The Product screen is the very
heart of your e-commerce application, as this is where all product information
is defined.
ezStore123/MerchantComplete features a comprehensive
array of product parameters, ranging from description to dimensions and pricing.
You can also enforce inventory rules right from the web site to avoid back-order
situations.
Advanced Product Options:
The system supports multiple methods for defining product options. Some
companies have a need for strict inventory control and/or accounting system
integration and therefore need to create one product for each product/option
combination. In order to display the information on the web site, products can
be defined in a product association and only a 'front' or 'principal' product is
displayed with a link to various options.
An unlimited number of product
'passive' options is supported. With this method
(used when options are created by clicking the 'Options...' button, a product
may 'virtualize' several products.
To learn more about how to implement product options, see the 'Option Master'
section below or click the 'Options...' button below and look-up the help for
this section.
1. Description Fields:
| Field Name | Description |
| Product Category |
Select the category or categories the product should be found under in the web site. Our exclusive 'cross-marketing' feature allows mapping of products to multiple categories for better product exposure. To assign a product to multiple categories, hold the 'Ctrl' key and select all the applicable categories from the list with the mouse. |
| Product Name | Enter the name of the product as it will be displayed to the web site users. Note that the product name may contain HTML tags such as hyperlinks to enhance the web site user's experience. We recommend the links to be set up as 'target=_popup' in order not to confuse the user by loading another page in the shopping cart workspace. |
| SKU | Enter the SKU (or part number) of the product. SKUs must be unique or an index error will occur when saving the record. If this occurs, simply enter a SKU that does not already exist in the database. |
| Full Description | Enter the full
product description (up to 2048 characters). Note that the product
description may contain HTML tags such as hyperlinks to enhance the web
site user experience, for example by providing an 'Additional Information'
page. We recommend that such hyperlinks be set up as 'target=_popup' in order not to confuse the user. Do not use the 'popup' method if the 'Additional Information' page contains one or more EZLinks. 'More details' pop-up: If you want the description to contain a link to a page containing additional information about your product, use the built-in AppPopUp() function. This will pop-up a browser of a determined size containing your 'more details' page. Syntax for AppPopUp(): AppPopUp(URL, width, height, resizeFlag, scrollFlag) AppPopUp() example: <a href="JavaScript:AppPopUp('http://www.yoursite/yourdetailspage.htm', 300, 200, 'N', 'Y')">Click here for more info...</a> |
| Teaser Message | This
feature is available for Gold & Platinum (B2B) versions only. Enter a short marketing message (240 characters maximum) about the product. This message will be displayed on product listings (such as category listings and promotions listings). If you leave this field blank, the system will automatically display the first 240 characters of the product description instead. Note: This field will be visible only when Category Listing Parameters are set to display product description or when specified in a link to a category. See the help section on 'Shopping Cart Setup' or the integration manual about how to specify the various display parameters. |
| Keywords | Enter keywords identifying the product, separated by
commas (example: Electronic,Low-Power Consumption,UL-Listed). The system uses the keywords as follows: Product Catalog Search: When performing 'Product Catalog' searches, the system attempts to match the customer request in product name, SKU and keyword list. Search Engine Meta-tags (does not apply to Bronze versions): This mechanism makes your products more visible to the local site search engine and to internet search engines. The specified keywords will be used as meta-tags when the product detail pages are generated. The 'keywords' meta-tag will be built using the supplied keywords. Notes: - The product name is also automatically included in the keyword list. It is therefore un-necessary to supply the product name in this field. - The 'description' meta-tag is automatically built using the product name and the first 50 characters of the description. - For additional information about meta-tags, please refer to standard HTML specifications. How-To: Do not specify spaces between comma and next keyword, this may interfere with search engines. - Incorrect: Keyword1, Keyword2, ... - Correct: Keyword1,Keyword2,... This field is displayed only when your store is set up to generate static HTML pages. Contact your Service Provider to enable this option. |
2. Pricing & Shipping Fields:
| Field Name | Description |
| Retail Price |
Enter currency and product retail price. Note that sales prices are automatically calculated by the system's unique 'Promotion' feature, so there is no need to enter these values. For more information see the 'Promotion' section in this manual. |
| Taxable | Click this check box if the item is taxable. |
| Free Shipping | Click this check box if the item is always shipped free of charge. |
| Shipping Surcharge | Enter any additional, product-specific, shipping surcharge amount. |
| Quantity Limit | If this
field is set to any value other than zero, the system will limit the
quantity per order to the quantity specified. This feature is useful
when offering promotional items in limited quantities so that the largest
quantity of customers may have access to the promotional item. This feature also covers special situations where the law may limit the quantity allowed in a specific order and/or shipment, for instance for chemicals or other material or items. |
| B2B Additional Discount | Platinum
