Icecat Release Notes 214-215: New Features for Smarter Content Management, Enhanced Analytics, and Improved User Experience

In the release notes 214-215, the Icecat team focused on delivering a series of enhancements across our platform to improve content management, streamline workflows, and provide users with deeper analytical insights. From expanding filtering options and introducing new entities to simplifying reporting and refining the Editor Journal, these updates are designed to empower our users with more control, better data accessibility, and increased efficiency in daily operations. For additional details, please refer to the previous Icecat Release Notes.

GPSR: Enhancing the Search Filter for Better Asset Management in the Icecat Brand Cloud

In this sprint, we made significant improvements to the Icecat Cloud Asset Filter. This enhancement introduces new filter values that correspond to the default short descriptions of “Other digital assets” available in our Multimedia Objects Product section. By incorporating these updates, we empower users to efficiently locate products enriched with critical documents.

The newly added filter values include:

• CE Marking
• Carbon Footprint
• Safety Information
• EU Declaration of Conformity
• UK Declaration of Conformity
• Quick Start Guide

Some of these documents are essential for compliance with the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). As the number of documents associated with product data sheets continues to grow, ensuring accessibility and efficient management becomes a top priority.

By refining tools like the Icecat Cloud Asset Filter, we aim to deliver an even more robust and user-centric experience for our partners. 

Icecat Introduces New Entity: Organizations

In our latest release, Icecat introduces a new entity – Organizations. This new feature enhances the structuring of organizational information within the Icecat platform, streamlining the administration of users in the Icecat system and facilitating compliance with the GPSR regulation regarding contact details for channel partners.

Key Benefits:

• Better User Management: Users associated with the same organization will be administered more effectively.
• Enhanced Brand Structuring: Organizations will be linked to brands, making it easier to inform channel partners about essential contact details.
• Improved Data Organization: Icecat managers can now maintain structured records of organizations in a centralized system.

To manage organizations, users should navigate to Icecat Cloud, then proceed to the Users menu and select the Organization submenu. This section presents a comprehensive list of organizations, which can be sorted using the following criteria:

• Organization Name
• Organization Country
• Unique Registration Number

Additionally, organizations can be activated or deactivated directly from the list.

At the top of the organizations’ list, users have the option to add a new organization. By clicking on an organization’s name, users can review and update its details (only if the user role permits these actions).

Each organization record contains the following fields:

Mandatory Fields

• Name
• Country
• State (Required for some countries only)
• City
• Street
• House Number

Optional Fields

• Unique Registration Number
• ZIP Code
• Website (At least one required, additional websites optional)
• Phone (Multiple numbers can be added)
• Email (Multiple emails can be added)

The Organizations entity marks a significant improvement in Icecat’s data management capabilities, allowing for better administration of users and brands. By leveraging this feature, Icecat managers can ensure structured, well-maintained organizational records that improve overall efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Enhanced Information Security: Images in Index Files

We are excited to announce an important enhancement to our index files. Starting from this release, all products with publishing limitations will no longer display their main images across all index files. This change affects all index files and all file formats, including XML and CSV.

Publishing limitations apply to specific products and are based on the following criteria:

• Publish Status = Limited.

• Brand Publication Restrictions for Open Icecat Products apply to certain products, specific locales, or all locales.
• Brand Publication Restrictions for Full Icecat Products apply to certain products, specific locales, or all locales.

These restrictions ensure that sensitive or restricted content is handled in compliance with our policies and partner agreements.

To align with these limitations, the following fields will no longer display main image information only for products with publish limitations:

	CSV columns	XML attributes
URL to the high-resolution image	high_pic	HighPic
File size of the high-resolution image	high_pic_size	HighPicSize
Width of the high-resolution image	high_pic_width	HighPicWidth
Height of the high-resolution image	high_pic_height	HighPicHeight

By removing main images for restricted products, we mitigate the risk of unauthorized usage or distribution, ensure strict adherence to brand publication restrictions and regulatory requirements, and simplify data management for our partners by consistently excluding restricted content.

Enhancing Custom Content Distribution: User Assignment to a Taxonomy

In this sprint, Icecat has taken a significant leap forward in the development of custom content distribution capabilities. We are excited to announce the completion of the initial phase, allowing Icecat managers to assign channel partners to specific taxonomies. This milestone marks a crucial step towards personalized content management and distribution.

With this release, Icecat managers now have the ability to assign channel partners to designated taxonomies directly from the user profile in Icecat Cloud. This functionality is seamlessly integrated into the user profile page, enabling managers to strategically align partners with relevant taxonomies based on their business needs and focus areas.

The sprint has delivered the following key achievements:

• User Profile Enhancement: Icecat account managers can now assign channel partners to multiple taxonomies directly from the user profile interface.
• Priority-Based Distribution: Managers have the flexibility to set priority levels for taxonomies, ensuring strategic content distribution.
• New Management Filter: The addition of an “External taxonomy” filter streamlines management by providing quick access to all users assigned to specific taxonomies.

Currently, the assignment of partners to taxonomies enables customization of product descriptions. Brands can now provide exclusive descriptions tailored for specific partners, enhancing the relevance and impact of product content in different markets or contexts.

Looking forward, our roadmap includes expanding this capability to distribute Product Stories and other assets as exclusive content. This future enhancement will further empower brands and channel partners to deliver compelling narratives and detailed product insights directly to their target audiences.

