Catalog visibility rules

Overview

B2B catalog management involves complex visibility and pricing requirements:

• Contract-based access
• Buyer-specific product visibility
• Variable pricing structures
• Organization-level permissions
• Category-based access control

The OrderCloud platform addresses these needs through assignment-based controls and simplified management options.

Traditional implementation

Standard visibility configuration requires:

1. Catalog to buyer organization assignment
2. User to party assignment (user group/marketplace)
3. Party to category assignment
4. Party to product assignment with price schedule

While this provides precise control, it can create unnecessary complexity for simpler scenarios.

Simplified management features

New capabilities enable streamlined catalog management through various configuration options.

Default pricing implementation

Scenario: "Consistent pricing across buyers with controlled visibility"

Solution:

• Implement DefaultPriceScheduleID on Product model
• Optional ProductAssignment price schedules
• Assignment prices override defaults
• Recommended for most implementations

View-only configuration

Scenario: "Product visibility without purchase capability"

Implementation:

• Omit default price schedule
• Leave ProductAssignment.PriceScheduleID empty
• Products visible but not purchasable

Organization-wide access

Scenario: "Full catalog visibility for all organization members"

Configuration options:

• CatalogAssignment.ViewAllCategories
• CatalogAssignment.ViewAllProducts
• Typically combined with default pricing

Category-level management

Scenario: "Category-based visibility with automatic subcategory access"

Implementation:

1. Disable catalog-level visibility:

   • CatalogAssignment.ViewAllCategories = false
   • CatalogAssignment.ViewAllProducts = false

2. Configure category visibility:

   • CategoryAssignment.Visible = true
   • CategoryAssignment.ViewAllProducts = true

3. Scope options:

   • Organization-wide
   • User group specific

Inheritance configuration

Scenario: "Global visibility with specific exclusions"

Visibility inheritance:

• null: Inherit from parent
• true: Override parent as visible
• false: Override parent as hidden

Implementation:

1. Enable catalog-level visibility
2. Configure category-level exceptions
3. Category settings override catalog settings

Temporary catalog deactivation

Scenario: "Temporary catalog-wide visibility control"

Features:

• Catalog-level Active property
• Independent of assignments
• Affects all assigned buyers

Search-driven implementation

Scenario: "Category-independent product discovery"

Requirements:

• CatalogAssignment.ViewAllProducts = true
• CatalogProductAssignment existence
• Optional category assignments

Notes:

• Implicit assignment creation for categorized products
• Required for product-party relationships
• Catalog serves as primary visibility control

Implementation benefits

These features provide:

1. Simplified catalog management
2. Reduced maintenance overhead
3. Flexible visibility control
4. Efficient configuration options

Related reading

• Approval rules
• Product visibility requirements
• The rules engine has arrived