Hello, I'm Master Tang~
Let's talk today.Commodity conceptual modeling.
A good commodity conceptual model should be sufficiently flexible and abstract to adapt to the changing needs of different industries and minimize the effort of refactoring when the system is upgraded or the business is adjusted.
The merchandise model is the core of the merchandise management system and, as a whole, can be divided into three key components:
- Basic information: the basic elements used to define and manage the commodity, is the commodity's "metadata". It includes, but is not limited to, key information such as brands, categories, attribute libraries, units and so on. By standardizing these basic information, we can ensure the consistency and standardization of commodity information in the whole system.
- Commodity master file information: this part is the core description of the commodity, including the associated basic data information, as well as some descriptive information about the commodity, such as name, subtitle, picture, code, barcode, commodity description, sales configuration, supply chain configuration, financial configuration and so on.
- Channel differentiation information: In an omni-channel retail environment, this part is very important to provide personalized configurations for different channels, such as channel-specific pricing, sales configurations, and so on.
basic information
Next, we will detail the basic information of the merchandise system. It consists of important components such as merchandise categories, attribute libraries, and multi-units, which together build the basic framework of the merchandise.
1. Commodity category
Commodity classification is a systematic method of classification used to organize and manage a wide range of commodities. It provides a hierarchical structure for commodities that allows them to be effectively categorized, retrieved and managed.
Commodity categories are usually structured in a tree-like fashion, progressively subdivided into specific subcategories from the top-level broad category. Each level represents a different characteristic or attribute of the commodity. Reasonable category management can significantly improve the efficiency of commodity management:
- For consumers: Category navigation optimizes the path of product discovery so that users can quickly find their target products.
- For merchants: Categories provide a standardized organization for commodities, helping operators to quickly filter and locate commodities, and supporting operations such as inventory management and sales analysis.
Product categories are usually categorized into frontend and backend categories to meet the different needs of consumers and merchants.
The front-end categories are consumer-oriented, optimizing the product browsing and search experience. Its core feature is flexibility, dynamically adjusting to user shopping habits, promotions and market trends. As shown in the figure.
Through such adjustments, the front-end categories are able to respond quickly to market demand and improve the user shopping experience and conversion rate.
Backend categories mainly serve merchants, providing a stable framework for product management and data analysis. Unlike the flexibility of front-end categories, the structure of back-end categories is relatively fixed and the frequency of change is low. For example, the sales of goods in a certain quarter by category; through the backend categories to screen slow-selling goods, to develop inventory clearance strategy.
2. Attribute library
The attribute library provides a solid foundation for product search, classification and analysis through centralized management, while simplifying the process of maintaining complex product attributes.
Commodity attributes, also known as product properties and commodity parameters, are characteristics inherent in the product itself.
Commodities in different industries are very different and have many industry-differentiated attributes. According to the purpose of use, different uses, evolved a variety of attributes, some for display, some for analysis, some for business control. The following is a description of the different taxonomies based on the attributes of commodities, one by one:
- Description attributes: including commodity name, commodity description, specifications, model, origin, grade, manufacturer, commodity picture, etc.. These attributes are mainly used to show consumers the basic information of the commodity.
- Statistical attributes: brand, category, series, style, applicable people, applicable age and so on. These attributes provide the basis for product statistics and analysis, such as statistics on the monthly sales of a brand.
- Appraisal attributes: generally used for organizational performance appraisal. For example, sales based on brand, category or series statistics are used to assess departmental or employee performance.
- Logistics attributes: length, width, height, net weight, gross weight, weight unit, etc. These attributes affect distribution costs and warehousing planning. For example, large items require special warehousing and distribution programs.
- Control attributes: whether seasonal goods, whether insurance, whether support delivery, whether support discount, whether shelf life control, whether serial code management, and so on. These attributes provide support for operation control, such as controlling the sales strategy of shelf-life products.
- Sales channel attributes: special attributes for different sales channels. For example, the minimum purchase quantity or platform categorization of the goods on the Meituan and HungryMall platforms.