(B2B) version only. Enter any supplemental discount applicable only to this product. This feature handles 'irrational pricing' and other specific pricing issues that may arise from B2B activity. This value is always ignored for retail customers. When B2B customers purchase this item, they will receive an additional discount (%) equal to the value specified in this field. Note that the additional discount is computed from the price applicable to the customer and not calculated from the retail price. While this may make setting up additional discounts a little more complex, it guarantees that discounts are consistent with the price level applicable to each customer type. Example: - An item is sold for 100.00. - It is discounted by 30% (or 70.00) to customer type A and by 40% (or 60.00) to customer type B. - An 'additional B2B' discount of 10% is applied for this item. - Customer type A will pay 70.00 - 10% = 63.00 for this item while customer type B will pay 60.00 - 10% = 54.00. If the additional discount had been applied from the retail price, it would have meant a proportionally larger discount (70.00 - 10.00 = 60.00 or 16.6%) for customer type B and (60.00 - 10.00 = 50.00 or 14.2%) for customer type A. Note that in the latter case, the larger the original discount, the larger the additional discount. Consequently, the 'additional B2B discount' method could trigger discounts so large that they may interfere with profitability if implemented as a discount from the retail (base) price instead of a discount from the 'discounted price'. |
| Weight (Actual/Ship) | Enter the unit and weight of the product, both for the product itself and for the product 'as shipped'. Note that these values are applicable only if you plan to use real-time shipping quote systems such as UPS Online. |
| Length (Actual/Ship) | Enter the unit and length of the product, both for the product itself and for the product 'as shipped'. Note that these values are applicable only if you plan to use real-time shipping quote systems such as UPS Online using Digital Things' s ezConnect123 ® component (supplied with the store). |
| Width (Actual/Ship) | Enter the unit and width of the product, both for the product itself and for the product 'as shipped'. Note that these values are applicable only if you plan to use real-time shipping quote systems such as UPS Online. |
| Depth (Actual/Ship) | Enter the unit and depth of the product, both for the product itself and for the product 'as shipped'. Note that these values are applicable only if you plan to use real-time shipping quote systems such as UPS Online. |
When using real-time shipping quotes, it is compulsory to provide at least the item shipping weight. When provided with dimension and weight information, the system automatically optimizes the shipping costs by calculating a 'virtual box' size for all the items in an order. Depending upon the carrier used, the 'virtual box' size information combined with the weight may save up to 15% in shipping costs. A warning will be displayed if the total shipping girth exceeds the maximum allowed by the carrier and the customer will be allowed to process the order after acknowledgment that shipping costs will be billed separately.
3. Inventory Control Fields:
| Field Name | Description |
| Inventory Control |
Click this box to enable inventory tracking for this product. |
| On Hand | Specify the
quantity on hand for this product. This value is needed only if 'Track
Quantity' is selected. The system features a 'smart update' capability using the 'delta' method. When you specify a new value for the quantity on hand, this value is matched against existing inventory and takes into consideration any pending orders in the system. This insures that the inventory numbers always reflect inventory reality. For example, if you have 15 products left and update the field to 30 then save the record, the system will update this field as follows: - Add 30 - (15 - current inventory level in the system). If the current value was 15, then the resulting inventory level will be 30 - (15 - 15) = 30. If an order for 2 items occurred as you were editing the record, the new inventory level will be: 30 - (15 - 13) = 28. |
| Alarm Level | Specify the
quantity alarm level for this product. If the available quantity falls
below this threshold, a 'Low inventory warning' e-mail will be sent to the
sales department. We recommend setting this value to a level providing enough of a 'buffer zone' to allow more than one order to be fulfilled before the item runs completely out of stock. This situation may occur when several customer are ordering simultaneously an item about to run out to stock. The 'Alarm Level' value is needed only when 'Track Quantity' is selected and you are planning on not allowing the site to sell back-ordered products. |
| Allow Back-Order | Click this box
if you want to allow back-ordering for this item or if you just want to track
inventory without having the system disable sale of items low on
inventory. Allowing back-order may result in the 'On Hand' field to have a negative value as the quantity on hand falls below zero. |
4. Display Fields:
| Field Name | Description |
| Option Master |
Gold & Platinum (B2B) versions only. The eternal problem with product having options is that a lot a data entry is required. For example, if widget1 has 3 colors, you need to create 3 separate SKU (one for each color) as each represents a discreet inventory item. This in turn displays multiple (and very similar) records to the web site customer. On another hand, if you need strict inventory control, this seems to be the only solution. ezStore123/MerchantComplete crosses that bridge: You can display only one item to the customer and still allow multiple sub-choices. How to: 1. Create your product records. Assign only 1 product to a category (or categories). The sub-items will not be listed by the shopping cart. Set that product as 'Option Master' and provide a phrase for the option (ex: 'Click image for colors). 2. Create a Cross-Selling option between the product and the 'sub-products'. Make sure the 'sub-products' are not mapped to any category. 3. When the customer clicks the item image or text, the product details page will be loaded and the various options (the sub-products) displayed. Inventory control is fully functional since all products have their own record in the database. An added advantage to this method is that it would allow the customer to order different products in different options and different quantities from the same page. |
