Overview

Composable Products enhances flexibility and scalability by allowing users to dynamically link products and product components.

This ensures easier product structuring and the flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements.

With Composable Products in the PIM, you can benefit from:

• A faster time-to-value, to reduce the need for extensive research, workarounds and experiments
• A simplified and consistent catalog management, to ensure a more streamlined and error-free product modeling process
• An improved user experience, with an intuitive way to model products

Users are able to define product links in 2 different ways depending on their use cases.

Single product link

The single product link is a new attribute type that allows to link single product components to products. This format is ideal for creating straightforward links to additional products within a Product Edit Form.

A good example of use case for this attribute type, would be to link a digital camera to its included charger - a one-to-one relationship where a single link is the most appropriate solution.

Another example of an appropriate usage of the single product link would be to link a matching replacement strap for a premium designer handbag, and displaying this connection using the single product link.

Key benefits
 

• Completeness: customize completeness rules and apply them to families
   
• Permissions: assign permissions as any other attribute
   
• Localizability and scopability: choose whether the attribute is localizable and scopable
   
• Variant creation: generate variants directly from a product link
   
• Product grid: use this attribute as a column and be able to search by product link
   
• Searchability: benefit from search filters to select products to add, including family, and product status (enabled/disabled)
   
• Image display: show the product’s main image to guide users
   
• Assignable by family: define which families can use this attribute
   
• Single-product enforcement: enforce that only a single product can be added as the product link

Table attribute with a product link column type

The product link column type is a new addition to the already existing table attribute feature. 

We are introducing a more comprehensive way to list multiple composable products with additional columns for an improved experience.

A good example of use case for this improvement is a washer that needs to be displayed with its spare parts like the pump or filter. Each item is shown as an individual row in the table attribute.

Key benefits

• Support metadata: add metrics, number, text, reference entity, select, date or boolean type column
   
• Localizability and scopability: choose whether the attribute is localizable and scopable
   
• Variant creation : define at which level of enrichment this attribute should be enriched
   
• Product grid: search product with a link to a product
   
• Searchability: benefit from search filters to select products to add, including family, and product status (enabled/disabled)
   
• Image display: show the product’s main image to guide users
   
• Ordering: customize the order of display for the rows
   
• Assignable by family: define which families can use this attribute
   
• Duplicate entries: allow the same product to be added multiple times (if the product link is not in the 1st column)
   
• SKU consistency: replace manual SKU entry with a structured column to reduce typing errors and improve consistency
   
• Format consistency: automatic removal of the lines when the product is removed from the table

Specifications

Limits

Regular limitations from the table attribute feature still apply with this new addition. 

Here are those limits summed up:

• You can create up to 25 columns in a single table.
• You can have up to 300 characters in text cells.
• You can create up to 20000 options within a Select column.
• You can have up to 100 rows per table attribute in a product sheet.
• You can create up to 100 table attributes in your PIM.
• You can have up to 8000 filled cells in a product sheet (including all table attributes).

You can also check out our Help Center article dedicated to the table attribute here.

It is important to note that the product link column type can be used in other columns as well, if the first column needs to remain a select, a reference entity or an incremental number for your use cases.

Bulk selection

When the first column of a table attribute is set as a product link, the product picker allows you to select one or multiple products at once.

Updates

Product links are only updatable at the level where it has been defined and cannot be updated on the variant product if the attribute is at product model level.

Functional questions

To help you choose between these two solutions for building composable products in the PIM, we've addressed some key functional questions.

When should I choose a single product link vs. a table attribute with a product link column?

• Single Product Link (new attribute type): Ideal for creating straightforward links to additional products within a Product Edit Form.
  Example: Linking a digital camera to its included charger - a one-to-one relationship where a single link is the most appropriate solution.

• Table Attribute with a Product Link Column:
  Best for listing multiple linked products as individual rows.
  Example: A washing machine with a list of spare parts like the pump or filter - each item is shown as an individual row in the table attribute.

 Could I use the table attribute with product link instead of using associations?
Indeed, another usage of the table attribute with the product link could be to use it for merchandising purposes, as it would benefit from more advanced capabilities: 

• a native reordering using a drag & drop
• display of images
• direct product links
• and the ability to have different tables depending on locales/channels
   

What is the minimum number of columns I can have in a table attribute?
A minimum of two columns is required to be able to save a table attribute. We can recommend to have a first column as incremental number in the event that you would like only to see the product link in your product edit form.

Can I add a product link type column in an already existing table?
It is now possible to add this new type of column into any existing table attribute.

Can I change the first column of an existing table attribute for a product link?
It is not possible to modify a 1st column in an already existing table.
However, you could add ‘product link’ column types to an existing table attribute.
 

What happens if I delete a sub product contained in a single product link or a table with a product link?

- Single product link: the link is emptied + product updated date is updated
- Table attribute with product link as first column: the row is removed + product updated date is updated
- Table attribute with product not as first column: the cell is emptied + product updated date is updated
 

How will it be displayed for a user that has no right to view or edit the linked product?

If the user doesn’t have the permission to view or edit the linked product, an informative message will be displayed, indicating this restriction and recommending that they contact their administrator for access.
 

What happens if I delete a product used as variant axis? It's not possible to remove a product used as variant axis.

What happens in the UI if the user doesn't have permission to view the linked products?
The non viewable product links are greyed out in order to let you clear the value/reorder the linked product in case the product link is in a table attribute.

What happens if I perform an API call or export a product but don't have permission to view one of its linked products?
Even if you don't have permission to view a linked product, the uuid/product model code of the linked product will be included in the response. This allows you to reorder the linked products and indicates that a link exists. However, permissions are still enforced if you try to access the linked product directly via the API/UI.