- Specification Attribute: This attribute is a special attribute that makes up an SKU and directly affects the generation of SKUs, such as the color and size of clothes. This kind of attributes not only affects consumers' purchasing decision, but also directly relates to merchants' inventory management.
In order to avoid duplicate creation of attributes while improving management efficiency and data consistency, a unified attribute repository is usually created.
The structure of an attribute library consists of three parts: attribute groups, attribute items, and attribute values.
- Properties group:Top-level categorization for managing attributes by their common characteristics. For example, the attribute group of a cell phone may include "appearance attributes" (color, material) and "performance attributes" (processor, operating memory).
- Attribute item:The name of a specific attribute that defines a characteristic of the item, such as color, size, flavor, etc.
- Attribute Value:The specifics of the attribute, e.g. the value of "color" is red, green, blue, etc.
3. Multi-unit
In a retail scenario, the measurement needs of different consumers vary widely. For example, consumers want to buy beverages by the bottle, while enterprise customers want to place orders by the whole case. Multi-unit functionality provides a flexible solution for this need.
This flexibility is reflected in a number of ways:
- Sales diversity: for example, a beverage can be purchased by the bottle or by the full case (with multiple bottles).
- Accurate Inventory Management: Merchants can track inventory for both single items and bulk units to improve the accuracy of inventory management.
- Pricing strategy optimization: You can set different prices for different units, such as single bottle price and whole case discount price, to stimulate consumption.
- Improvement of logistics efficiency: support for shipment by different units and optimization of warehousing and distribution processes.
At the implementation level, multi-unit functionality requires the following conceptual model support:
- Unit: is the measurement of the item, e.g., piece, box, bottle, kilogram, etc. The multi-unit feature then allows a SKU to support multiple measurements.
- Unit Conversion Relationship: Define the conversion relationship between units for each commodity (e.g. 1 case = 12 bottles), and support dynamic conversion in inventory management and logistics shipment.
The multi-unit function not only meets the purchasing needs of different consumers, but also provides merchants with more flexible business strategies, while simplifying the inventory management process and improving overall operational efficiency.
Product master file information
After introducing the basic information of the merchandise system, we will delve into the merchandise master file information.
1. Commodities
Merchandise refers to a specific product or service offered by a merchant in a retail environment that is designed to meet the diverse needs of consumers. For example, in the apparel industry, an item may be available in a variety of colors and size specifications for consumers to choose from, while in the fresh food industry, items may be sold by weight or quantity.
The diversity of goods is not only in terms of variety, but also in terms of specifications and attribute characteristics, which together form a complete definition of goods in the retail system.
2、SKU
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is the stock keeping unit, also known as the minimum stock keeping unit, which is the basic unit of inventory management.
SKU clearly defines the value of the specifications of a specific product. For example, the key specifications of "iPhone 16" include color (black, red, silver, gold) and capacity (128G, 256G, 512G), which can be combined into 4×3=12 SKUs.
It is called the "smallest stock keeping unit" because SKUs are the actual objects to be managed in inventory management. Each SKU has a clear specification, price, inventory and barcode, and is a management unit that cannot be subdivided. Whether it is purchasing, warehousing, selling, shipping or inventory counting, the system tracks SKUs.
3. Types of goods
In the new retail business, there is a wide variety of merchandise, and in order to manage merchandise data more efficiently, merchandise needs to be divided into types. Merchandise type not only affects inventory management and transaction methods, but also directly determines the consumer's buying experience.
- Physical commodities: exist as tangible entities that cannot be delivered through the Internet and must rely on traditional logistics and transportation systems to do so. Examples include eggs, rice, cell phones, etc.
- Service Commodities: Intangible commodities that enable transactions to be completed without the involvement of logistics, e.g., phone bill recharge, game vouchers, online courses, etc.
- Combination of goods: Combination of goods is a bundle of goods sold by a number of individually sold goods, for example: afternoon tea set (including coffee, cake, snacks), Tanabata beauty combination (including lipstick, perfume, skincare products) and so on.
