Loading your Items into CyberStore is one of the most crucial steps you can take when preparing your web store. After all, you can hardly have a store without any products in it.
In this section, we will walk you through how to use the Console in order to upload Item and transform your new Site into a web store. We recommend that you follow these steps in the order they are presented below.
Before you load any Items to your Site, map out any potential Categories and subcategories. Then consider the types of Items you would like to appear in each. You can also take into account any Categories or subcategories that already exist in SYSPRO and that you want to keep in this map. This gives you a good sense of the organization that you will use for your Site and eases the process of arranging the display of your Items in later steps of the implementation process.
As you make this map, think of this arrangement of Categories and subcategories as the table of contents of your web store. Once you finish it, it should appear as an outline of the contents of your Site. Do not hesitate to spend a little time of this step, as a thoughtfully drawn map will save you time later.
Using your Category map, you can easily create your Categories and subcategories within the Category Tree. You can find instructions for doing so under Category Maintenance. If you feel comfortable enough, you can fill in information about your Categories by using the "Category Maintenance" pop-up. Otherwise, you can save this step until after you have loaded your Items.
If you decide that you do not want to create any Categories until after you have loaded your Items, you must create at least one Category in order for the Items to load successfully.
Now that you have decided upon your Categories, consider the types of Customers you anticipate visiting your web store. At this point, you can create View Lists for each type. To set these up, go to View List Maintenance.
When you add Items to a Category or subcategory, consider which Customer type or types you want to be able to see and/or order from that Category. It is best that you update your View Lists as you load Items to CyberStore.
Next, consider if and how you will use Models and SKUs on your Site. For a discussion about the use of Models and SKUs, review the topic Working with Models. Take a look at the list of Items you intend to load to CyberStore and decide whether your Site would benefit from their implementation.
If you load your Items but then realize you want to change a Model to a stock code or vice versa, you can still make changes. You can use the "Item Import Box" or the General tab within the Item Maintenance grid.
Now that you have prepared your Site, it is time to load your Items to your web store.
Note:
Before you take this step, your Items must already exist in SYSPRO.
If you have mapped out your Categories, you can begin to add Items by Category. You can do this using the Category Maintenance screen.
Another option, if you want to load your Items without yet assigning them to any Categories, you can use System Utilities screen. In the Item Import tab, you can find a list of all of the stock codes for your Items that exist in SYSPRO and have not yet been added to CyberStore. Check off the boxes adjacent to the Items you want to load. When you add them, they appear in the highest level Category in your Category Tree. You can then move the Items into the desired Categories by using the General tab within the Item Maintenance pop-up.
Between each set of Items you load, update your View Lists.
Most likely, you will continue to add Items to your Site as you come out with new products. Whether you are adding one Item or multiple, you can use these same Console areas and guidelines when doing so in the future.
Note:
For information on the next steps you want to take after loading your Items, see the next topic Updating Item Information