The customer is a wood furniture manufacturer located in California, USA. The company offers a wide range of custom-made furniture products produced from eco-friendly wood. Every product in the client's portfolio has over 1000 possible variations and is designed to fit the needs of the company's retail and wholesale clients.
Problem
Due to the wide range of products, the client has a massive database which makes manual website updates difficult and time-consuming. To speed up this process, the client requested the development of an automated data import service that allows data management in a few clicks.
Solutions
Since data import automation is not a standard Drupal functionality, the AWG team has provided a custom solution. We have created an automated service that allows for importing and updating products on the website in a fast and efficient way. Thanks to this solution, the client can easily manage product information such as available configurations, price, description, etc.
Data structure
The developed service processes data from the CSV file that can be uploaded with the special import form. The AWG team has designed a data structure based on the product parameters, where each field stores information about a particular product attribute. After uploading the file with product data, the system will automatically create and update product information on the website.
Several fields have a specific pattern for data entry as they can have multiple values. To prevent errors, the service performs different data checks based on data structure rules.
Importing system
According to the client’s requirement, the “Product Import” form includes the advanced settings which allow a selective data update. Thanks to this solution, the service can perform the import of any or combination of the following options:
- all products
- selected product
- categories
- prices
- producer information
- pictures
- brochures
- delivery information
Product import and update
Every product has various configurations based on multiple product parameters such as 3d sizes, wood type, color, etc. This provides customers with a wide choice. However, it requires a complex data management system. Each product variation has unique parameters and prices based on materials cost, tax range, etc. Once all parameters are set and saved, the product will be automatically created or replaced with a new version.
While the product is created, the service checks if the provided data are valid. If the data are not valid, the service will notify the manager by displaying the list of warnings. If the data have been processed correctly, the manager will see import status and numbers of created products and their variations.
The service is designed so that it does not store old data in its memory. It automatically reviews data and removes junk data.
To make the update process even more convenient, we have provided the client with a step-by-step guide. The guide contains detailed instructions on how to fill in the table with data and import it into the website.
During the final stage of development, our team tested the system for data errors or inconsistencies. Currently, the website is successfully functioning.
Results
The client has received a flexible and expandable data import system to prevent any errors and minimize data management time and cost. With a new service, managers can update website content in a few clicks. Once customers have gotten the opportunity to make an online order through the website store, the company has increased customer satisfaction, conversion and speed up the sales process.