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Important Processes for Product Administration


A procedure (also called a task) is a group of one or more numbered steps that you perform to complete a defined task. For example, creating a product record is a procedure. This procedure contains several steps.

Processes are groups of procedures that you perform to accomplish important goals. For example, creating a hierarchy and defining attributes for classes are two procedures in the process for creating a product class system.

The procedures in the processes below correspond to those listed in the guide's table of contents. Do the procedures in the order in which they are presented in each process. These processes are guidelines for accomplishing important product administration tasks. Adapt them as needed to fit local operations.

The key processes in product administration are the following:

A simple product is one that does not have components that users can interactively configure when creating a quote or purchasing the product. For example, a bucket is a simple product. It does not have configurable components.

A simple product can have attributes that the user can select. When creating a quote or purchasing the product, the user can choose a value for each product attribute. For example, the bucket could have a size attribute. At the time of purchase, the user would select small, medium, or large.

A customizable product is a product that has configurable components. For example, you sell desktop computers. At the time of purchase, the user can choose among several types of monitor, several disk drives, and several keyboards. Both the desktop computer and its components can have attributes.

The processes below are made up of tasks, which are listed in the description of each process. The tasks in the processes correspond to tasks in the guide's table of contents. In a process, perform the tasks in the order in which they are presented.

These processes are guidelines for accomplishing important product administration tasks. Adapt them as needed to fit local operations.

Create a Product Class System

If your product lines include products that have configurable attributes, you must complete this process.

  1. Create a class hierarchy
  2. Define attributes for classes
  3. Define lists of values (LOVs)
  4. Edit attribute definitions to add LOVs

Create a Simple Product

This process creates a simple product.

  1. Create a product record
  2. Associate the product with a price list
  3. Associate the product with a catalog
  4. Add the product to a product line

Create a Simple Product that has Attributes

You create a product that has attributes by assigning it to a product class on which attributes have been defined. All products assigned to a product class inherit the attributes defined on the class. When you assign a customizable product to a class that has attributes, the customizable product as a whole inherits the attributes.

When the user creates a quote or purchases the product on a Web site, the product displays with its attributes, and the user can select the desired attribute values.

  1. Complete the Create a Product Class System process.
  2. Assign the product to a product class.
  3. Define attribute-based pricing adjustments using ePricer.

Create a Customizable Product

You create a customizable product by adding a work space to a simple product. Then you add other products, configuration rules, a customized user interface, and other features.

The components you add to a customizable product can themselves be customizable products. The user interface the system provides for selecting components, also provides for selecting attribute values.

Customizable products can have attributes. You do this by assigning the customizable product root to a product class on which attributes are defined. The components of the customizable product can also have attributes. You provide attributes to the components by assigning them to classes on which attributes are defined before adding the products to a customizable product.

  1. Complete the Create a Product Class System process.
  2. Assign the component products to product classes.
  3. Complete the Create Product process for the root of the customizable product. To provide attributes to the customizable product root, assign it to a product class on which attributes are defined. For example, you want to create a customizable product called Workstation Pro. This product will have components such as a monitor and disk drives. Create a product record for Workstation Pro. This product record is the product root. The Workstation Pro comes with a choice of 12 or 24 month warranty. You have defined an attribute called Warranty Type on the product class Workstations. This attribute lets users select which warranty they want. You would assign the Workstation Pro to this product class. The Workstation Pro then inherits this attribute.
  4. Create and lock a work space for the customizable product root.
  5. Add products (these are the components of the customizable product). These products have the user-configurable attributes of the product classes to which they are assigned.
  6. Create resources as needed.
  7. Create links as needed.
  8. Create configuration rules as needed.
  9. Validate the product and test all configuration rules
  10. Create a customized user interface for configuring the product as needed.
  11. Define specialized user interface properties as needed.
  12. Validate the product and test the user interface.
  13. Define pricing adjustments for attributes as needed using ePricer. See Pricing Administration Guide to do this task.
  14. Define pricing adjustments for components as needed using ePricer. See Pricing Administration Guide to do this task.
  15. Define a customizable product pricing model as needed using ePricer. See Pricing Administration Guide to do this task.
  16. Validate the product and test the pricing on all items.
  17. Release the product.

 Product Administration Guide 
 Published: 23 June 2003