Table of Contents

Define the categories

Typically, the first step in every project after completing the PIM module configuration is to define the categories or structure for your items. In Pimics, there are several category levels, from the highest level used for broad structure to the lowest level where concrete sellable items are managed.

Types of entities

The recommended top-down hierarchy is:

Catalog Group -> Catalog Group (optional additional levels) -> Chapter -> Product Group -> Item Group -> Non-stock Item or Item

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It is possible to skip some category levels. However, inheritance can stop when levels are skipped unless you enable Flexible categories in Allium Feature Management. For more details, see New features available in Pimics and Inheritance.

Catalog Group

An additional top level introduced later to support e-commerce structure and navigation across broad product domains.

  • Parent: another Catalog Group (optional, for deeper top levels)
  • Possible children: Catalog Group, Chapter

Chapter

A chapter-level grouping that reflects printed catalog chapters. In printed catalogs, chapters are often visually separated (for example by color coding or tabbed pages) to make navigation easier.

  • Parent: Catalog Group
  • Possible children: Product Group

Product Group

A practical grouping level that is typically presented on the same printed catalog page.

  • Parent: Chapter
  • Possible children: Item Group

Item Group

The closest category level above items. Customers also commonly call it Product, Item Master, or Item Family. Item Groups typically cover similar items and are very often presented in comparison or parameter tables in printed catalogs or e-commerce. The Item Group holds most of the product data usually because individual items differ only slightly.

  • Parent: Product Group
  • Possible children: Non-stock Item, Item

Define the structure

We suggest starting from the bottom and working upward. You should identify similar items and put them into an Item Group. The reason is that not every item is unique, so you can cover similar items by defining common data on the Item Group level, and Pimics then inherits that data, such as features and texts, into items. A typical example of an Item Group would be a product with multiple variations that differ by color or size, such as a T-shirt in the garment industry.

Do the same for item groups into product groups, product groups into chapters, etc.

Note

The following steps describe the most straightforward process for creating a simple structure, but there are more efficient options if your structure is complex. See Define structure.

  1. Using Alt+Q, search for Items and open the relevant link, or access Product Information > Items. Open an item card.
  2. Under the Pimics – General FastTab, define the Standard Item Group field.
  3. Choose from the existing item groups in the dropdown, or create a new Item Group by using the New button. When you create a new Item Group, you must fill in the Code and Description fields.

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  1. In the same way, you can create the structure for all categories. The Item Group card contains the Standard Product Group field, the Product Group card contains the Standard Chapter field, and so on.
  2. Using Alt+Q, search for Item Groups and open the relevant link, or access Product Information > Item Groups. Open an Item Group card.
  3. Go to the Pimics – General FastTab and define the Standard Product Group for the current Item Group. This works the same way as on the item card.

Repeat this process to work your way through the structure until you have defined the standard parent category for each level.

Note

Typically, the chapter is the last category level where the standard category field must be defined (Standard Catalog Group in this case). However, in certain circumstances you might need to extend your structure and define Standard Catalog Group also for other catalog groups – this is possible too.

Visual representation of the product tree

Previously, we learned how to structure the categories in Pimics. Now let’s see a visual representation of the created structure and modify it.

  1. In the main navigation menu, go to Product Information > Allocation Tree.
  2. In the action bar, select Insert New Peer > Catalog Group. This opens a page with all existing Catalog Groups.
  3. Select the Catalog Group that you created in the previous section and click OK to confirm.
  4. Select the line with your Catalog Group and go to Actions > Line > Expand All. The structure expands to the lowest level, and you can see an overview of all child branches down to individual items.
  5. You can also alter the structure, and therefore the product hierarchy, by dragging and dropping the category lines.

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Item Group lifecycle

  1. Search for Item Groups and select the related link.
  2. Select New
  3. Assign to Standard Product Group
  4. Complete the item group data as needed.
  5. To assign an Item Group to channels, select Assign to Channels.
  6. On the list of channels, select one or more lines where the item group will be available.
  7. After closing the page, you can see the new values in the Channel field.
    1. Create or link existing items to the Item Group by selecting items in the Linking section that should be part of this Item Group.
    2. Alternatively, on Items, select this Item Group as the Standard Item Group.
  8. To verify that you have not forgotten anything, select Certify. This checks the data against the assigned checklists.
  9. You should see a new value in the System Status field.
    1. If it is Certified, you can continue.
    2. If it shows another value, such as Process or Partially Certified, review the details in the Certification Log and Channels FactBoxes.
  10. After everything is ready, synchronize the Item Group with publications by selecting Reorganize Publications.
  11. On the list of publications, select one or more lines where the item group will be updated immediately.

Inheritance
define structure