An in depth explanation of each of the fields in connect.
ID
The (internal) product id that is used to differentiate products from each other. This field must be unique for every product.
e.g.: ‘001234’
EAN
The EAN is the 13-digit barcode (GTIN-13 (EAN/UCC-13)), used for matching products in pricewatch.
e.g.: ‘012345600012’
Tip - Use the MakeEAN function to convert other barcodes into EAN’s. For example GTIN’s (14 digits) to EAN’s (13 digits).
- Input - [GTINcode] ‘00012345600012’
- Mapping - EAN = MakeEan( [GTINcode] )
- Output - [EAN] ‘0012345600012’
SKU
This is a stock keeping unit, often used as an internal means of identifying a product or group of products.
e.g.: ‘C13T544200’
Stock keeping units are often represented as a scannable barcode on a product label. This product code can be used to identify stock on hand and to track inventory. The Top X functionality can be helpful for more streamlined reporting when using SKUs that each refer to multiple EANs.
Product Name
The name of the product.
e.g.: ‘Xbox One 500 GB Console - Black’
The product name will be used to identify products in the console.
Description Short
A (short) description of the product.
e.g.: ‘Xbox One brings together the best exclusive games, the most advanced multiplayer, and entertainment experiences you won’t find anywhere else. Play games like Titanfall and Halo together with your friends on a network powered by over 300,000 servers for maximum performance. Find new challengers who fit your skill and style with Smart Match, which uses intelligent algorithms to bring the right players together.’ The recommended length is between 300 and 600 characters. This field will be included in the ‘default mapping’ of marketing channels.
Brand
The brand name of the product.
e.g.: ‘Microsoft’ This field will be used to filter through products in the product overview.
Supplier
The wholesaler/manufacturer who supplies the product.
e.g.: ‘D&H Distribution’
This field can be used in the product overview to set specific supplier conditions (‘discounts’ on purchase price), on combinations of brand/category/etc. and supplier.
Top Level Category
The highest level of categorisation for the product.
e.g.: ‘Electronics’
A product might be internally classified as such ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’. In this case, ‘Electronics’ is the Top Level Category. This field will be used to filter through products in the product overview. It is also often used by clients to set pricing rules and bid overrides.
Tip - Use the StringPhrase function to extract the Top Level Category from a Category path.
- Input - [Categorisation] ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’
- Mapping - TOP LEVEL CATEGORY = StringPhrase( [Categorisation],' > ',1 )
- Output - [Top Level Category] ‘Electronics’
Mid Level Category
The level of categorisation below the highest level.
e.g.: ‘Video Games’
A product might be internally classified as such ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’. In this case, ‘Video Games’ is the Mid Level Category.
Tip - Use the StringPhrase function to extract the Mid Level Category from a Category path.
- Input - [Categorisation] ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’
- Mapping - MID LEVEL CATEGORY = StringPhrase( [Categorisation],' > ',2 )
- Output - [Mid Level Category] ‘Video Games’
Low Level Category
The third level of categorisation, below the highest and second-to-highest level.
e.g.: ‘Consoles’
A product might be internally classified as such ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’. In this case, ‘Consoles’ is the Low Level Category.
Tip - Use the StringPhrase function to extract the Mid Level Category from a Category path.
- Input - [Categorisation] ‘Electronics > Video Games > Consoles’
- Mapping - LOW LEVEL CATEGORY = StringPhrase( [Categorisation],' > ',3 )
- Output - [Low Level Category] ‘Consoles’
Recommended Selling Price
A recommended selling price is the selling price suggested by the manufacturer of a product.
e.g.: ‘299.99’
This can be used as a benchmark towards the price advice Omnia gives and your own selling price. The price must be including value added tax. The value may not contain any text: examples of invalid values are ‘299.99 EUR’ and ‘E299.99’. A function might have to be applied to create a ‘clean’ selling price without text (see the Tip below).
