Stores

A Store is the merchandised range a partner sells from. It names a set of categories and catalogue entries, and it says which partner or group of partners the range belongs to. You create the store first. Then you add its Store Categories and the catalogue entries inside them. From then on, the store decides what the Product Catalogue shows on a partner's documents, which items a sales executive can sell for that partner, and what a storefront or partner microsite lists once the store is published.

Overview

A store holds very little itself: a name, a description, an optional Partner Account or Partner Account Group, and a currency. Its value is in what hangs off it:

• Store Categories: the browse tree. Categories can nest under a parent category. They are listed on the store's Related tab.
• Catalogue entries: one per item per category, created inside a category. See Catalogue entries.
• Partner Store links: extra "this partner sells from this store" records, kept in their own list. See Partner Store links.
• Catalog Publications, Catalog Slugs and Commerce Channels: the published storefront snapshot, its permanent addresses and the selling surfaces over the store. See Direct-to-consumer selling.

When to use it

• Create a store for each distinct range you sell: for example one per brand, per channel or per tier of dealers.
• Name a Partner Account on the store when the range belongs to one partner outright.
• Name a Partner Account Group when a whole tier of partners sells the same range.
• Leave both empty, and use Partner Store links, when several unrelated partners share the store or when a partner sells different ranges at different branches.

How xMatix handles it

Wherever a store is needed, xMatix starts from the partner account, which is the selling company on a document or visit. It then looks for a store in this order and stops at the first match:

1. a store whose Partner Account is that partner;
2. a Partner Store link from that partner to a store;
3. a store whose Partner Account Group is a group the partner belongs to.

The full rules, including how branches are matched on Partner Store links, are in How xMatix chooses a partner's store.

What the resolved store then controls:

A store has no Active switch. When more than one store matches at the same step (two stores naming the same partner, for example), the server-side checks (mobile selling scope and microsites) take the most recently created one. The web catalogue does not guarantee the same choice. Keep one store per partner and per account group so that every surface agrees.

Prerequisites

• The Commerce app, granted to you by your administrator.
• A security profile with access to Store records (see Permissions).
• The partner account or account group that will own the range, if the store is to name one. Account groups are described in Account groups.

Procedure

Step 1 — Open the store list

Open the Commerce app from the App Launcher and select Stores (under Storefront). Two views are provided: All Stores (Name, Description, Partner Account, Partner Account Group and the audit columns) and Stores View (Name, Description and Owner).

Step 2 — Create a store

1. Select New.
2. Fill in the form:
   • Name (required): the name users see on the store and in lookups, for example "Retail Range".
   • Description: what the range is for.
   • Partner Account: the partner the range belongs to outright. Leave it empty for a shared store.
   • Partner Account Group: the group whose members sell the range. Leave it empty when you name a partner or use Partner Store links.
3. Save.

The store's record page opens. Its title is the store name. There is no automatic numbering.

If your organisation runs as a single company, the Partner Account field is hidden. Use Partner Account Group or Partner Store links instead, or leave the store unassigned.

Fill in Partner Account or Partner Account Group, not both. When both are set, the store matches the partner directly and also every member of the group, which is rarely what you want.

Step 3 — Add the categories

Store categories have no menu entry of their own. You always create and find them on their store.

1. On the store's record page, open the Related tab. It lists the store's categories.
2. Select New in the list. The New form shows Name, Store, Parent Category, Product Catalogue and Show In Catalog. The Store is already filled in. Keep it: the Store field alone decides which store the category belongs to.
3. Enter the category Name. To nest it, pick a Parent Category. The lookup lists categories from every store, so pick one that belongs to this store. You can also switch on Show In Catalog. The category's Product Catalogue field is not read by the catalogue: the store's filter settings are found through the store itself (see Catalogue filter settings).
4. Save. Repeat for each category. Subcategories are created the same way, from the store's list, with the Parent Category filled in.

Show In Catalog only narrows the catalogue's category filter. While no category in the store has it on, every category is offered. Once any category has it on, a category is offered only if it and every category above it have it on, so switching off a parent hides its whole branch from the filter. Products in hidden categories still appear under All, in the selling scope and on the storefront.