- Multi-specification goods: Multi-specification goods are a collection of goods consisting of multiple SKUs, and consumers can only choose one of the SKUs. e.g. take iphone16 as an example, the key specifications are color (black, red, silver, gold), capacity (128G, 256G, 512G), and the consumer chooses "black 128G iphone16" to place an order. " to place an order.
4. Commodity status
Commodity status is the core of commodity lifecycle management, which runs through the whole process of commodity from creation to withdrawal. In the new retail system, product status is used to identify the specific stage of the product in the business process, and different statuses correspond to different management and operation strategies.
The lifecycle status of an item includes File, New, Normal, Pre-elimination, Elimination, Purge, and Pending Archive.
- Archiving:Commodity information is entered into the system for the first time to complete the creation of basic data, including name, category, brand, specifications and price. Commodities at this stage have not yet been displayed to the public, and are only for internal review and information improvement to ensure that complete basic information is available before the commodity is put on line.
- New Products:The product is reviewed and officially launched, entering the initial stage of the market. At this time usually focus on promotion through the new product label, homepage recommendation, and other ways, and with the first discount or giveaway activities to attract consumer attention.
- Normal:Merchandise enters a stable sales phase and becomes part of the merchant's regular operations. Merchandise in this state is sold at normal pricing and may participate in regular promotions (e.g., markdowns, limited-time discounts) to maintain sales.
- Pre-elimination:Merchandise sales decline or market demand wanes, and it is gradually withdrawn from the core sales channel. During this phase, merchants reduce inventory replenishment and accelerate inventory liquidation through specific promotional activities (e.g., clearance discounts).
- Out:The item has been discontinued, but the inventory has not been completely cleared. Merchandise in this condition is usually removed from the front desk and sold only for a limited time through specific channels (e.g., offline stores or promotional areas) until stock is depleted.
- Clearance:Merchandise enters the final clearance stage and is thoroughly prepared for withdrawal from the market. Merchants focus on the remaining stock, emptying it by means of price reductions, stock transfers or destruction plans to ensure the optimal allocation of resources.
- To be filed:The commodity life cycle ends and enters the historical archiving stage. In this state, the commodity cannot be edited or sold, but its data is retained for querying and analyzing historical sales records to provide data support for business decisions.
Channel differentiation information
In an omni-channel retail environment, user characteristics and needs vary across different sales channels. Merchants need to flexibly adjust their product display, pricing system and operation methods through channel differentiation strategies in order to more efficiently meet consumer needs.
1、Channel level goods and SKU management
To accommodate multi-channel demand, the new retail system utilizes a multi-level merchandise management structure:
- product library: As the master data of enterprise commodity information, centralized storage and management of all commodity data to ensure the consistency of information.
- Channel-level goods: Set up product differentiation information for different channels (e.g. WeChat Mall, Meituan Takeaway, Hungry Mou Takeaway, Jitterbug, Xiaohongshu and other channels).
2、Multi-dimensional commodity price strategy
The core of channel differentiation management lies in the flexible pricing strategy, which meets the needs of different scenarios through a multi-dimensional pricing system:
- guide price: Manufacturer's suggested retail price to provide a pricing reference for merchants.
- channel price: Differentiated pricing based on channel characteristics, e.g., takeaway platforms usually sell at a higher price than offline stores due to higher delivery costs.
- Calendar prices: Develop dynamic pricing strategies for different time periods, e.g. special offers during breakfast time.
- cost price: Accurate cost per item down to the SKU as the basis for profitability statistics.
3. Other key messages for channel differentiation
Some other channel-related differentiated information:
- Channel Sales Status: Controls the up and down status of an item. For example, an item may be displayed only on a specific platform channel and hidden from other platforms.
- Delivery method: It supports a variety of delivery methods such as express delivery, same-city delivery and self-pickup. For example, community group-buying users prefer self-pickup, while e-commerce users rely more on express delivery.
- Other Sales Settings: Setting rules such as upper limit of purchase quantity, sales period, and so on. For example, to realize peak promotions by limiting the sales period, or to set a maximum number of single purchases to avoid stock being snapped up.
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