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User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
Operating
IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce
The IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce, or Management Center, is a suite of tools to support store management, merchandising, and marketing tasks for business users (Sellers, Marketing Managers, Product Managers, Catalog Managers, and others).
Catalogs tool
Use the Catalogs tool in Management Center to manage catalogs, categories, catalog entries, merchandising associations, product attributes, and attachments in your store. The Catalogs tool lets business users create, and manage online catalogs. Catalogs provide a way of organizing the products that you want to sell. You define catalog data in groups of categories and products. Catalog data contains descriptions and pricing information for products and services.
Managing content versioning
Category Managers and Product Managers can manage versions of business objects to: rollback changes, make seasonal changes, or track the history of a business object.
Managing SKU versions
The Category Manager or Product Manager can manage versions of SKUs (product-level and category-level SKUs).

User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
- Planning
  Creating a custom implementation of a WebSphere Commerce store requires a significant amount of planning. From gathering client needs, to deploying the live solution, much work is needed to successfully deploy a custom client store. Use the resources in here to help you plan every phase of store creation.
- Installing
  Review the following sections for information about installing the WebSphere Commerce product, associated maintenance, and WebSphere Commerce enhancements.
- Migrating
  Before you migrate to WebSphere Commerce Version 8.0, review this information to help plan and execute your migration.
- Deploying
  The topics in this section describe how to publish stores to either a test or production environment, and how to deploy customized code.
- Operating
  - IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce
    The IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce, or Management Center, is a suite of tools to support store management, merchandising, and marketing tasks for business users (Sellers, Marketing Managers, Product Managers, Catalog Managers, and others).
    - Planning to use Management Center
      If you are using WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, consider using Management Center to manage your store.
    - management-center/refs/rtfgetstart.htm
    - Management Center keyboard shortcuts
      Use the Management Center keyboard shortcuts to access user interface functions or complete tasks, using a single key or combination of keys.
    - Working in extended site stores in Management Center
      If your company operates an extended site, you can perform certain tasks directly from your extended site store within Management Center.
    - Manage content externally for use in Management Center
      If content management capabilities other than the functionality that is provided by default with WebSphere Commerce is required, WebSphere Commerce can be integrated with IBM Web Content Manager. If WebSphere Commerce is integrated with IBM Web Content Manager, you can use content from IBM Web Content Manager content libraries with Management Center objects.
    - Manage marketing externally with IBM Marketing Center
      If your site is integrated with IBM Marketing Center, Management Center users can open IBM Marketing Center from Management Center to upload promotion codes and to create and manage marketing campaigns.
    - Management Center user interface
      The Management Center user interface provides a usable, intuitive, and efficient way to complete your business tasks.
    - Using the Management Center
      The starting point for all Management Center tasks is to open the tooling. Afterward, you can use several methods to complete a task: by selecting menu options, by clicking toolbar buttons, by right-clicking and selecting menus, or by keyboard shortcuts.
    - Catalogs tool
      Use the Catalogs tool in Management Center to manage catalogs, categories, catalog entries, merchandising associations, product attributes, and attachments in your store. The Catalogs tool lets business users create, and manage online catalogs. Catalogs provide a way of organizing the products that you want to sell. You define catalog data in groups of categories and products. Catalog data contains descriptions and pricing information for products and services.
      - Working with catalogs
        The Category Manager or Product Manager manages the catalog hierarchy by creating, modifying, and deleting catalogs for stores. There are two types of catalogs: master catalogs and sales catalogs.
      - Managing Catalog Upload
        The Category Manager or Product Manager can use the Catalog Upload feature in the Catalogs tool to upload sales catalogs, categories, catalog entries (products, SKUs, bundles, and kits), attributes, asset references, and more into Management Center.
      - Managing categories
        The Category Manager manages the category hierarchy by creating, modifying, and deleting categories. The category hierarchy organizes products or services offered by the store.
      - Managing catalog entries
        The Category Manager manages catalog entries in the store including, products, bundles, kits, and SKUs.
      - Managing products
        The Category Manager or Product Manager manages products, including adding or changing products in the catalog hierarchy.