Tip - Use the StringCut function to remove characters from the left or right side of the value (in this function, ‘true’ = cut left and ‘false’ = cut right).
- Input - [Price] ‘299.99 EUR’
- Mapping - RECOMMENDED SELLING PRICE = StringCut( [Price],'false',4 )
- Output - [Recommended Selling Price] ‘299.99’
Selling Price
The price, including VAT, for which you are currently selling the product.
e.g.: 299.99
The price must be including value added tax. The value may not contain any text: examples of invalid values are ‘299.99 EUR’ and ‘E299.99’. A function might have to be applied to create a ‘clean’ selling price without text (see the Tip below).
Tip - Use the StringCut function to remove characters from the left or right side of the value (in this function, ‘true’ = cut left and ‘false’ = cut right).
- Input - [Price] ‘299.99 EUR’
- Mapping - SELLING PRICE = StringCut( [Price],'false',4 )
- Output - [Selling Price] ‘299.99’
Shipping Costs
The price, including VAT, charged to the customer for shipping the product.
e.g.: 4.00
Just as the Selling Price above, the Shipping Costs must be including value added tax, and must not include any text. Examples of invalid values are ‘4.00 EUR’ and ‘E4.00’. A function might have to be applied to create a ‘clean’ Shipping Cost without text (see the Tip below).
Tip - Use the StringCut function to remove characters from the left or right side of the value (in this function, ‘true’ cuts from the left and ‘false’ from the right)
- Input - [Shipping charge] ‘E4.00’
- Mapping - SHIPPING COST = StringCut([Shipping charge], ‘true’, 1)
- Output - [Shipping Costs] ‘4.00’
Purchase Price
The purchase price paid by the retailer to obtain the product from its supplier (usually excl. VAT).
e.g.: 150.90
The purchase price should include all variable costs made in order to have the product in your possession. Supplier conditions/discounts may be included in the purchase price, or can be deducted later - by setting rules in Omnia - if the field ‘Supplier’ is mapped correctly. Just like the other fields containing prices, the Purchase Price must not include any text. Examples of invalid values are ‘2.60 EUR’ and ‘E2.60’. A function might have to be applied to create a ‘clean’ Purchase Price without text (see the Tip about using the StringCut function above).
Fixed Price
A price that does not change and is not altered by the Omnia console when calculating price advice.
e.g.: ‘299.99’
This can be for a certain category, brand or any other determined variable. The fixed price field can also be used to point out promotional prices and let Omnia’s automation give fixed promo-prices for a certain variable.
Tip - Use the StringCut function to remove characters from the left or right side of the value (in this function, ‘true’ cuts from the left and ‘false’ from the right)
- Input - [Fixed Price] ‘E299.99’
- Mapping - FIXED PRICE = StringCut([Fixed Price], ‘true’, 1)
- Output - [FIXED PRICE] ‘299.99’
Logistical Costs
The costs, made by the retailer, to ship the product to the customer. It should include picking, handling, and transportation costs.
e.g.: 2.60
Unlike the Shipping Costs above, the Logistical Costs must not include VAT, as it is not charged to the customer, but it is a cost incurred by the retailer. As with all price fields, the Logistical costs must not include any text. Examples of invalid values are ‘2.60 EUR’ and ‘E2.60’. A function might have to be applied to create a ‘clean’ selling price without text (see the Tip about using the StringCut function above).
VAT
The value added tax for each product, as a number from 0-100.
e.g.: 21
The VAT is used for margin calculation in the Dynamic Pricing module. Therefore, it is of high importance that this field is mapped correctly. The field must not contain text, and the values have to be a percentage. For example, if a product has 21% VAT, the field must contain a value of ‘21’. If the feed contains the VAT field in a different format, for example with values ranging from 0-1, you might use simple multiplication as described in the Tip below.
Tip - Use simple multiplication to produce the required format.
