Indicate whether customers can include the product in their shopping carts and order it. This check box is read-only and cannot be cleared if the entries for purchase are on auction.
    On special Indicates whether or not the product entry is on special.
    Announcement date Add the year, month, and day that the catalog entry becomes available to customers. Click the calendar icon to select a date. This field is for your interpretation and information only. WebSphere Commerce does not perform any actions based on this date.
    Withdrawal date Add the year, month, and day that the catalog entry is removed from the catalog and is unavailable for customers to purchase. Click the calendar icon to select a date. This field is for your information only.

  6. Expand the Display section. Complete the following information:

    Option Description
    Display to customers Select this check box to indicate that customers can view this category in the storefront.
    Thumbnail Type the path to the thumbnail image and the name of the image, such as images/shirt.jpg. All image files must be placed in the store's defined image directory. Determining the correct image directory and whether you need an absolute or relative path depends on your store's configuration. For example, the WebSphere Commerce starter store images use a relative path pointing to the default installation directory under the store name. Use of a relative path is most common. Use of an absolute path is dependent on your initial configuration. Ask a store developer with Site Administrator authority for the correct image directory if you are unsure.
    Full image Type the path to the catalog entry full size image and the name of the image, such as images/shirt/jpg. All catalog entry image files should be placed in the store's defined image directory. The correct image directory and whether you need an absolute or relative path depends on your store's configuration. Ask a store developer with Site Administrator authority for the correct image directory. For example, the WebSphere Commerce starter store images use a relative path to the default installation path.

  7. Expand the Pricing section. Complete the following information:

    Option Description
    List Price The list price for the catalog entry. The list price is supplied by the manufacturer, as part of the catalog entry description. This field is for your information only.
    Offer Price The price at which the catalog entry is offered for purchase. Click New to add in a new offer price. Type in a Minimum Quantity at which the catalog entry can be offered at this price. The maximum quantity is determined by the minimum quantity of the next range. For example, if the minimum quantity of a catalog entry to be sold at $25.00 is one, and the minimum quantity of the same catalog entry to be sold at $35.00 is 10, then the maximum quantity for the catalog entry to be sold at $25.00 is nine.

    If you are using the extended sites model, the offer price for the catalog asset store is displayed first; then the list price and offer price for the extended store.

  8. Click the Descriptive Attributes tab to work with descriptive attributes.

  9. Click the Defining Attributes tab to work with defining attributes.

  10. Click the Merchandising Associations tab to work with merchandising associations.

  11. Click the Manage Attachments tab to work with attachments.

  12. Click the Reference tab to view any merchandising associations or bundles associated with the product.

  13. Click Save and Close, or click Close.