Synchronizing a product with the online store

With the e-commerce synchronization module you can have the product catalog and product stocks synchronized in real time with the online store. From then on, every time there is a stock movement such as a purchase from a supplier or a sale, Stockagile will synchronize in real time the stock of the products concerned with the e-commerce.

You will have to select and connect which products you want to appear in the online store (you can have products in Stockagile only for the physical store and not have to synchronize them with the e-commerce), so that if there are for example 500 references in the warehouse, and you only want to sell 100 of them in the e-commerce, the other 400 are not synchronized.

Requirements to be able to synchronize a product

• Have the synchronization module with the e-commerce contracted → In case you need more information, please contact info@stockagile.com.
• Have created the e-commerce category tree. To edit the e-commerce categories you can go to Create and edit e-commerce categories.

The main steps throughout the life of the product will be as follows

1. You connect the product for the first and only time, and it is synchronized to be uploaded and published (an external ID will be created for this product in the e-commerce).
2. Each time a field is edited, it will have to be manually re-synchronized to carry over that change.

Once connected for the first time, stocks are always synchronized automatically, no need to worry.

To connect the product and synchronize it so that it is published for the first and only time, the following steps must be followed:

1. Go to the list of PRODUCTS located in the side menu under the INVENTORY section.
2. Go to the detail of the product you want to upload.
3. Once inside the product sheet, open the ECOMMERCE tab.
4. Select the website you want to synchronize by enabling the switch to the right of the channel name. Once enabled, click anywhere in the row to open the configuration menu for this product in the channel. This will display the following fields:
   • Product visible on the website: when marked, the product becomes visible on the channel.
   • Force as product with size variants: by default, when the product has only one size variant, it is synchronized to the channel as it is not used to generate product variations. If this behavior is not desired, by checking this checkbox and synchronizing the product, the online channel is informed that the size variation is used for variations. An example of this is a product with the colors Blue and Red and with only one size. If this checkbox is not checked, the e-commerce will not ask the user to select the size when buying from the online store. However, if the field is checked, the e-commerce will ask to choose between color ("Blue" or "Red"), and also the size, even if only "One Size" is available.
   • Forcing as a product with color variants: same as above but applied to color variants.
   • Force the creation of the product: by default, when synchronizing a product to an online channel for the first time, if it previously exists in the channel, it is not created but the already created product is used. This is done by identifying the product by name. However, if we check this checkbox, Stockagile forces the creation of the product ignoring if one with the same name exists. This field is only visible in Shopify channels and when the product has never been synchronized yet. 
   • Categories assigned to the product: set of categories assigned to the product. You can search one by one or open the entire category tree by clicking on the "Advanced search" button. To edit all the categories you can go to the "Categories" tab inside the online channel page (E-commerce > Channels).
   • In addition to these fields, in the case of Shopify y PrestashopStockagile allows you to overwrite certain product fields for online channels only. These fields are:
     • Name: to overwrite the product name for this channel only.
     • Code: to overwrite the product code only for this channel(only for Prestashop channels).
     • Product description: to overwrite the short description of the product only for this channel.
     • Long description: to overwrite the long description of the product only for this channel(only for Prestashop channels).
5. Once the fields have been edited, click on SAVE.
6. Finally, to synchronize the product with the online channel, just click on SYNC.

Every time you modify the product, edit any of its fields, and you want it to be reflected on the web, it will be manually re-synchronized with one of the following three options:

• Massively:
  1. Go to the list of PRODUCTS located in the side menu under the INVENTORY section.
  2. Select several products, you can use the filters to go faster in the selection.
  3. Once you have selected the products, click on the pencil icon at the top right, where it says mass edit.
  4. A pop-up will appear where you click on the ECOMMERCE tab.
  5. Then click on the synchronize checkbox.
  6. Finally click on save and you will have the modified product on the web.
• All products:
  1. To synchronize all products, go to the CHANNELS section located in the side menu under the ECOMMERCE section.
  2. Select the web page where you want to synchronize all products.
  3. Finally click on synchronize all products.
• One at a time: From inside the e-commerce tab as explained above.

If there is an error in the synchronization, a red triangle with an exclamation mark will appear next to the synchronize button, both in the product and in the product list in the ECOMMERCE tab.

It is strongly recommended not to synchronize many products the first time, as a precaution that there is no error, and to synchronize progressively the remaining products needed. In case of any error that may compromise the product, it can always be left as not visible on the web, 

💡 Factors to consider before synchronizing:

1. If there are products with discounts, these must be active for the price to be transferred to the web. The discount can be activated within the product in the RATES section or in the "activate discounts" option in the mass edition tool, previously explained. They can also be deactivated from there.
2. In case you want to sell products in e-commerce even if they are out of stock, activate the option "sell out of stock in e-commerce" inside the product in the DETAILS section or the same option in bulk edition.
3. If it is a product with a single variant of size, color or both, in options will appear the options to force as a product with variants of size and color respectively. You can select this option so that although they have a single variant, the customer must select this single variant in the dropdown of size and color, as well as in products with several variants. It is totally optional. 
4. At the time of synchronization, stocks in transit are not taken into account by default. To change this, you must enter the channel, and in the "Details" section, activate or deactivate this setting according to your needs.