Each row in the store's list has Edit and Delete actions. Select a category's name to open its record page. The header shows its Parent Category and Store, with Clone, Edit and Delete buttons. The Related tab lists the category's catalogue entries, where you add them (see Add an entry). The Details tab has a Key Information panel (Store, Parent Category, Product Catalogue, Show In Catalog), where you can click a value to change it in place, and a System Information panel. A category's subcategories are not listed on its own page; they are in the store's list.

To rename a category, change its Name. To move it, change its Parent Category. Changes show in the Product Catalogue the next time it is loaded, and on a storefront after the store is published again.

Clone on a category copies the category record only, named "original name (Copy)", with the same store, parent and switches. Its entries and subcategories are not copied.

Delete removes the category from the store's list, the catalogue and the selling scope. The items of its entries drop out of the store's range too, unless another category of the store has an entry for them. The entries themselves are not deleted. Its subcategories stay in the store and move up to the top level of the catalogue's filter. Before deleting a category, move or delete its entries and subcategories.

Step 4 — Change a store

On the record page, the Details tab has a Key Information panel (Description, Partner Account, Partner Account Group) and a System Information panel (Created By, Created Date, Modified By, Modified Date). Click a value in Key Information to change it in place, or select Edit in the header to change the name, description, partner account and partner account group in a dialog.

A change of partner or group takes effect the next time a store is resolved. A catalogue that is already open keeps the previous answer until the page is reloaded.

Step 5 — Set the store's currency

The Currency ISO Code (for example INR) is the currency a published storefront lists prices in, and the currency a new partner microsite is given. It is not on the shipped New, Edit or record forms. It only shows on the store's hover preview. If the store will be published to a storefront or used for a microsite, an administrator adds Currency ISO Code to the store's create or record layout (see Design a form layout) and fills it in before publishing. The B2B Product Catalogue doesn't use the store currency. Its prices come from price lists.

Step 6 — Copy a store

Select Clone in the record header. xMatix creates a new store with the same field values, named "original name (Copy)". Only the store record is copied. Its categories, entries, Partner Store links and publications are not copied.

The copy keeps the original's Partner Account and Partner Account Group. Because the newest matching store wins on the server, mobile order taking for that partner switches to the empty copy straight away, which means the partner's range is no longer narrowed. Clear or change the partner fields on the copy as soon as you create it.

Step 7 — Publish the store to a storefront

A storefront only shows what was published. After you change categories or entries, publish the store again. Publishing is an administrator operation with no button on the store record. See The catalogue is published, not queried. The publication history is in the Catalog Publications list (/CatalogPublication), filtered by store.

Step 8 — Delete a store

Select Delete in the record header (or in the list) and confirm. The store disappears from lists and lookups, and no partner gets it any longer through the store's own Partner Account or Partner Account Group.

Deleting does not remove what was built on the store. Its categories and entries, Partner Store links, commerce channels and publications stay as they are. Before you delete a store, repoint or delete its Partner Store links and any commerce channel or partner microsite that sells from it. Otherwise those partners may still be sent to the deleted store and get an empty range.

Fields

Fields on the shipped New form and record page, in form order:

Fields that can be stored but are on no shipped form:

Store Category fields, on the category's New form and record page:

Store Category fields on no shipped form: Label (when filled, it replaces the Name in the catalogue filter and becomes the storefront category name), Currency ISO Code (shown only on the category's hover preview and not read; the storefront uses the store's currency), External (an identifier for imports) and Owner.

Field-by-field technical detail is in the Store field reference and the Store Category field reference.

Business rules

• No validation, business rule or numbering setting is shipped for Store. Only Name is required.
• Store resolution order: the store naming the partner, then a Partner Store link, then the account group. The first step that finds a store wins.
• A store has no active flag. Among several matches at one step, the server takes the newest store.
• A store with no categories, or with categories but no entries, doesn't narrow the selling scope, and its catalogue shows "No products in this catalogue".
• Storefronts read the last published version of the store. Changes to the store, its categories or its entries need a new publish.
• Clone copies the store record only, including its partner fields.
• Delete hides the store but leaves its categories, entries, Partner Store links, channels and publications in place.
• Store categories: only Name is required. There is no numbering, validation or duplicate check, so two categories with the same name in one store are both kept.
• A category belongs to the store named in its Store field. Its parent doesn't decide this.
• The catalogue's category filter is a tree sorted alphabetically. A parent's count includes its subcategories, and selecting a parent shows the products of its whole branch.
• Show In Catalog applies only once some category in the store has it on, and then a hidden parent hides its whole branch from the filter. It never removes products from All, the selling scope or the storefront.
• Clone copies the category record only. Delete leaves its entries and subcategories in place; the subcategories move up to the top level.

Example

A brand sells two ranges: a full range to its large distributors and a smaller one to rural stockists.

1. The administrator creates the store Distributor Range with Partner Account Group "Tier 1 Distributors", and the store Rural Range with Partner Account Group "Rural Stockists".
2. On Distributor Range's Related tab they add the categories "Purifiers" and "Filters", with "Cartridges" nested under "Filters". They then add entries for 40 items.
3. On Rural Range they add one category, "Essentials", with entries for 12 items.
4. A sales executive opens a new order for a distributor in the "Tier 1 Distributors" group and selects Product Catalogue. The catalogue shows Purifiers, Filters and Cartridges.
5. One large distributor negotiates its own range. The administrator creates Lakeside Exclusive with Partner Account set to that distributor and adds its categories and entries. From the next catalogue load, that distributor gets Lakeside Exclusive, because a store naming the partner beats its account group.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox, pick a partner account that has no store of its own and is in no account group used by a store.

1. Open a new sales order for that partner and select Product Catalogue. Expected: the warning "Showing all products, not this account's range".
2. Create a store named "Practice Range" with Partner Account set to that partner. Save, and don't add categories.
3. Reload the order and open Product Catalogue again. Expected: "No products in this catalogue", because the store resolves but holds no entries.
4. On the store's Related tab, add a category "Practice" and, inside it, an entry for one item.
5. Reload the order and open the catalogue. Expected: one product card, for that item.

Quick reference

• Path: Commerce → Stores → New.
• Name is the only required field.
• Partner Account = one partner owns the range. Partner Account Group = a tier shares it. Neither = use Partner Store links.
• A store naming the partner beats every Partner Store link and account group.
• Categories go on the store's Related tab, and entries go inside each category.
• A category's own Store field puts it in the store; a parent doesn't.
• Show In Catalog: off everywhere = every category offered; on anywhere = only fully switched-on branches.
• Empty store = "No products in this catalogue". No store = "Showing all products, not this account's range".
• Currency ISO Code is needed for storefronts and microsites, but it's on no shipped form.
• Clone copies only the store, partner fields included. Change them on the copy.
• Republish after changing the range, or the storefront keeps the old one.

Permissions

Store access follows the entity permissions on the user's security profile. The shipped System Admin, Sales, Sales Manager, Sales Executive, Service and Standard User profiles have full access to Store records, so they can view, create, edit and delete stores. Clone is a server action and needs its own grant: System Admin, Sales Executive and Standard User have it. A user without the grant can't run Clone. Categories and entries are separate records with their own permissions. The same six profiles have full access to Store Category records, and the Clone grant on categories is held by System Admin, Sales Executive and Standard User. Change these under security profiles.

Configuration

• Store layouts. The shipped forms are the Stores Create form (New and Edit), the Stores View record page and a hover preview. Add fields such as Currency ISO Code or Label, or add related lists such as Partner Store links or Catalog Publications to the Related tab, in the layout designer (Design a form layout).
• Store Category layouts and views. A category has a create form (used by New and Edit), a record page and a hover preview. Add Label to the create form and record page if you want display names that differ from the Name. Two list views are shipped besides the one on the store's Related tab: All Store Category (a list) and All Store Categories by Parent Categories (a tree by parent).
• List views. All Stores and Stores View can be copied and changed like any list view.
• Partner Store links. Kept outside the store. See Partner Store links.
• Account groups. A store's Partner Account Group uses the members of that group. Maintain the members as described in Account groups.
• Storefront channels and microsites. A commerce channel names the store it sells. A partner microsite gets its store from the partner. See Direct-to-consumer selling and Partner microsites.
• Org shape. On a single-company organisation, the store's Partner Account field is hidden everywhere.

