Selling Matrix Items: To Export Product Availability Data

In this activity, you will specify the default availability settings for the BigCommerce store, as well as the availability settings for a particular template item and the matrix items generated based on this template item. You will then export the product availability data to the BigCommerce store and review the results of the export.

Story

Suppose that the SweetLife Fruits & Jams company wants to sell several variants of juices in its online store. The company needs to track the quantity of juice available for shipping from a particular location of its retail warehouse.

Acting as an implementation consultant helping SweetLife to set up the integration of MYOB Advanced with the BigCommerce store, you need to export to the BigCommerce store the availability settings and data of the JUICE template item and the matrix items based on this template item. You also need to export the quantities of matrix items available for shipping from the JS3 warehouse location of the RETAIL warehouse.

To explore how various availability settings specified for the store, template item, and matrix items in MYOB Advanced affect the availability settings of the exported template item and matrix items in BigCommerce, you will become familiar with various availability settings for items.

Configuration Overview

For the purposes of this activity, the following tasks have been performed in the U100 dataset:

  • On the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, the Multiple Warehouses and Multiple Warehouse Locations features have been enabled.
  • On the Warehouses (IN204000) form, the RETAIL warehouse and the JS3 warehouse location have been configured.
  • On the Template Items (IN203000) form, the JUICE template item has been defined.
  • On the Stock Items (IN202500) form, the matrix items based on the JUICE template item have been defined.

Process Overview

In this activity, you will do the following:

  1. On the BigCommerce Stores (BC201000) form, review the default availability settings.
  2. On the Template Items (IN203000) form, update the availability settings of the JUICE template item.
  3. On the Stock Items (IN202500) form, update the availability settings of the matrix items that have been generated based on the JUICE template item.
  4. On the Storage Details by Item Warehouse Location (IN408055) form, review the quantities of the matrix items available in the JS3 location of the RETAIL warehouse.
  5. On the Prepare Data (BC501000) form, prepare the template item data and the availability data for synchronization; on the Process Data (BC501500) form, process the prepared data.
  6. In the control panel of the BigCommerce store, review the items' settings and exported quantities.

System Preparation

Before you complete the instructions in this activity, do the following:

  1. Make sure that the following prerequisites have been met:
  2. Launch the MYOB Advanced website with the U100 dataset preloaded, and sign in with the following credentials:
    • Username: gibbs
    • Password: 123
  3. Activate the Product Availability entity as follows:
    1. Open the BigCommerce Stores (BC201000) form.
    2. On the Entity Settings tab, select the Active check box in the row of the Product Availability entity.
    3. On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 1: Updating the Default Availability Settings

To specify the availability settings that the system will apply by default to items exported from MYOB Advanced to the BigCommerce store, do the following:

  1. Open the BigCommerce Stores (BC201000) form.
  2. In the Store Name box of the Summary area, select SweetStore - BC.
  3. On the Inventory Settings tab, specify the following settings:
    • Default Availability: Set as Available (Don't Track Qty.)
    • Availability Mode: Available for Shipping
    • Warehouse Mode: Specific Warehouses
    • Warehouse: RETAIL
    • Location ID: JS3

    With these settings, by default, items exported to the BigCommerce store will be available for purchase through the storefront, and their quantity will not be tracked. For each item, only its quantity available for shipping in the JS3 location of the RETAIL warehouse is synchronized with the BigCommerce store.

  4. On the form toolbar, click Save to save the settings.

Step 2: Updating the Availability Settings of the JUICE Template Item

To specify the availability settings that the system will apply to the JUICE template item when it is exported from MYOB Advanced to the BigCommerce store, do the following:

  1. Open the Template Items (IN203000) form.
  2. In the Template ID box of the Summary area, select JUICE.
  3. On the eCommerce tab, specify the following settings:
    • Availability: Set as Available (Track Qty.)
    • When Qty. Unavailable: Set as Unavailable

      With these settings specified, when you synchronize the Template Item entity with the BigCommerce store, the system will override the default settings specified for the store, and the quantities of matrix items based on the JUICE template item (product variants) will be tracked. If all juice variants are sold out, the JUICE product can no longer be purchased via the storefront of the BigCommerce store.