      - Managing SKUs
        The Product Manager is responsible for determining the best way to display, price, and sell products in the online store.
      - Managing kits
        The Category Manager or Product Manager can organize kits in the catalog hierarchy, and create and change kits to determine the best way to sell them in the store.
      - Managing bundles
        The Category Manager or Product Manager can organize bundles in the catalog hierarchy, and create and change bundles to determine the best way to sell them in the store.
      - Managing attributes
        The Category Manager or Product Manager determine the best way to display, price, and sell products in the online store, including assigning or changing product attributes.
      - Managing facets
        Facets group similar items and attributes together in the left sidebar of your store to target meaningful product results. The facets are displayed with the number of products that are contained in each facet, and are clickable to filter search results. The Category Manager or Product Manager determine the best way to display facets in the online store, including assigning or changing product attribute and category facets.
      - Managing merchandising associations
        Product Managers, can find, list, create, and change merchandising associations (such as up-sells or cross-sells).
      - Managing catalog assets
        A catalog asset is a managed file, URL, or attachment that is associated to a category or catalog entry. For example, a product image or a PDF document. The usage type of the catalog asset determines the store page on which the asset is displayed, and the location on the page.
      - Managing external content from Watson Content Hub
        You can manage external content coming from Watson Content Hub in the Catalogs tool.
      - Managing search term associations
        The Product Manager is responsible for creating and managing search term associations. Search term associations include synonyms and search term replacements, and linking search terms with landing pages.
      - Managing site search statistics
        By reviewing site search statistics, you learn what customers are intending to find on your web site when they enter keywords in the search field. You can then make targeted improvements to optimize your site search, improve your site navigation, and ultimately increase conversions. Management Center provides site search statistics in two reports: the Top Search Hits report and the Top Search Misses report.
      - Managing content versioning
        Category Managers and Product Managers can manage versions of business objects to: rollback changes, make seasonal changes, or track the history of a business object.
        Content versioning
        Use the content versioning feature to enable business users to create and manage historic versions of objects and restore previous versioned objects back to the active content. As a Category Manager or Product Manager, you can manage versions (create, list, view, compare, restore, delete) of business objects (sales catalog, category or catalog entry) in the Catalogs tool. For example, you can create a version of a product or SKU before making short-term changes, and then restore the previous version when the promotional period is over.
        Managing category versions
        The Category Manager can create, delete, list, view, and restore versions of categories.
        Managing sales catalog versions
        The Category Manager can manage versions of sales catalogs.
        Managing product versions
        The Product Manager can manage versions of products .
        Managing SKU versions
        The Category Manager or Product Manager can manage versions of SKUs (product-level and category-level SKUs).
        Creating versions of SKUs
        You can create versions of SKUs. For example, before you change a SKU for an event, you might want to create a version. After the event is over, you can restore the created version.
        Listing SKU versions
        You can view the versions of a SKU. For example, if you want to restore a previous version you can locate the version easily from the versions list and preview the versions.
        Comparing SKU versions
        Use the Compare View to compare a SKU with one of its versions or to compare two SKU versions before you restore a SKU version. For example, you can compare the differences between the SKU name or SKU short description.
        Restoring a version of a SKU
        You can restore a version of a SKU. For example, you might want to create a version before you change a SKU's description to market it for a promotional event. After the event is over, you can restore the created version.
        Deleting versions of a SKU
        You can delete a version of a SKU. When you delete a SKU version, the version is removed from the list and is no longer available for restore.
        Managing bundle and kit versions
        The Category Manager or Product Manager can manage versions of bundles and kits.
        Working on version objects within a workspace
        Content versioning is available to business users who manage content that requires approval under a workspace. Business users can manage versions (create, list, compare, view, restore, delete) while you are working under a task within a workspace.
      - Improving search results on your site
        WebSphere Commerce provides several tools that you can use to improve search results from search engines, and search results on your storefront.
      - Working with IBM Digital Analytics product and search reports
