Specification
“Stock Items” is the shop’s own product database, supplemented from site’s admin area. Products can further be seen in their particular categories in the storefront, put into shopping cart, ordered, and etc. Whereas products from Taobao are transmitted directly from product aggregator site, “Stock Items” are stored on Opentao services.
Technically “Stock Items” represent a separate product source along with Taobao which delivers data from its database. Products from various sources differ in prefixes to identifiers, e.g. tb-15426685266 and oti-25.
Adding products in admin area can be done manually as well as with help of Taobao link. At that, if a product is added using Taobao link, product information is cashed and saved on the site, even if the product would be deleted from Taobao afterwards.
Products from the module are collected into two separate catalogue categories. You have to options: you can use two catalogues (separate “Stock Items” catalogue and Taobao products catalogue) or unified catalogue where products from the module and Taobao are divided to different categories. In other words any category from module’s catalogue or catalogue as a whole can be added to unified product catalogue. There’s only one restriction: only the products from one source are allowed in one category (either Taobao or Stock, or from any other product aggregators later on).
It’s allowed to create, edit categories, change their hierarchy in the catalogue. Products can be added, edited, deleted from database, linked up to catalogue category.
For catalogue category the name and hierarchy status are assigned (whether it is parental or contained inside any other category). Name of the products, category in the catalogue, image, price, quantity, description are assigned.
Additional data, such as image list, characteristics, configuration, etc., are to be added afterwards.
Search covers all the catalogue categories, including any product aggregators. If certain category is opened, search will be performed within this particular category only. Thus, if “Stock Items” are the separate section of the catalogue you can search only among these products.
Products from warehouse can be added to the shopping cart and to the order. A special tab is added in shopping cart for such products. Orders from different product aggregators are formed separately, i.e. only the products from one product aggregator are allowed in one particular order.
There are separate identifiers for every aggregator in the order list i.e. the agent is able to identify immediately what aggregator’s products the certain order is placed for.
Additional orders are possible to make only into aggregator’s corresponding orders.
Module Setup includes 2 stages:
Creating (Editing) Product Catalogue
Adding Products
Building (Editing) Product Catalogue
Go to “Catalogue” section in new admin area and choose “Stock Items” tab.
The products should be added into specified categories, that’s why it is advisable to create sections and subsections of the catalogue first and then add products. Therefore let’s build a catalogue:
In the popup window enter the name of the category to be displayed in your shop:
(let’s take “Books” category as an example). By saving changes we can see the new category that appeared on the tab.
All the Root Categories are added accordingly.
Every category can be:
Moved
Edited by name
Added by subcategory
Deleted
Place the mouse cursor over the category and thereby select the required action in menu:
To move the category, hold the shift icon (1st on the left) by left mouse button and drag it down the list to the required position.
“Stock Items” catalogue is built as a separate section in your current catalogue. When you created categories in “Stock Items” section, go to “Categories” section (old admin area) and create required root directory, assigning wh-0 to it, that means <Root Category of the “Stock Items” section>:
Then you can edit the catalogue. Available options are the same: to edit categories or change parental categories, add information, etc.
Important!
You should create categories in “Stock Items” first, then you are enabled to work with them in “Categories” section.
New section categories can be distinguished by wh-prefix. You can distribute these categories all over the catalogue, e.g. to add subsection “Man Footwear from Stock” to “Man Footwear” section.
After that “Stock Items” category will be displayed in your shop:
By clicking “Stock Items” you will see all the categories that were created in new admin area:
Catalogue is ready for adding the products.
Go to “Products” section.
At the upper part of the section there is a box for viewing products from the certain catalogue category or specified product search.
Choose category by clicking the right icon or enter link to the product on your site, then apply filter.
Depending on your actions you will see product list from the selected category or single required product.
To add new product press “Add Product” button next to the page header.
In a popup window enter product information. All fields are mandatory.
You may add product using the link to it on your site (“Choose Available Product” option).
Click, insert product link and save changes:
Choose the configuration of the product before copying the link; then the chosen color of the image and required configuration information will be uploaded on the site:
All fields are filled with information from Taobao automatically, you should just edit it in consideration of your own data.
Adding the products, please take into account that the product price is passing through your pricing mechanism, i.e.it will be displayed on the site considering your markup. The “Banker” module allows you to setup pricing so the products in “Stock Items” module pass without your regular markup. The price you set up in admin area will be displayed on the site.
An added product is displayed in the selected category. Please note that the quantity and product price (price is specified in internal accounting currency) you can edit directly in product listing without entering the editing mode:
When product is added it can be seen in your shop:
