Explore the Salesforce Commerce Data Model
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the function of the Commerce Data model.
- Explain how the Store object relates to other standard objects in the data model.
- Explain the relationship between the Product, Catalog, Categories, and Price Book objects.
The Commerce Data Model
The Commerce data model is a set of Salesforce Platform objects designed to support D2C business functions. The data model connects the business objects that help you deliver a full-featured D2C online store experience. The data model also supports interoperability between D2C Commerce, Salesforce Order Management, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud.
When you create an online store with D2C Commerce, a common set of standard objects is added to your org. The set includes:
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Store: The website that represents your store.
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Catalog: A catalog is the entire collection of products offered in your store.
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Category: A logical grouping of products. Create multiple categories for a navigable hierarchy.
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Product: The products that are available to customers.
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Price Book: The available pricing that shoppers see.
The Store Object
The Store object is your website. Think of the Store object as the commerce transaction hub, with transaction elements placed around it like spokes. This framework gives you maximum flexibility for your business requirements.
The Store object also acts as your storefront where you showcase products, arrange information for shoppers, and process orders for your store.
After you configure your D2C store, it becomes a container for your commerce data held in these objects: Catalogs, Categories, and Price Books. Your strategies for customer engagement, merchandising, and order processing determine how you configure these Commerce data model objects.
Let’s take a closer look.
Products
Products are the things you sell. The Product object lists each of your products as a record in the Product object. The product record contains data such as product descriptions, specifications, and links to product media that help customers make informed decisions. Each product has its own identifying store-keeping unit (SKU) number.
Catalogs
Catalogs are the product organizational object. Catalogs hold all the products you offer in your store. Your D2C store has one catalog of products.
Categories
Categories play a crucial role in organizing and presenting products to customers. The Category object represents categories and subcategories of the products available in your store catalog. Categories have a hierarchical structure that typically represents a parent-child relationship. You organize the products in your store catalog by categories and subcategories. Using categories, you create product groupings that make it easier for customers to navigate and find products that are similar or belong to a specific category. Categories and subcategories play a key role in how customers navigate your store and how they search for a product.
Price Books
The Price Book object is where you manage and organize product prices. It plays a crucial role in determining the unit prices of products or services. The data model supports a standard price book along with custom price books that are linked to promotions. You can also configure a strikethrough price book that highlights reduced pricing for customers.
Product Management
Salesforce Commerce provides all the tools you need to effectively organize and manage products. These tools include:
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Products Editor: Edit product details, assign product media, and manage related product entities.
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Categories Editor: Add and delete categories, edit category details, and assign media and SEO URLs.
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Product Descriptions: Create or revise descriptions for products in English or multiple languages.
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Product Fields: Revise product text fields for multiple products at once.
Use these tools to streamline your product management processes, drive sales, and enhance revenue growth.
Bringing It Together to Connect the Data
As you can see, the Commerce data model includes objects, underlying objects, and features that support D2C business functions. With the store as your hub, you organize products in your store catalog into categories that enhance customer navigation and product search.
The Product object includes records that detail each product including the descriptions and SKUs that customers see. All your products are linked to standard and strikethrough price books. Custom price books in turn support pricing for store promotions.
Next Steps
In this unit, you learned about the Commerce data model and how its key objects streamline the setup, operation, and management of a D2C store. Next, learn about the tools and features that make D2C store setup fast and easy.