Introduction to Catalog Manager Concepts and Terminology

The opentaps Catalog Manager Application provides the processing functions and permanent storage for product catalogs, as the name suggests, but it is also a main link in the Ecommerce and the related Marketing functions of opentaps as well. As shown in Figure 9, the Catalog Manager holds the definition of Virtual Stores when then provide support for actual stores which can be either Online Web Stores, or physical brick and mortar stores. Stores sell products, of course, based upon the extensive Catalog Manager data on products, sales, payment, taxes and other items. The resulting sales orders are routed for processing in other opentaps application manager areas.

Catalogs are prepared and used not only for selling your products or services, but also for everything that is purchased for sale or for consumption in the business that opentaps supports.

Finally, through the use of information Presentation Control functions, which include the Catalogs, Categories, Stores, and a number of additional Web Site communications and presentation features that we will explain in this section, the Catalog Manager is actually a major contributor to marketing implementations.