Pre-existing products
Pre-existing products refer to all products that were already created within your BigCommerce store before integrating the Akeneo app. With the app, you can associate PIM products with these pre-existing products. When you initiate synchronization, the app creates a link between PIM products and pre-existing products. It then proceeds to update all BigCommerce native fields with the relevant data from Akeneo.
Recommendations
It's essential to exercise caution when using the pre-existing catalog feature, as the links established between BigCommerce and PIM products cannot be undone. To ensure a smooth transition, we strongly advise the following:
- Testing on a Sandbox Store: Before implementing this feature in your production environment, testing it on a BigCommerce sandbox store is highly recommended.
- Backup Your BigCommerce Store: Create a backup of your BigCommerce store to safeguard against any unforeseen issues. Detailed instructions on duplicating a BigCommerce store and creating a backup can be found here.
- Filter Usage: While synchronizing your pre-existing catalog, consider using the 'Import pre-existing products only' filter. This allows you to focus solely on linking products and bypass the creation of new products. You should only deactivate this filter once all pre-existing products have been successfully linked.
Please be aware that the pre-existing catalog feature is designed to manage products & variants only, not categories. It is not recommended to synchronize categories with the app if you have an existing catalog. This process requires deleting all pre-existing BC categories before the synchronization can occur.
Prerequisites
To ensure seamless integration of this feature, it's essential to meet the following prerequisites:
- Common Identifier Field: Products need to have a shared identifier field present on both platforms, such as SKU or EAN/UPC. The app leverages this identifier to link products between both platforms.
- Unique Identifier Value: For successful product linking between Akeneo and BigCommerce, the identifier value must be distinct for each product and consistent across both platforms.
- Consistent Product Structure: The product structure should align on both the Akeneo and BigCommerce platforms. E.g. It is not possible to link a product with variants on the BigCommerce side to several simple products on the Akeneo side.
Compatible identifiers
In order to link products between Akeneo and BigCommerce, it is necessary to use a common identifier. The identifier must be linked at the product level for products without variants and at the variant level for products with variants.
PIM identifier
| PIM attribute type |
|---|
| Identifier |
| Text |
BigCommerce identifier
| BigCommerce field |
|---|
| SKU |
| EAN/UPC |
Configure pre-existing products & products with variants
Products
Follow these steps to configure the link between BigCommerce pre-existing products and Akeneo PIM products:
- In your Akeneo App for BigCommerce, navigate to the Configuration page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the Configuration page and click on the Pre-existing catalog section to unfold it.
- In the Pre-existing products sub-section, map a BigCommerce field to the BigCommerce product identifier. The field can be the SKU or EAN/UPC of the product.
- In the Pre-existing products sub-section, map a PIM attribute to the PIM product identifier. The PIM attribute type must be a Text or Identifier. The attribute must have a unique value to serve as an identifier.
- Save your configuration.
Products with variants
Follow these steps to configure the link between BigCommerce pre-existing products and variants to Akeneo PIM product models and variants:
- In your Akeneo App for BigCommerce, navigate to the Configuration page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the Configuration page and click on the Pre-existing catalog section to unfold it.
- In the Pre-existing products with variants sub-section, map a BigCommerce field to the BigCommerce variant identifier. The field can be the SKU or EAN/UPC of the product variant.
- In the Pre-existing products with variants sub-section, map a PIM attribute to the PIM variant identifier. The PIM attribute type must be a Text or Identifier. The attribute must have a unique value to serve as an identifier.
- Save your configuration.