- Input - [VAT as decimal] ‘0.21’
- Mapping - VAT = [VAT as decimal]*100
- Output - [VAT] ‘21’
Is On Stock
A boolean (0 or 1), indicating whether the product is on stock or not.
e.g.: 1
If you do not have this field in your feed, but you do have a field indicating the ‘amount in stock’, you can use an IF statement to produce the required boolean. See the Tip below.
Tip - Use an IF statement to produce the required boolean from a stock level field - IF( condition , if true , if false )
- Input - [Stock] ‘5’
- Mapping - IS ON STOCK = IF([Stock] > 0, 1, 0)
- Output - [Is On Stock] ‘1’
Amount in Stock
The number of products that are currently in stock for each SKU.
e.g.: 5
This value must be an integer and must not contain text.
Stock Age
The Stock Age field can be used to determine the lifecycle stage for a product in an assortment.
e.g.: ‘New Product’
In the dynamic pricing strategy this stock age can accordingly be used to help in the determination of pricing actions and rules based on the specific stage a product is in. For example, when the product is at the end of the cycle (decline phase) you can agree on less margin.
Delivery Time
A text string indicating the time it takes for the product to be delivered to the customer.
e.g.: ‘24 hour delivery’
The field can be viewed in Pricewatch Exports, in order to compare to the delivery times of your competitors.
Units Sold Total Yesterday
The amount of units sold for this product, yesterday.
e.g.: 3
You can choose to either supply the units sold online, or the units sold online AND offline. If an SKU has not been sold yesterday, the field can be equal to zero or be blank.
Units Sold Total 7 Days Ago
The amount of units sold for this product, 7 days ago.
e.g.: 2
The field must contain the units sold for the SKU this day, 7 days ago. For example, if today is Tuesday November 8, the field must show the number of units sold on Tuesday November 1st. This field is recommended, but optional: it is used to correct the units sold for returns, failed payments, etc.
Units Sold Online Yesterday
The amount of units sold for this product, online, yesterday.
e.g.: 2
This field is mapped the same as Units Sold Total Yesterday, but only containing the online sales.
Units Sold Online 7 Days Ago
Deep Link
The URL linking to the PDP (Product Detail Page) of the SKU
e.g.: ‘http://www.xboxshop.nl/xbox-one/xbox-one-1-tb’
If the deeplink in your feed contains tags, such as utm_source or utm_medium, you can remove them with the StringPhrase function, as shown in the Tip below.
Tip - Use the StringPhrase function remove tags from URLs
- Input - [Product URL] ‘http://www.xboxshop.nl/xbox-one/xbox-one-1-tb?utm_source=beslist’
- Mapping - DEEPLINK = StringPhrase( [ProductURL],’?utm’,1 )
- Output - [Deeplink] ‘http://www.xboxshop.nl/xbox-one/xbox-one-1-tb’
Image URL
The URL linking to the main product image of the SKU.
e.g.: ‘http://www.xboxshop.nl/xbox-one-1-tb.jpg’
Marketing Cost
The average marketing cost per sold SKU.
e.g.: 0.50
This field is used in the margin calculation by the Dynamic Pricing module. Often, a percentage is used by Dynamic Pricing clients over the Selling Price, in order to derive at a rough estimate of the Marketing Costs, see the Tip below.
Tip - Use simple multiplication of the retail price excl. VAT with a percentage (e.g. 1%) in order to derive at a rough estimate of the marketing cost per sold product
- Input - [Price] ‘299.99’ | [VAT] ‘21’
- Mapping - MARKETING COSTS = ( [Price] / ((100+[VAT])/100) ) * 0.01
- Output - [Marketing Cost] ‘2.48’
NB - Those fields that are blue are 'mandatory' in Omnia, those that are in green/turquoise are not. For the purposes of Omnia, mandatory means that if it is not mapped - a Warning message will show in the shop's status. If for some reason you don't wish to map these fields and want to remove the Warning message, in those 'mandatory' fields enter '' (2*').