Overview
If you are planning on using the Akeneo PIM Connector for Salesforce but don't know which parts of the Salesforce can benefit from leveraging the integrated data, the forthcoming article is intended to elucidate the potential applications and benefits.
The Akeneo PIM Connector for Salesforce lets you export Akeneo PIM data to Salesforce. It uses the standard Product2 object to store the main attributes for each product, and uses custom objects to store additional information, such as translations, catalogs, assets, and much more.
The custom objects used by Akeneo PIM Connector have the "Akeneo_" prefix.
The Product Information Management (PIM) system is regarded as the authoritative source for product data, and as such, it is recommended that product data management be centralized within the PIM rather than within Salesforce. Nonetheless, integrated product data can be extended and/or transformed, thereby enabling the utilization of this data across the various functionalities of Salesforce Clouds.
What should I look for to see if my organization can benefit from the Akeneo PIM data exported to Salesforce?
If your organization has access to Product object in Salesforce, by default, you can use the Akeneo PIM Connector for Salesforce and leverage Akeneo PIM data to Salesforce.
Sometimes, having data in the Product object by itself it's not enough to have the data available across some functionalities. It is imperative to consider the specific user licenses and Salesforce Cloud services that your organization has, to properly leverage Akeneo PIM data integrated to Salesforce Clouds.
User Licenses
The starting point for features available to any Salesforce user is the user license assigned. A user license determines the baseline of features that the user can access.
Salesforce can provide a variety of user licenses depending on the purchased apps (most referred to as "Salesforce Clouds").
The most common license for internal organizational use is known as "Salesforce", and it is intended for users who require full access to the platform. Another common license for internal organizational use is the "Salesforce Platform" license, which is tailored for users who need access to custom apps but do not require standard CRM functionality. The former ("Salesforce" license) has access to the Product object, whereas the latter ("Salesforce Platform" license) does not.
The same applies to licenses intended for use by users external to the organization on Experience Cloud sites, which have other names and are related to other apps, such as Commerce Cloud, for example.
For more information on understanding user licenses offered by Salesforce, see User Licenses from Salesforce Help.
Salesforce Clouds
A Salesforce Cloud refers to a suite of cloud-based applications and services tailored to various business functions and industries, provided by Salesforce. Each "Cloud" is designed to address specific business needs, such as sales, service, marketing, and commerce.
The following clouds are driven by or can benefit from integrated product information:
Cloud Designation |
How it uses Product data? |
Akeneo App data that can be leveraged |
Resources |
||||
Product Data |
Categories (i) |
Variations (i) |
Assets (i) |
Translations (i) |
|||
| Sales Cloud | Manages sales processes, product catalogs, and price books for quoting. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Service Cloud | Tracks products related to service cases. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Commerce Cloud | Manages online product catalogs, inventory, and e-commerce operations. | ✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
| Revenue Cloud | Leverages product information to streamline the entire revenue generation process from the point of sale through revenue recognition, with CPQ. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Field Service Cloud | Manages inventory, parts, and products for field service operations. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
|
✅ |
|
| Consumer Goods Cloud | Manages retail execution, tracking products in stores, and managing inventory. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
✅ |
✅ |
|
| Health Cloud | Manages medical products, medications, and treatments for patients. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Financial Services Cloud | Represents financial products such as loans, insurance policies, and investments. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Manufacturing Cloud | Manages manufactured products, production planning, and inventory. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
|
✅ |
|
| Automotive Cloud | Represents vehicles, parts, and services in the automotive industry. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
✅ |
✅ |
|
| Media Cloud | Manages media products like subscriptions and advertising services. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
|
✅ |
|
| Energy & Utilities Cloud | Represents energy products and utility services. | ✅ |
|
|
|
✅ |
|
| Communications Cloud | Manages telecommunications products and services such as mobile plans, broadband services, and other related offerings. | ✅ |
✅ |
|
|
✅ |
|
(i) Features that requires additional implementation effort by performing data transformation using Apex Triggers or Flows in order to leverage data to the cloud related objects.
It's important to note that the specific use of the Product information can vary based on the business processes and customizations implemented within each Salesforce Cloud solution.
What is the additional implementation effort required to make the integrated product information available in the Salesforce clouds?
The additional implementation effort required may depend on the application being used within the organization. In some cases, it will be necessary to ensure the configuration of additional information, such as pricing, and so on. In other cases, the effort is minimal, and just a few clicks are enough to make the necessary features available for product use.
We already have an article that offers an reference implementation for Commerce Cloud. For more information, see Salesforce Cloud Specific References on Commerce Cloud.
For cases where data transformation is necessary, such as converting Akeneo categories to Salesforce Product Categories or Akeneo assets to Salesforce Product Media, it is possible to use the automation tools available in Salesforce.
For more information, see Akeneo and Salesforce Data Models.
Fortunately, Salesforce provides a comprehensive array of automation tools that empower administrators to quickly create robust automations tailored to an array of potential scenarios. This can be achieved with minimal or no coding required, thanks to intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces.
For more information about the drag-and-drop interfaces provided by Salesforce for building automations, see Flow Builder from Salesforce Help.
Another useful resource regarding to data transformation and Salesforce drag-and-drop interfaces provided by Salesforce for building automations is the documentation for Flow Builder Elements. For more information, see Flow Element: Transform from Salesforce Help.
For more complex cases, Salesforce also offers conventional code-based automations. It is possible to perform imperative programming with Apex, whether it be from insert/update events in the database with Apex Triggers or from automated jobs using Apex Batches.
For more information about imperative programming in Salesforce, see Running Apex from Salesforce Developer Guide.
However, there are cases where it is necessary to extend the information configured for products, such as providing pricing details. Typically, pricing or inventory information is provided through ERPs, and therefore integration of these systems with Salesforce is done using specialized tools. It is also possible to configure this information directly in Salesforce, through the product record pages.