The Product Data Warehouse (PDW) companion product is a database in which you can efficiently store, manage, and search for detailed product information. The PDW Catalog can store millions of product records, each containing an unlimited number of descriptive fields. The PDW Catalog is independent from, but fully integrated with your Eclipse Product file. As a result, you can:
Maintain entire vendor catalogs without any effect on your system’s performance.
Automate the task of updating your product file and pricing matrices without any manual data entry.
Efficiently maintain product attributes for every product that you sell, or might want to sell.
Easily add, modify or update product information without the risk of duplication.
Following are some of the key benefits of the PDW:
After you have created records in the PDW, you can clean up your Eclipse Product file by eliminating duplicate product records, discarding obsolete data, and standardizing your product descriptions. Record-matching logic looks at multiple data fields to match and synchronizes the elements of new and existing records.
When you search for a product, the system searches the Eclipse Product file. If a match is not found, the system does a secondary search of the PDW. If the system finds a match in the PDW, you can add that product to the Product file. Since the PDW is a separate database, you can maintain an infinite number of products without affecting the overall performance of your system.
Note: When a new nonstock is brought over with PDW, any future pricing on that item will be ignored. The pricing is based on the date of the import.
The PDW serves as a ready source of current product and pricing data for every product that you sell, or might want to sell. You can import electronic data into the PDW from virtually any data source in a wide variety of data formats including XML, SQL, ASCII, DBF and spreadsheets. You can upload data manually or electronically through EDI, FTP or HTTP. The PDW supports the ability to receive incremental product and pricing updates from industry-standard data providers such as PFMS, eDataFlex Catalog Connect, ASA Source, and the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW). Updating the pricing for products in your Product file is very easy when you export the updates from the PDW.
Integrate the imported product and pricing data with the PDW as follows:
Define the data elements, such as vendor or catalog numbers, in PDW.
Lay out and map the imported product data fields to the PDW data elements.
Import the product data into the PDW.
Integrate your PDW product files with the Eclipse Product file as follows:
Sync products in the PDW with products in the Eclipse Product file.
Lay out and map product data elements in the PDW to matching Eclipse product file attributes.
Export the PDW data to the Eclipse Product file.
From an item in order entry, you can access the PDW to view product data not stored in your Product file, such as an image or the vendor’s installation instructions.
PDW offers full parametric search capability that helps you locate the products you need by describing them in any number of ways. You can search on virtually any identifying element, including the following:
Manufacturer
Short or long narrative description
Part number
Catalog number
UPC
Product family
Dimensions
Commodity code
Record-matching logic looks at multiple data fields to match and synchronizes the elements of new and existing records.
The PDW also features a data extraction utility that allows you to exchange electronic product data with customers, trading partners and e-marketplaces, using industry-standard formats. That makes for simpler, faster, and more reliable communication in all directions.
See Also:
How Data Flows in PDW Workflow