        You can open in Management Center several catalog-related reports from IBM Digital Analytics, formerly known as Coremetrics Analytics. After you open a report, you can view any other reports and dashboards that are available to you in IBM Digital Analytics.
      - Default and hidden fields
        Not all fields in the Catalogs tool views are displayed by default. This page lists all of the database fields that can be displayed in a properties view in the Catalogs tool, and if they are displayed by default.
      - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
        Find answers to some frequently asked questions about using certain features of the Catalogs tool and completing tasks.
      - Troubleshooting
        If you encounter issues while you are using the Catalogs tool, review this troubleshooting topic to solve common problems.
    - Marketing tool
      Use the Marketing tool in Management Center to create and manage marketing campaigns and other store content, excluding catalog content. You can use the extensive precision marketing features in the tool to deliver targeted marketing messages to customers.
    - Promotions tool
      Use the Promotions tool in Management Center to create and manage promotions that support the marketing campaigns for your site.
    - Assets tool
      As a Product Manager, Marketing Manager, or Category Manager, you can use the Assets tool to upload and manage your store assets. The term assets refers to web content that you use on your storefront and in marketing campaigns, such as marketing image files, catalog image files, PDF documents, and multimedia files.
    - Catalog Filter and Pricing tool
      Use the Catalog Filter and Pricing tool in Management Center to create and manage catalog filters, price lists, and price rules. Sellers, Sales Managers, and Account Representatives can use the tool's flexible features to implement catalog filtering and pricing strategies that meet the site's business needs over time.
    - Installments tool
      Use the Installments tool in Management Center to create and manage installment rules that support the payment methods for your site.
    - Commerce Composer tool
      Create pages and build layouts for your store directly in Management Center without involving IT by using the Commerce Composer tool. Take advantage of the tool's page design and management functions to improve your productivity and give you more control over the customer experience.
    - Store Management tool
      As a Seller, Site Administrator, or Channel Manager, you can use the Store Management tool in Management Center to manage your stores. The Store Management tool in Management Center replaces all of the store management features in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, except store creation and the ability to suspend and resume stores. Continue to use the Store Creation wizard in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to create new stores; continue to use WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to suspend and resume stores.
    - Workspace Management tool
      You can use the Workspace Management tool in Management Center to manage and edit workspaces and its tasks and task groups that you are authorized to work with.
    - Previewing a store
      Preview your store to ensure that changes made in Management Center show up in your store as expected. You can use store preview in production, authoring, and staging environments.
    - Management Center frequently asked questions (FAQ)
      Find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the Management Center.
    - Management Center Troubleshooting
      If you encounter issues with the Management Center that are not related to any specific tool, review this troubleshooting topic to solve common problems.
  - WebSphere Commerce Accelerator
    Use the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to maintain online stores.
- Integrating
  Topics in the Integrating category highlight the tasks that are commonly performed for using WebSphere Commerce in combination with other products.
- Administering
- Tutorials
  WebSphere Commerce provides many tutorials to help you customize and understand your WebSphere Commerce instance and stores.
- Samples
- Developing
  The topics in the Developing section describe tasks performed by an application developer.
- Compliance
  The following section describes how you can leverage WebSphere Commerce features and functionality to help your site be compliant with different privacy and security standards.
- Securing
  These topics describe the security features of WebSphere Commerce and how to configure these features.
- Performance
- Troubleshooting

Managing SKU versions

The Category Manager or Product Manager can manage versions of SKUs (product-level and category-level SKUs).

When you create a SKU version, the following parts of the SKU are saved in the version repository:

Code
Name
Short description
Long description
Keyword
Manufacturer
Manufacturer part number
URL
Parent product or category (Reference to the parent product or category)
Recurring order item
Subscription item
For purchase
On special
Announcement date
Withdrawal date
Display to customers
Thumbnail (Reference to the image but not the image itself)
Full image (Reference to the image but not the image itself)
List price (only if pricing is managed within the Catalogs tool)
Custom fields (Field 1, Field 2, Field 3, Field 4, Field 5)
Descriptive attributes
Defining attributes
Associated assets (References to the assets. For example, if you modify the assets, the changes are reflected in the version)