What are playlists and how are they used?
1WorldSync utilizes playlists in Item Management (IM) to improve the product synchronization process for information providers and recipients. Playlists streamline the successful synchronization process by defining what content is needed and ensuring requirements are met.
Recipients provide requirements for the attribute content they need to complete item setup. This content can vary by recipient and their use cases. Some requirements are set by an industry or country/market instead of a direct recipient. Playlists aggregate the attribute and validation requirements that align with the recipient, industry, and/or market. When attached to an item, the playlist will ensure the item meets the requirements needed by the recipient.
The Product team created a
Playlist Video
to help you better understand playlists and how to utilize them.
A listing of available playlists can be found in the
IM Participant Dictionary (IMPD). The IMPD is a regularly updated spreadsheet with tons of attribute-specific content. There are two different tabs for playlists in the IMPD:
IM Playlists tab - list of all available IM playlists and details including a description for each- Playlist name, Type, applicable GLN(s), and revision notes
IM Playlist Attributes tab - list of the attributes in general playlists. Includes Playlist name, IM Attribute, and XML Name along with revision notes
An item can have as many playlists attached as is needed. When more than one playlist is attached, the resulting web interface/GUI screens will display the net attributes that are aligned with the selected playlists. At the time of publication or at the click of the Validate button in the GUI, the playlist validations, and the GDSN and IM validations, will be run. The resulting Errors and Warnings can then be addressed to provide a more complete and successful syndication of the item.
Playlist(s) can be applied to an item in 3 ways.
In the IM web interface/GUI, the playlist(s) can be applied directly to an item.
Using the bulk load/FUSE spreadsheet, there are 2 columns where the playlist(s) and associated GLN(s) can be added.
For Machine to Machine (M2M) users, there are 2 attributes that can be added to their inbound messages which can be used to note the playlist(s) and associated GLN(s).
Errors and Warnings can be viewed in 2 different ways.
In the IM web interface/GUI when the Validate button is clicked, a popup will display a listing of the Errors and Warnings. There is an active link with each message. Clicking on this link will focus the screen on the attribute(s) in question.
Once an item is published, a Catalogue Item Confirmation (CIC) will be created and posted for review.
Please note that errors and Warnings are applicable at several points along the process of synchronizing an item. The first is at load/save time. These are rules that are applicable to the item as it is and are not related to the hierarchy of the item. These rules are also run when the Validate button is clicked in the GUI. The second is at publication time. When an item is published all rules will be run. There are some rules that could not be run at load/save time which now runs. These rules look at the published hierarchy and align content across the parent-child linkages.
As a quick tip, when looking at an Error or Warning message, if a message begins with the word “WARNING” , the message is a request or advice. The item and its content were sent along to the recipient even though a message was returned to the information provider. If the message DOES NOT begin with the word “WARNING” , the message is an error and must be corrected before the item message will be sent to the affected recipient.
