BMEcat viewer for visual control of BMEcat catalogs with web interface
The crossbase BMEcat viewer makes it possible to check catalogs visually prior to distribution and spot data errors quickly. This has not only significantly improved data quality but also considerably reduced the amount of time and effort involved in checking. Because all you need to upload and view the data is a web browser, the viewer can be used easily in all our company's offices.
Martin Schreiber
International Marketing - Marketing Services, fischerwerke GmbH & Co. KG
Waldachtal, 04/04/2016: Electronic output formats are becoming increasingly important as a way of sharing product data with customers and suppliers. The BMEcat format 1.2 or 2005 has become a commonly used standard for the exchange of catalog data and is fully supported by crossbase.
The content to be shared can be configured for specific customers (this is known as XML mapping). These catalogs contain product information such as product hierarchy, product features, images, text and prices. In an electronic catalog you can define customer-specific catalog ranges, assign an appropriate price list, choose the selection of data and generate the format with a single click.
Central functions of the solution
Visual check for correctness and completeness
On the one hand BMEcat catalogs are created by customers with crossbase, on the other hand crossbase customers also receive catalogs from business partners. Since the catalogs are prepared in XML format and the associated images are stored in the file system, checking the exported data for correctness and completeness is very time-consuming. In order to provide support in this field, crossbase has developed a BMEcat viewer which is now available for testing to all crossbase customers in the customer portal. For permanent use, a licence can be purchased and, if required, the interface can be adapted to your own corporate design.
Easy upload of catalog XML and images
With an upload function, either individual files or a ZIP archive containing catalog XML and image data can be uploaded. Multiple catalogs can also be imported and compared in this way. If there is currently no customer catalog available, a sample catalog provided in the system can be selected for testing. Once the catalog data has been imported, it is displayed in a clearly laid-out web interface.
BMEcat catalogs with the functionality of online catalogs
Below the BMEcat version, the data of the header area can be displayed and verified. Using the catalog structure, the user can navigate through the product hierarchy - as in an online catalog - to the desired item. All product information from the catalog (texts, attributes, images) is shown categorised in individual tabs. In the list view, the product information can be displayed, filtered and sorted according to various categories in tabular form and also downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. This means that with just a few clicks, missing or incorrect fields can be quickly identified (e.g. for which items are product images, prices or keywords missing?).
The viewer is rounded off by an item search that allows an item to be displayed and/or checked directly in the catalog. To check the fields, it is also possible to display the tag name in the user interface instead of the name of the field. For future versions there are plans to add automatic checking mechanisms with reports for error and data quality analysis.
Solution details
The application modules and further information
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