Icecat Release Notes 192: Advancements in Channel Partners Assignment, Description Validation, and User Experience

In Icecat Release Notes 192, we delve into a comprehensive array of enhancements aimed at elevating brand management efficiency, data quality, user experience, and overall performance within our platform. From the introduction of Channel Partners Automatic Assignment to the implementation of Language Detect for improved description validation in PIM, these updates represent a significant step forward in optimizing the Icecat experience. Additionally, we explore various other improvements designed to streamline operations and enhance functionality across the board. For additional details, please refer to the previous Icecat Release Notes.

Introducing Channel Partners Automatic Assignment: Enhancing Brand Management Efficiency

In our latest sprint, our team unveiled an exciting new functionality aimed at streamlining the process of channel partner assignment. This development serves as a crucial step towards implementing automated assignment logic for future operations.

The main point of this enhancement lies within the Product Information Management (PIM) brand profile page, where we’ve introduced two key settings:

• Automatic Assignment Prohibition: We’ve added a checkbox labeled “Automatic assignment of channel partners is prohibited.” This feature allows to disable the automatic assignment of channel partners, particularly in cases where partner validation necessitates stringent criteria or additional verification steps. By toggling this setting, brands can exert greater control over the assignment process, ensuring alignment with their specific validation requirements.

• Default Brand User Configuration: Additionally, we’ve incorporated a setting for assigning a default brand user responsible for handling authorization requests from channel partners. Brands now have the option to assign the specific users to manage incoming requests. A user can be assigned to several countries, and each country can be attached to only one brand user. This granular level of control ensures that authorization requests are directed to the appropriate user based on geographical relevance, optimizing response times and enhancing overall brand management.

These enhancements mark a significant advancement in our functionality to empower brands with better control and efficiency in managing channel partners.

Enhancing Data Quality with Language Detect: Improving Description Validation in PIM

In our ongoing quest to enhance data accuracy and streamline workflows, our team has completed a significant development focused on language detection in the “Description” block within our PIM system product page.

In our latest sprint, we introduced a groundbreaking functionality designed to validate description blocks, ensuring alignment between the preset language and the actual language used. This feature addresses a common challenge faced by editors when the language of the description block differs from the predefined by the editor language. Now, when the editor adds the text to “Description” or “Bullet points” on product pages, our innovative language detector automatically checks for language consistency. If discrepancies are detected, a notification promptly informs the editor, providing guidance on the correct language based on detection results. This proactive approach empowers editors to identify and rectify errors at the data-sheet creation stage, ensuring the distribution of accurate information to our channel partners.

Furthermore, we have leveraged invaluable feedback from our editors QA team, who receive weekly delta reports on all descriptions added during the week. This feedback loop has been instrumental in refining our language detection process and improving overall accuracy. As a result, we have implemented several enhancements:

• Focused Reporting: Weekly delta reports now exclusively contain Icecat quality products, enabling our editors QA team to prioritize their efforts more effectively.

• Refined Criteria: Both the report and product page UI now consider only descriptions exceeding 70 characters in length for language detection. This adjustment addresses inaccuracies associated with short descriptions, particularly when dealing with untranslatable words such as technology names or brand trademarks like Windows or Intel.

• Enhanced Review Process: We’ve introduced a new column in the report, which calculates the difference between the preset language and the detected language. This addition streamlines the review process for editors QA team members, facilitating quicker and more accurate assessments of description language integrity.

With these enhancements, we’re confident that our language detect feature will significantly elevate data quality standards within our PIM system, ultimately benefiting our channel partners and end-users.

Enhancing User Experience in PIM

In our continuous efforts to enhance user experience and streamline workflows, our development team has implemented several significant changes to the user interface of our PIM system in the latest sprint.

• Improved Suggester Component: We have enhanced the clarity and understanding of the suggester component, making it more intuitive for users. The updated view of the suggester component ensures smoother navigation and facilitates quicker access to required information.

• Enhanced Behavior of Feature Filter: On the PIM Search page, we’ve introduced a new behavior for the “Feature” filter. Now, when a user selects only “Feature” without specifying any “Value”, the search results will display items where the feature has any value. This adjustment streamlines the search process, providing users with more accurate and relevant results.

• Refined Design for Filters: Addressing feedback from PIM Search users, we’ve redesigned the filter interface to reduce visual clutter and improve focus. By replacing lines with a light background, we’ve created a cleaner and more organized layout, ensuring that users can easily identify and navigate through filter options without unnecessary distractions.

• Page Number Indicator in Page Jumper: To enhance user guidance and clarity on the PIM Search page, we’ve added a page number indicator to the page jumper. This addition informs users of the type of data expected in the field, improving usability and reducing potential confusion.

These user interface improvements represent our commitment to delivering a more intuitive, user-friendly experience within our PIM system. By incorporating user feedback and implementing enhancements aimed at clarity and efficiency, we aim to empower our users with tools that optimize productivity and effectiveness in managing product information.

We look forward to hearing your feedback on these changes as we continue to evolve and refine our PIM system to better serve your needs.

Other Improvements in Icecat Release Notes 192:

At Icecat, our latest sprint has been marked by significant improvements across other parts of our platform, each contributing to the enhancement of our offerings and the overall user experience.

• Product Page Transition to Server-Side Rendering (SSR): One notable development in this sprint has been our transition towards creating new product pages on SSR. This transition involves multiple steps, including improvements to product collection to accelerate page loading speed, the development of a tab featuring technical specifications, and the resolution of several issues related to the Gallery, Language Switcher, meta tags, and 404 errors. These enhancements lay the groundwork for a more seamless and efficient product browsing experience.

• Editor Journal Re-engineering: We initiated the implementation of an editor journal to track data related to product GTINs and product life cycles. This step towards comprehensive data tracking and management will streamline editorial workflows.

• Migration to S3 Storage: As part of our ongoing efforts to optimize infrastructure and storage solutions, we continued our migration from mounted storage to S3 storage. During this sprint, successful migration of critical components such as the Category feature taxonomy report and Supplier_mapping.xml was achieved, paving the way for enhanced reliability.

• Reporting Engine Enhancements: Our reporting engine received significant updates during this sprint, including the development and testing of new Scheduled Reports REST functionality. Additionally, improvements were made to the “Email report to” filter and “Sponsor” filter. These enhancements empower users with robust reporting capabilities, facilitating data-driven decision-making.

• Disaster Recovery Plan Testing: Ensuring the resilience and reliability of our systems is a top priority. In this sprint, we actively engaged in testing our disaster recovery plan, encompassing various components of the Icecat platform.

• Resolution of Icecat.biz and Auto-Import Issues: Addressing user feedback and optimizing platform performance, we identified and resolved several issues impacting our Icecat.biz website and auto-import processes. Improvements to MongoDB, including the implementation of a health monitor and automatic data cleanup, bolstered auto-import stability and optimized storage space. Additionally, enhancements to token loading speed on Icecat.biz resulted in improved user satisfaction and overall site performance.

As we continue to prioritize innovation and excellence, these advancements underscore our commitment to delivering superior products and services to our valued users.

Olena Vasylynenko