If an image/video is assigned in the PIM as the Primary Image or Primary Video, it means that the image/video can be mapped in a Channel to display as the default image/video online.
If an image/video is assigned in the PIM as the Primary Image or Primary Video, it means that the image/video can be mapped in a Channel to display as the default image/video online.
This is an Attribute relating to car parts that identifies the various car models compatible with the parts (used only for car parts on eBay).
In a product, under the Shipping tab, Dimensions and Packed Dimensions hold details of the physical dimensions and weight of the product. Both sets of Dimensions appear only if the dimensions and weight are assigned at this Class level.
Product status can be either active or inactive, and is mostly used in the Channel to filter products.
Channel Item ID is a unique identifier generated by Comestri for each Channel Item across all channels. So once a Channel Item ID “789” has been generated within Comestri, it will not be re-used for any other channel item.
Inventory Sources are entities that hold stock for products. They can either be physical locations (e.g. warehouses, from which online marketplaces source their stock), or physical retail stores (e.g. when stores are used for Click and Collect purposes on eBay).
The Stage is a function of the channel that tells the PIM to send all products to the Channel.
The Stage causes all products to be sent to the Channel; therefore, if you have many products in the PIM, a Stage can take some time. For this reason, you should only Stage a Channel when it is absolutely necessary. For example, a relevant time to Stage is when you first make the Channel active, because you need to ensure that the channel has received all products that meet the Channel’s filter criteria.
Note: Normally the Comestri Heartbeat will update products in all Channels. A Stage is therefore only really required when you change the Channel configuration.
Staging is the Comestri test environment for Channels and PIM structures. Normally, it is used for testing product data and Channel configuration before moving a tenant to their Production environment.
Catalogs are a feature in the PIM that is used for grouping products. Catalogs are then used primarily to filter products into Channels. For example, you may have a different Catalog for each marketplace or online platform.
For the currently open product, this tab displays information about:
Note: if the product has Alias products, these appear under a separate “Alias Products” tab.
An Array is a list or group of similar data points associated with an Attribute or product. For example, if a product has three images, and these image values are listed one after another, then these images are in an Array. Another example is a product’s prices: a list of all prices from the relevant Pricebooks for that product is an Array.
Deltas are changes made since the last transmission of product data.
In the PIM, Deltas are product updates made since the last Comestri Heartbeat.
In Channels, Deltas are updates made since the last transmission of data to an external system such as a marketplace.
For the currently open product, this tab displays a list of Alias Products for the current SKU product. This is also where you can create Alias Products.
Note: The Alias Products tab only appears on products that belong to a SKU Class, which has been designated as a Class that “Can be Aliased”.
These represent actual physical locations, the primary example of this being retail stores. Store Locations hold unique address data including street address, email address, phone numbers, latitude and longitude, and opening hours
3PL stands for Third Party Logistics. This is a service where some or all aspects of the supply chain (e.g. distribution and storage) have been outsourced to a third party.
Contextual Mapping is the ability to give context when referencing fields from Products in the Comestri PIM. It gives you the ability to say ‘where’ you want to get the value from, not just that you want the value. This can be done using a Relative context, like ‘self’, ‘ancestor1’ or ‘descendant1’. Or by using an Absolute context, and specify the Class by name, like ‘Style’ or ‘Colourway’.
When you use Contextual mapping, you are referencing Attribute values on products above and below a current product in a Class structure using the context markers “Ancestor1” (for Parent Class products), and “Descendant1” (for Child Class products). You can also use “Ancestor2” to reference a Parent’s Parent, and use “Descendant2” to reference a Child’s Child.
You will most often use Contextual Mapping to map fields in a Channel, to specify which level of a product you want the value from. You can also use Contextual Mapping in Product Rules and Price Rules, to add conditions that check values on parent levels.
Product Rules are a function of the Comestri PIM that utilise conditional logic to assign and remove Categories or Shipping Zones to products. For example, you could write a Product Rule that assigns products to sale Categories based on whether they have a price item for a particular sale Pricebook.
Price Rules (sometimes called Price Book Rules) allow you to create new Price Book entries based on existing values in Price Books. Basic rules support the standard condition checking, and Advanced rules can be written using Liquid Template.
Bulk Edits are faster to run and allow you to preview the products affected by the edit, but don’t have all the features offered by Price Rules.
Price Rules allow you to use Liquid Template logic and Contextual Mapping to construct complex logical conditions.
A Lookup Table is a way of storing tabulated data in Comestri. When writing a Product Rule, you can use a Lookup Table to automatically populate a second Attribute value based on the value of a first Attribute. For example, in the PIM, a Lookup Table containing custom colours could be used to populate the Colour Family Attribute for a product.
In a Channel, Lookup Tables can be used with Liquid rules to populate field values. For example, A Channel Lookup Table could be used to convert Australian dress sizes to European dress sizes.