Common problems

The catalogue says "Showing all products, not this account's range"

No store was found for the document's partner account. Name the partner on a store, add a Partner Store link, or add the partner to an account group that a store names. Then reload the page.

The catalogue says "No products in this catalogue"

The partner resolves to a store, but that store has no entries, or none that match the current search and filters. Add categories and entries to the store, or check that the partner resolves to the store you expect. A store naming the partner directly wins over the links you may have set up.

A partner suddenly sees the wrong range, or the full item list on mobile

Another store was created that names the same partner or group, often a Clone. On the server the newest match wins. Clear the partner fields on the extra store, or delete it.

Storefront prices show no currency, or the wrong one

The store's Currency ISO Code is empty or wrong. Add the field to the store layout, set it, and publish the store again. A partner microsite created while the currency was empty keeps the currency it was created with, so correct the microsite's channel as well.

I changed a category but the storefront hasn't changed

Storefronts serve the last published version. Publish the store again.

A subcategory's products don't appear in the catalogue

The subcategory's Store field is empty or names another store. A category is part of a store only through its own Store field, not through its parent. Open the subcategory, set Store to the right store and reload the catalogue. Create subcategories from the store's Related tab so the store is filled in for you.

A category I switched on isn't in the category filter

A category above it has Show In Catalog off. Once any category in the store uses the switch, a category is offered only if every category above it is switched on too. Switch on the parent categories, or switch the category off everywhere in the store to offer every category again.

A subcategory shows at the top level instead of under its parent

Its Parent Category was deleted, or belongs to another store. Pick a parent from the same store.

Common questions

Should I name a partner, a group, or use Partner Store links?

Name the Partner Account when the range belongs to one partner and nobody else sells it. Name a Partner Account Group when every member of a tier sells the same range, because new members then get it automatically. Use Partner Store links when the store is shared by partners that aren't in one group, or when one partner sells different ranges at different branches, since only links can be branch-specific. Use one of the three for each partner. If a partner matches more than one, the store naming the partner directly wins, then links, then groups.

Can a store be switched off without deleting it?

No. A store has no active flag, and every matching store is a candidate. To take a store out of use, clear its Partner Account and Partner Account Group and remove its Partner Store links. The store and its categories stay available for later, and no partner resolves to it.

Does the store's currency affect order prices?

No. Orders, including those taken through the Product Catalogue, are priced by price lists and discount groups, as described in Catalogue and pricing. The store's Currency ISO Code is used only as the listing currency of a published storefront and as the starting currency of a new partner microsite.

Does switching off Show In Catalog hide a category's products?

No. Show In Catalog decides only which categories the web and mobile Product Catalogue offer as filter choices. The products of a category that isn't offered still appear under All, can still be sold through the mobile selling scope, and are still published to the storefront, which doesn't read the switch at all. To take products out of a store's range, delete their catalogue entries, or move the entries to a category of another store. While no category in the store has the switch on, every category is offered, so you only need it when you want to show a subset.

Can I change the order of categories in the filter?

Not with a sequence number: store categories have no sort field, and the catalogue's category filter lists them alphabetically by name at each level of the tree. To bring a category forward, rename it, or set a Label after adding that field to the category's layout. The Label replaces the Name in the filter and on the storefront.

Is Store available in the mobile app?

The store record itself is managed on the web only. The mobile app uses it indirectly: when a sales executive takes an order for a partner, the partner's store narrows which items can be sold, as long as the store has entries.

Related topics

• Catalogue entries
• Catalogue and pricing
• Direct-to-consumer selling
• Partner microsites
• Commerce screens and records
• Store field reference