1. Overview
The DataSource PIM Connector service provides a complete PIM syndication solution that
automatically enriches products with 1WorldSync content in the target Akeneo instance. This
is achieved by setting up two automated services:
• The catalog Synchronization service polls the target Akeneo instance continuously for
new or discontinued products
• The Syndication service tentatively enriches products that are "ready-for-delivery" on a
daily basis
1.1 Solution Outline
2. The Synchronization service
This Synchronization service continuously polls the target Akeneo instance converting new
products into syndication requests, and keeping these up-to-date.
• It gathers new products added to the "1ws_unsorted" family and creates syndication
requests for each one
• It triggers a capture task if no 1WorldSync content is available for a product
• It updates undelivered products with the latest 1WorldSync content status information
• It keeps track of products added to the "1ws_discontinued" family to disable future
updates permanently
2.1 Syndication requests
A syndication request is automatically created by the Synchronization service when a
product is added to the "1ws_unsorted" family in the target Akeneo instance.
Info: New products don’t require any category information as this is automatically
provided at the first delivery, and they only require a small set of attributes in
order to be successfully converted into a syndication request
2.1.1 Syndication request priority
When products aren’t readily available from 1WorldSync, syndication requests are captured
with no specific order. There is a "Priority" attribute that lets you influence this order:
- Before anything else: 1WorldSync will attempt to capture these products before anything else
- No specific priority: 1WorldSync will capture these in no specific order
- After everything else: 1WorldSync will postpone capturing these products until all others are ready
- Urgent - Block my other products: Do not use this so it’s available for emergencies (extremely high profile products)
2.1.2 Discontinuing products
Products that are enriched by 1WorldSync cannot simply be deleted from the target Akeneo
instance as they would be re-created at their next update. In order to properly discontinue a
product, it needs to be moved to the "1ws_discontinued" family.
The next time the Synchronization process runs, a "1ws_discontinued" product will be
removed from your 1WorldSync catalog, its 1WS ID attribute will be deleted, and its sync
status will be set to "DISCONTINUED".
Info: Except for its 1WS ID, a discontinued product keeps all its attribute values to
avoid data loss. You may then decide if, how, and when to clean up (delete)
discontinued products from the target Akeneo instance.
2.1.3 Setting up the Akeneo instance
The following attributes must be added to the "1ws_unsorted" family before the
Synchronization service is activated, they will be used to generate syndication requests.
• sku
Your internal product identifier (free text, must be unique)
• 1ws_request_mnf *
The product brand or the name of the manufacturer (list of values or free text)
• 1ws_request_pn *
The manufacturer’s part number for the product (free text)
• 1ws_request_text */**
Any product title or short description that may be available (free text)
• 1ws_request_gtin */**
The EAN, UPC, or GTIN of the product (free text)
* You may define your own attribute codes for these attributes
* These attributes may help identify the product being requested but they are not mandatory
3. The Syndication service
The Syndication service collects the latest products ready-for-delivery and enriches them
in the target Akeneo instance. If the product is still in the "1ws_unsorted" family, it will be
moved to the appropriate 1WS family.
Info: Because every 1WS field is overwritten whenever a product is updated, it’s critical
to disable updates for a product that has been manually edited in the target
Akeneo instance
3.1 Disabling 1WorldSync updates
By setting the "Receive 1WS data" attribute to No, future updates can be disabled for the
whole product. Updates cannot be disabled for individual attributes.
Regardless of whether updates are disabled, non-1WS product attributes can be edited
freely, they will never be updated or overwritten.
3.2 Data delivery content
Whenever a product is updated, the Syndication service updates and overwrites all the
1WS fields of the product, including:
• General information & thumbnail (brand, name, color, pack quantity)
• Technical specs (attributes)
• Manufacturer copy (marketing text fields)
• Multi-angle product shots and other image collections
• Related products (OEM and non-OEM accessories)
• 1WorldSync 5-level classification (your existing non-1WS categories are preserved)