New Product Relations User Interface in Icecat Brand Cloud

In this sprint, we are excited to introduce a completely redesigned Product Relations user interface in Icecat Brand Cloud, along with several new features that significantly improve how our Brand Cloud users manage product relations.

Brand Cloud users will now notice a new “Related products” icon on the sidebar of the product page. Clicking this icon opens a dedicated Product Relations page designed to simplify the process of adding, viewing, and updating related products.

The user interface is split into two functional areas:

• The top section allows users to easily add new related products.
• The bottom section displays the existing relations, offering filtering options and tools for updating or removing relations.

What’s New in Adding Product Relations?

The new interface brings several improvements that enhance usability and accuracy:

• Multiple ways to attach products: Users can now add related products using a Product Code, Product ID, or GTIN.
• Batch input support: users can paste a batch of identifiers, and the system immediately validates them, providing feedback on which products are found and which are missing.
• Locale-specific relations: Unlike the previous version, which only supported international relations, users can now define product relations per locale, allowing for more targeted content.
• Time-based relations: With the “Recommended by brand” checkbox, brand partners can now define a time period during which the relation is active, supporting promotional campaigns or limited-time offers.

What’s New in Reviewing and Updating Existing Relations?

Managing existing relations is now faster and more efficient, thanks to:

• Advanced filtering: Users can filter relations by Brand, Category, Locale, or search by Product Code.
• Pagination control: Users can set the number of products displayed per page, making it easier to navigate large datasets.
• Structured table view: Existing relations are displayed in a clean, well-organized table for better readability and management.
• Batch deletion: Users can now select and delete multiple relations at once, saving valuable time.
• Flexible updates: Users can edit existing relations by adjusting the locales or updating the “Recommended by brand” setting.

With these improvements, Icecat Brand Cloud provides users with a more powerful and flexible toolset to manage product relations efficiently and accurately. This release is another step toward enhancing the user experience and supporting dynamic content strategies for our partners.

Reporting Engine Enhancements: Improved Presentation and New Analytics Feature

In this sprint, we introduced two significant enhancements to our reporting engine that streamline data analysis and improve monitoring capabilities.

Improved “Include Last Year” Presentation
Previously, when users selected the “Include Last Year” parameter in the reporting settings, the data for the last and current year appeared on two separate lines. While functional, this layout made comparative analysis less intuitive. With the latest improvement, these figures are now presented side-by-side in two distinct columns. This adjustment not only saves screen space but also makes it easier to compare annual performance metrics at a glance.

New Setting: “Number of Unique Products Downloaded”
We also added a new reporting parameter that tracks the “Number of Unique Products Downloaded” by a user. This metric provides a clear view of how many distinct products a user has interacted with, offering valuable insights into user behavior. By enabling more efficient monitoring and management of user activity, this feature helps teams identify trends and opportunities for engagement.

Improved Experience with Coverage from File: Faster Access and New Export Options

In this sprint, we delivered a valuable improvement to the Coverage from File functionality, making the user experience smoother and more efficient with a small but impactful change.

Faster Report Access with Uncompressed XLSX Output

Previously, all output reports generated by Coverage from File were automatically compressed into an archive. Users had to download and extract the files before accessing the data — an extra step that added unnecessary complexity and slowed down the workflow.

With the latest update, reports generated in XLSX format are now provided without additional compression. Since XLSX files are already compressed by design, this change eliminates redundancy and allows users to open the report directly after downloading it.

This simple adjustment saves time and improves productivity, helping users focus on what truly matters — analyzing data and making informed decisions.

New Export Settings for Deeper Product Asset Insights

Alongside this improvement, we’ve introduced additional export settings in the Coverage from File report. Users can now choose to include the following product assets in the report:

• Full Product Name
• Description (Marketing text)
• Bullet Points

When these options are enabled, the report provides clear Yes/No indicators showing whether each asset is available for the product. This enhancement offers better visibility into product content coverage, helping users quickly identify missing assets and take action where needed.

With these updates, Coverage from File becomes even more user-friendly and insightful, supporting faster workflows and better content management decisions.

Distributor Information Is Now Available in the Editor Journal for Analysis

In this sprint, we successfully released an important enhancement to the new Editor Journal — the Distributors Information feature. This addition provides deeper analytical capabilities by allowing users to track editors’ contributions within the scope of each distributor feed.

With this update, users can now select a specific editor using the “Editor” filter and press the “Search” button. In the results table, a special icon appears next to the selected editor’s name. Clicking this icon opens a detailed view of the distributor feeds the editor worked on. For each distributor feed, users can see the number of products described and modified by the editor, enabling better performance analysis and content quality tracking per feed.

This feature is fully compatible with other filters in the Editor Journal, offering flexibility for more targeted analysis. Additionally, pagination is supported when viewing the distributors list, ensuring a smooth experience even with large data sets.

The new Distributors functionality in the Editor Journal strengthens our content management transparency and provides editors, team leads, and managers with the tools they need for better monitoring and decision-making.

As we continue to evolve the Icecat platform, these improvements reflect our commitment to enhancing usability, strengthening data security, and supporting smarter content distribution. We look forward to bringing even more value in the upcoming sprints, helping our partners manage product content and insights more effectively.