| Option Phrase |
Gold & Platinum (B2B) versions only. Enter a phrase indicating that further selection is necessary to view the various product options (for example: 'Please click product name for list of options'. The system provides a default phrase if this field is left blank. |
| Thumbnail/Image |
Enter the
HTTP path of the images representing the thumbnail and image for this
product. The optimal format for easier indentification of images is: |
| Custom Details Page |
Product details pages are built automatically using the information provided
for the product. Automatic details pages also enforce inventory control rules and apply any promotion discounts as appropriate. The system will use automatic pages if this field is left blank. You may also use your own custom details page by specifying the path to your 'home-made' details page in this field. You may specify either an 'absolute path' (for example: http://www.mysite.com/products/myproductpage.htm) or a 'relative path' (for example /products/myproductpage.htm) ). For best results, we recommend using the EZLink method (see below) to display the item price as this guarantees price accuracy and enforcement of inventory rules. Note that EZLinks do not support listing of cross-sells since this would require analyzing the page layout in real-time in order to properly display the list of cross-sells and would greatly impair system performance. View Button: Click the 'View' button to view the details page as it will be displayed on your web site. Note that if you made any changes, the system will automatically save and reload the record so that those changes can be reflected on the details page. Gold/Platinum (B2B) versions only: Automatic pages also display any item cross-sells defined for the product. |
| Display Order | Arbitrary
display order in catalog listing. This feature allows you to 'push up' new
products or products in promotion. Note that the display order will apply
to all product categories the product is mapped to, so you might want to
'design' your product sequences across all of the applicable categories. We recommend leaving 'breathing room' between display order values (example: number by 10, 20, 30, etc...). This method does not change the way products will be ordered but allows insertion of new records at a later time without having to rebuild the entire ordering sequence. |
| Apply Date | The date the
product becomes applicable. Until the apply-date is reached, the product will not be visible to customers. Shipping information can be entered ahead of time and will automatically apply when scheduled. Default apply-date is the current date. Important information about apply dates: |
| Expiration Date | The date the
product ceases to be applicable. Expired products are not displayed on the web site, corresponding product pages (if this option is applicable) are deleted when the expiration date is less or equal to current date. Note that if the expiration date is greater than current date, the system will not delete the corresponding page unless: - The record is edited and saved on or after the expiration date. - The system administrator runs the 'Generate Pages' batch function from the 'System' menu. Important information about expiration dates: |
| Command Button | Action |
| Options... | Define product options (colors, sizes, etc...). |
| Clone | Make an exact copy of this record and edit it. This feature can save you a lot of typing when multiple (and very similar) products need to be entered in the system. |
| Save | Save the changes and exit. |
| Cancel | Exit the screen without saving changes. |
EZLink ® Tag:
The 'EZLink' section, located at the bottom of the screen
(right above the
command buttons), displays the EZLink ® tag you need to include into an
ASP or HTML page (for example the 'Details Page') if you want a direct link to
the shopping cart from that page to sell the product currently edited.
To create an EZLink, highlight the tag with the mouse and cut and
paste into your HTML editor ('Edit->Copy' or 'Ctrl+C',
'Edit->Paste' or 'Ctrl+V').
Important: Some HTML editors may convert the '<' and '>' characters
present in the EZLink to '<' and '>' respectively. Please make
sure the original characters are entered by examining the HTML code or the
EZLink will not work.
The EZLink displays the product name, price, quantity and a 'Buy'
button. Since EZLink is a fully integrated feature, it displays sale
prices if applicable and - for versions with built-in inventory control -
enforces inventory rules as appropriate (for example preventing overselling if
the item is out of stock).
The EZLink tag automatically uses your web
site's color scheme and fonts.
EZLink Styles:
EZLinks can be displayed in 4 different styles (the style is the second
parameter in the EZLink):
Style 0 (default):
| Item Description | Price | Quantity |
| Terrific Product! | $99.95 |
Style 1 (no header):
| Terrific Product! | Price: $99.95 | Quantity: | |||
Style 2 (no description):
| Price: $99.95 | Quantity: |
Style 3 (quantity defaults to 1):
| Price: $99.95 |
Style 11 (mini-lookup page):
 |
Terrific
Product!
This product does anything you possibly could want. As a matter of fact, it is as close as a magic potion as modern science can allow.
|
Notes:
1. To allow the EZLink ® feature to work with '.HTM' or
'.HTML' page, you must ask your VAR to set your web server to process those
pages through the web server as '.ASP' pages. No particular setup is needed with
'.ASP' pages, so, if in doubt, simply create your HTML pages as usual and rename
them to '.ASP'.
2. An unlimited number of EZLink ® tags can be placed on a page.
Thumbnail/image
paths:
When a new product is
created and the SKU defined, the system automatically 'fills-in' the thumbnail
and image path information following the standard ezStore123 directory
layout. The images are named after the specified SKU. This features guarantees
accuracy in naming files. You may override these values if you are using a
different directory layout.