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 Catalog Conversion
   Dropship Conversions
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   Retail Data Consultancy


 

Converting Product Catalogs, Part Books and Data Feeds presented in XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) into Systems Ready Imports or Direct Bulk Product Listing Formats for Online and Multi-Channel Retail.

XML Product Catalogue Data

XML is a common and rapidly maturing technology with powerful real-world applications, particularly for the management, display and organization of data. Product Catalogs and Part Book files that are provided by Dropshippers and Wholesalers in XML format, for the transfer of data between businesses (Dropshipper/Wholesaler to Customer). 

These Product Catalogues and Part Books contain detailed product information, such as:

   TITLES    MANUFACTURER
   DESCRIPTIONS    PART NUMBER
   PRODUCT IDS (UPC, EAN, GTIN)    BRAND
   PRICES (WHOLESALE, RRP)    HOSTED IMAGE LINKS

Importing XML Product Catalogue Data

Typical  ‘XML Integration’ or ‘XML Import Modules’ in Ecommerce may hold limitations as they are tailored towards either a small selection of shopping carts or Webstores (i.e.  PrestaShop, Magento, OpenCart, VirtueMart) with no focus for Multi-Channel Systems Imports or Direct Marketplace Listings  (i.e. eBay, Amazon, Sears, Rakuten/Play.com,etc).

Issues typically faced by customers looking to use XML based Product Data, may include:

 THE 'XML IMPORT' MODULE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE CUSTOMERS SYSTEM, WEBSTORE OR MARKETPLACE
 THE 'XML FORMAT' OF PRODUCT WHOLESALE OR DROPSHIP CATALOGUE IS NOT CATERED FOR
 THE 'XML FORMAT' IS 'COMPLEX' AND NOT 'SIMPLE' IN NATURE
 SPECIALIST SKILL AND EXPERTISE TO CONVERT 'COMPLEX' AND/OR 'VOLUME' XML PRODUCT DATA INTO OTHER DATA FORMATS

Differences in XML Product Data

Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) is a mark-up language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. XML has come into common use for the interchange of data over the Internet and is used heavily in online retail (e-Tailing).

In relation to the XML Product Catalogue data, often provided by Dropshipping and Wholesale Suppliers for customer use, there is no formal standardised format or structure.  

Each Supplier and Dropshipper will have their own unique XML data file format and set of data definitions that have been designed specifically for their businesses, not the requirements of customers.

Unlocking XML Product Data

To unlock XML Product Catalogue Data from  Wholesalers and Drop shipping Supplier, customers are required to interpret the data definitions and map the data elements (i.e. Tiles, Descriptions, SKU’s, EAN’s, GTIN’s, etc.) into their required data format and structure to import or bulk list with their Multi-Channel System, Webstore or Marketplace (i.e. eBay, Amazon, Sears,Rakuten/Play.com,etc).

XML Conversions for Different Online Retailing Scenarios 

The chart below shows XML Product data with four different unique structures being converted into various data formats (TSV ~Tab Separated Values, CSV ~ Comma Separated Values, PIPE ~ Pipe Separated Values and XML ~ Different Structure).

 XML Format (Source)  Online Application (Target)  Format Conversion (Requirement)
 ICECAT: OPEN CATALOG  AMAZON  TSV (TAB)
 XML PRODUCT CATALOG  EBAY  CSV (FILE EXCHANGE)
 XML DATA REPOSITORY  WEBSTORE  PIPE (DELIMITED)
 XML AUTOMOTIVE PART BOOK  TRANSACTIONAL WEBSITE  XML (DIFFERENT STRUCTURE)

Solving Your XML Product Data Issue

Transforming-Data work extensively with XML data for B2B Data Transfer, Product Catalogue Conversions and Custom Data Feeds from a variety of different sources (i.e. Direct Feeds, XML Repositories, Raw XML Files, Database Exports, etc.)