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Catalogs from Multiple Suppliers

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You can import catalogs from multiple suppliers, display them on your Web site as one catalog, and when users buy a product from the catalog, you can transmit the orders directly to the suppliers for fulfillment.

Each Commerce Server catalog includes a vendor ID attribute. This attribute is populated when your system administrator uses Microsoft BizTalk Server to set up a trading partner agreement with a vendor (and configures the App Default Config resource so the BizTalk Options property is set to "1"). If the vendor ID attribute is empty, Commerce Server assumes you are the vendor for that catalog.

When you integrate with BizTalk Server, the vendor ID attribute is used to automatically send purchase orders to that vendor for the items purchased from the catalog. After your system administrator sets up an agreement with a vendor, the new vendor will be added to the drop-down list of vendors in Commerce Server Business Desk, and you can then choose the vendor from the list.

There are two main steps to implement this scenario:

  • Create a virtual catalog in which you aggregate the content from the supplier catalogs. This step is described in "Creating a Virtual Catalog" in Commerce Server 2002 Help.
  • Integrate Commerce Server with BizTalk Server to transmit orders to your trading partners. This step is described in "Integrating with BizTalk Server" in Commerce Server 2002 Help.

Following is an overview of the steps you and your vendors perform to exchange catalogs by using BizTalk Server:

  1. Install and configure BizTalk Server so you can receive catalogs from vendors.
  2. Configure the App Default Config resource so the BizTalk Options property is set to 1.
  3. Set up an agreement with a vendor.
  4. A vendor sends you their catalog by using e-mail or BizTalk Server, and you then import the catalog into your Commerce Server catalog database by using the Catalog Editor module in Business Desk.
  5. You can send catalogs from Business Desk to the vendor by clicking the Send button on the toolbar in the Catalog Editor module. A dialog box appears that lists the vendors that are defined in BizTalk Server with agreements, and to which you can send the catalog.

More than one catalog can be associated with a given vendor. You can also specify a vendor at the product level; however, if you do specify a vendor at the product level, your site developer must customize the _additem.asp page on your Web site. For information about customizing _additem.asp, see Commerce Server Solution Sites.

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