  4. On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 3: Updating the Availability Settings of the Matrix Items

Suppose that you do not need the SWB-32OZ-GBT item, which is a matrix item based on the JUICE template item, to be available for purchase in the store. To make it unavailable for purchase after it is exported to the BigCommerce store, do the following:

  1. Open the Stock Items (IN202500) form.
  2. In the Inventory ID box, select SWB-32OZ-GBT.
  3. On the eCommerce tab, in the Availability box, select Set as Unavailable.
  4. On the form toolbar, click Save.

    The Store Default option is specified in this box for all other matrix items based on the JUICE template item; you will not change this option.

Step 4: Reviewing the Available Quantities of the Matrix Items

To review the available quantities of the matrix items in the RETAIL warehouse, do the following:

  1. Open the Storage Details by Item Warehouse Location (IN408055) form.
  2. In the Selection area, in the Warehouse box, select RETAIL.

    The system displays the quantities of all items stored in the RETAIL warehouse.

  3. Click the header of the Location ID column, and in the dialog box that opens, select Equals, type JS3 in the text box, and click OK.

    The system now displays only the items that are stored in the JS3 warehouse location. Notice the quantities in the Qty. Available for Shipping in Location column.

Step 5: Synchronizing the Product Availability Data

To synchronize the availability settings and the quantities of the matrix items you reviewed in the previous step, do the following:

  1. Open the Prepare Data (BC501000) form.
  2. In the Summary area, specify the following settings:
    • Store: SweetStore - BC
    • Prepare Mode: Full
    • Start Date: Cleared
    • End Date: Cleared
  3. In the table, select the Selected check box in the rows of the Template Item entity and the Product Availability entity.

    Before the quantity of a matrix item and its availability settings can be exported, the template item (and the matrix items based on this template item) must be synchronized with the BigCommerce store.

  4. On the form toolbar, click Prepare.
  5. In the Processing dialog box, which opens, click Close to close the dialog box.
  6. In the row of the Template Item entity, click the link in the Ready to Process column.
  7. On the Process Data (BC501500) form, which opens with the SweetStore - BC store and the Template Item entity selected, select the check box in the row of the Juice template item.
  8. On the form toolbar, click Process.
  9. In the Processing dialog box, which opens, click Close to close the dialog box.
  10. In the Entity box of the Summary area, select Product Availability.
  11. On the form toolbar, click Process All.
  12. In the Processing dialog box, which opens, click Close to close the dialog box.

Step 6: Reviewing the Synchronized Data

To review the synchronized availability data in the BigCommerce store, do the following:

  1. Sign in to the control panel of the BigCommerce store as an administrator.
  2. In the left pane of the control panel, click Products > View.
  3. On the View Products page, which opens, locate the Juice product, and click the link in the Product Name column.
  4. On the product management page of the Juice product, review the exported settings.

    In the Inventory section, notice that the Track inventory check box is selected, and below this check box, the On the variant level option button is selected.

    In the Variants table of the Product Options section (Variations subsection), notice that the quantities of items that you reviewed in Step 4 are now displayed in the Stock column.

    Tip: If this column is not displayed in the table, click Edit Columns right of Variants, and in the menu, select the Stock check box.

    Also in the table, notice that the Purchasable check box is cleared for the SWB-32OZ-GBT variant. (You set the Availability of this item to Set as Unavailable in Step 3.)

    The available quantity is tracked for all items in the table, regardless of the availability settings defined for each matrix item on the eCommerce tab of the Stock Items (IN202500) form (which was Store Default for all items except for SWB-32OZ-GBT). The availability settings defined for the JUICE template item on the eCommerce tab of the Template Items (IN203000) form overrode the default availability settings specified for the SweetStore - BC store on the BigCommerce Stores (BC201000) form.