Product ID is a unique identifier generated by Comestri for each product. So once a Product ID “456” has been generated within Comestri, it will not be re-used for any other product.
A unique identifier assigned to a product. It is labelled “Product Code” in Channels and labelled “Code” in the PIM.
An Entity Identifier is a code that is similar to a Product Code in that it uniquely identifies the product. Entity Identifiers are external codes used by some marketplaces to track a product in their own systems.
In Comestri, “Code” is the unique identifier assigned to a product. It is labelled “Product Code” in Channels, and labelled “Code” in the PIM.
The hierarchical structure of categories in a Category Set. The Comestri PIM can have multiple category sets, each of which will have its own Category Tree. Each channel may also have its own Category Tree. Category mapping is used to match a PIM Category Tree to a channel’s Category Tree.
A collection of Categories in the PIM. The PIM can contain multiple Category Sets. For example, you may have a Category Set for each channel, or share a Category Set among channels. Also, each Category Set contains its own Category Tree.
The series of Categories in a Category hierarchy that classify a product. A Category Path begins with the Root Category and continues with a series of categories that further refine the classification of the product. For example, a women’s long-sleeved t-shirt might have the following Category Path:
Womens > Apparel > Shirts > Long Sleeved
Many Channels, for example The Iconic, have a pre-defined Category structure that your products must conform to. Category Mapping matches your Categories in the PIM to the pre-defined categories in Channels such as The Iconic.
A Leaf Category is the most specific/granular Category in a Category path. For example, “Bootcut” is the Leaf Category in the following Category path:
Womens > Apparel > Jeans > Bootcut
A Root Category is the first Category in a Category path that all other Categories descend from. For example, “Mens” is the Root Category in the following Category path:
Mens > Apparel > Pants > Chinos
Category ID is a unique identifier generated by Comestri for each category across all category sets. So once a Category ID “123” has been generated within Comestri, it will not be re-used for any other Category.
Categories provide a way of classifying similar or related products into a series of groups. In Comestri, Categories form a hierarchy represented by a tree structure. Categories make it easier for merchants to collate products for sale on different marketplaces and platforms.
Categories are a part of a Category Tree in a Category Set.
This means making a small change to the product. Making a change will flag the product as updated, and this means the product data will be picked up by the Comestri Heartbeat and sent to Channels.
The Manage Products page contains a list of all your products. Click Products on the Comestri main menu and select Manage Products from the expanded list to open the page.
Bulk Edits are a function of the Comestri PIM that utilise conditional logic. A Bulk Edit lets you create a filter to make a subset of your products, then perform an action on this subset. Bulk Edits can set an Attribute, assign a Category or Catalog, generate prices, and publish to a Channel.
This is the lowest possible price for a product in a Channel based on a comparison of all relevant Pricebooks.
Note: For any currency, the relevant price books are the Normal and Sale Pricebooks. These must be added to the Channel.
An example of a final price would be “AUD Final Price” for Australian currency.
You can also add, delete, or update prices by uploading a CSV file. This can be done:
A Price Item is a price on a product. A product can have multiple Price Items. Each Price Item has a Pricebook associated with it, and the Pricebook defines the currency and price type. Price Items can have a “From” and “To” date.
A product can only have one Price Item per Pricebook per time period. Commonly, a product will have a Price Item using a Normal Pricebook, and will also have a Price Item using a Sale Pricebook.
Pricebooks are used to allocate prices to products. They define the “Type” of a price, the “Currency”, the “From” and “To” time period the price is active for, and whether it is “Tax” or “Duty” inclusive. Common types of Pricebook are Normal and Sale.
You can assign prices via the Comestri UI, or via csv file. Before assigning prices, you must create your Pricebooks. There are 4 types of Pricebooks: Retail, Normal, Sale and <currency> Final Price.
To add a price via the UI, go to the Manage Products section of Comestri. Find the listing for your product that contains the Prices information (often, this is the Colourway level). Go to the Prices tab and create a New Price.
This is the act of setting up a PIM (Product Information Manager) in Comestri. This includes the defining of Attributes, Classes, Categories, Brands, Inventory Sources and Pricebooks. You can also set up Product/Price Rules and Bulk Edits.
Data enrichment is the act of adding further details to a product in the PIM. For example, adding a missing description or image to a product is enrichment. Uploading a CSV file to the PIM is a common way of enriching products.
This is the Product Information Manager (also called Product Manager). This is where product data is stored, accessed and edited on Comestri. Products can be uploaded or imported to the PIM via API, CSV or a channel. Additionally, products can be created via the Comestri UI.
The PIM is one of the three components of Comestri, along with Channel Manager and Order Manager.
In addition to adding Media Items via the UI, Comestri users can: