The procurement platform for your business Quick Reference Guide Mercateo Catalogue Management for Suppliers Table of contents Login to the Mercateo Catalogue Management 2 Overview of the Catalogue Update Process 3 Contracts Overview 3 E-mail Options 4 Global Settings 5 Automatic release of catalogue versions to the customer 6 Catalogue Versions Overview 7 Request Catalogue Preview 8 Verify Catalogue Version 9 Release Catalogue to the Customer 10 Reject Catalogue Version 10 Version Releases by Customers 11 Delete Catalogue Version 11 Annex 1
Login to the Mercateo Catalogue Management The following link will take you to the Mercateo Catalogue Management: https://www.mercateo.com/extranet.web Mercateo Login to the Mercateo Catalogue Management Enter your user data (User name and Password) which correspond to your customer login to the Mercateo page. The Extranet is currently available in the languages German, English and Dutch. You may change the Language at any time, by clicking here: Page 2 of 11
Overview of the Catalogue Update Process The complete Catalogue Update Process consists of the following steps: 1st step: Data Transfer by FTP 2nd step: Catalogue Management Supplier Mercateo Overview of the Catalogue Update Process 3rd step: Catalogue Management Customer The system will automatically send messages to the supplier and customer during the individual processing steps. You may enter the e-mail addresses of your contacts for that purpose. Suppliers transfer the catalogue, images and data sheets.»» Suppliers may: view verify release reject theire catalogues Customers may: view verify put online reject the catalogue released by the supplier Contracts Overview The Contract tab will show you an overview of the connected exclusive catalogues and the status of their contractual relationship. In order to have the catalogue verified and processed, the Release status must be set to activated. You may activate it through the Mercateo Catalogue Management. To see more details, go to Release-status catalogue. Page 3 of 11
Mercateo E-mail Options E-mail Options You may enter e-mail addresses to receive information on the status during data updates. Please go to the Contract tab and select E-mail settings. After having entered your e-mail addresses, confirm your entry by clicking on Save. You may also enter several e-mail addresses. These must be separated by a comma or semicolon in the entry field. LL When you log in to Mercateo Catalogue Management for the first time, the e-mail address from your Mercateo customer account will be entered automatically. This will ensure that no information is lost. Global e-mail configuration: You may store catalogue-specific e-mail addresses. However, if the contacts are identical for all catalogues, we recommend entering them as a global setting. See the Global Settings section. Click on The e-mail addresses from the e-mail default settings Transfer to this contract to use the global e- mail setting. This is an overview of the different status options: Status: New catalogue available Status: Catalogue rejected Status: Catalogue accepted Status: Primary check failed An e-mail will be sent as soon as the catalogue has been verified and is available in the Mercateo Catalogue Management. An e-mail will be sent when the supplier or customer rejects the catalogue. An e-mail will be sent when the supplier or customer has released the catalogue. An e-mail will be sent when the catalogue is technically defective. Page 4 of 11
Global Settings Mercateo Global Settings You may find the global e-mail configuration in the superior Settings tab. This Settings tab is next to the Contract and Catalogue versions tabs. Follow these instructions to enter global e-mail settings: 1. Enter the e-mail addresses. 2. Click on Save to confirm. 3. Click on E-mail default settings Transfer preferences to allocate these e-mail addresses to all catalogues, immediately and by a simple click. Page 5 of 11
Automatic release of catalogue versions to the customer Mercateo Automatic release of catalogue versions to the customer Catalogue versions might be forwarded automatically to customers where no manual release is required. Please go to the Contract tab and select E-mail settings. Place a check under Catalogue processing next to release automatically, and click on Save to confirm. All future catalogue versions will be forwarded automatically to the customer from this moment on. LL If you wish to release the catalogue manually again, remove the check and click on Save to confirm. LL An automatic release will be deactivated for exclusive catalogues which are newly connected to the Mercateo Catalogue Management. Activate the Automatic release function in case of need. Catalogues for which an Automatic release is activated, can be found in the overview under the Contract tab. Page 6 of 11
Mercateo Catalogue Versions Overview Catalogue Versions Overview You may find all versions of your catalogues under the Catalogue versions tab. If you, as a supplier, have several catalogues, you may filter by using the Catalogue ID (Prefix). Below, you will find some explanations on the different columns: Catalogue ID (Prefix): Version: Update type: Preview: Status catalogue manager: OK: Processing status: Version date: Category: Customer name: Online: Mercateo will allocate a unique number to each catalogue. Updates will be given a serial number. A new version might be generated based on a new catalogue, new images or even new data sheets. You will see a list of data (catalogue or media data) which were newly transferred. Here, you may take a look at the catalogue. The preview link will be active for five days only, but may be newly requested, at any time, for any version. See the Request Catalogue Preview section. Shows the status of the current version. The customer will only see the new catalogue version if this is set to released. Each catalogue will be verified during loading. Yes will be displayed, if everything is ok. The verification comprises technical and contents features (e.g. correct order of the BMEcat attributes, existence of images) and customer-specific requirements (e.g. the existence of the eclass number). No will be displayed under OK in case of any errors. Shows the last action performed for this version. Shows the date on which the version was generated. Lists the category under which the catalogue will be displayed in Mercateo. The column will help you to distinguish between the individual catalogue versions. Here, you will find the customer belonging to the catalogue version for exclusive catalogues. Shows you the online / offline status of the relevant catalogue version. Page 7 of 11
Mercateo Request Catalogue Preview You may also filter according to the verification status, to get a better overview: Subsequently, confirm your selection by clicking on Apply filter. LL Use the button, to reset the filter, at any time, to its initial condition. Request Catalogue Preview The system automatically creates a new catalogue version and the associated preview when new catalogue data have been transferred by FTP. The catalogue preview will be active for five days. If the preview has expired, you may re-create it, at any time, for each version: 1. Click on the relevant version under Catalogue versions. 2. Go to the Version releases tab. 3. Under Further actions, select Create preview from the drop-down menu and click on OK. 4. The catalogue will be provided again. This might take several minutes. 5. You will then find the preview link in the table containing the Catalogue versions in the Preview column. Page 8 of 11
Verify Catalogue Version Mercateo Verify Catalogue Version Delta Report The Delta Report will show you the differences between the currently selected catalogue version and the catalogue version which was online at the date of receipt. To see it, go to Catalogue versions, and use the Version releases tab. In the Delta report line, click on Download to download the ZIP file including the Excel spreadsheet. Verification Results Test results and an error report will be created for each catalogue version. You may display this information under Catalogue versions / Test results and you may also Download them as a CSV file. LL The download will be available as a CSV file in the Test result column of the table. Please note that no download will be available for some statistic evaluations. Refine your search result by clicking on Filter / Test category or Evaluation. To do this, click on the relevant selection field and confirm your selection by clicking on Apply filter. You may also select several items. For an overview of all verifications and a description of such, please see Annex 1. We recommend verifying the catalogue for critical errors, errors and quality defects. In case of critical errors, it will be impossible to process the entire catalogue, the version will show a no in the OK column. The catalogue may, in its current form, not be released to the customer. The relevant item will not be displayed in case of errors. In case of quality defects, the item will be displayed, but contains minor flaws If you wish to change the catalogue, reject this catalogue version and transfer the changed catalogue version to the FTP account, see the Reject Catalogue Version section. Page 9 of 11
Release Catalogue to the Customer Mercateo Release Catalogue to the Customer If a catalogue version is technically ok and if its contents are correct, it may be released to the customer: 1. Click on the relevant version under Catalogue versions. 2. Go to the Version releases tab. 3. In the Catalogue version line, click on Approve. 4. The catalogue version will then be displayed to the customer in its catalogue management. LL You may also reject a catalogue version. It will then no longer be possible to release it to the customer. Reject Catalogue Version You may reject catalogue versions that are no longer required or contain any defects: 1. Click on the relevant version under Catalogue versions. 2. Go to the Version releases tab. 3. In the Catalogue version line, click on Reject. Page 10 of 11
Version Releases by Customers Mercateo Version Releases by Customers The Online column of the Catalogue versions overview will show you what catalogue version is available online for the customer. Delete Catalogue Version You may delete catalogue versions that are no longer required. 1. Click on the relevant version under Catalogue versions. 2. Then, go to the Version releases tab. 3. Next to Further actions, select Delete catalogue version from the drop-down menu and click on OK. LL The relevant catalogue version will now be deleted. That might take several minutes. The following may be deleted: The latest catalogue version. The version number will be reset as well. All catalogue versions that have not been released to the customer. Page 11 of 11
Critical error Error Quality defects Hint - Catalogue with errors, catalogue cannot be processed - Item with errors, item will not be displayed - Item with quality defects, item will be displayed - General hint Group Category Test criteria Supplier Test description Test category: Delta report Delta report New items Delta report Deleted items Delta report Items with higher prices Delta report Items with lower prices Delta report Test category: General catalogue General catalogue Items with changed delivery periods Tax inconsistent with data in the system. Please contact Mercateo. General catalogue System error. Please contact Mercateo. Currency inconsistent with data in General catalogue the system. Please contact Mercateo. General catalogue No root category found General catalogue Missing images General catalogue Error in the product group system This catalogue contains new items compared to the online version. Items were removed from this catalogue compared to the online version. This catalogue contains items with lower prices compared to the online version. This catalogue contains items whose delivery times are inconsistent with the online version. Tax is inconsistent with details in the Mercateo system for this catalogue. Currency inconsistent with details in Mercateo system for this catalogue. Catalogue structure cannot or not fully be displayed. - no product group system was specified - the allocation of the items to the product groups was incorrect - the BMEcat default was not fulfilled - no or an incorrect root category has been specified - the ARTICLE_ORDER is no integer value General catalogue Catalogue was updated, CSV file however not General catalogue Item is on black list Test category: Syntax Syntax Error while reading the BMEcats Syntax Corrupt contents in CSV file Conditions from one or several separate CSV files are loaded for this catalogue. CSV files have not been updated, despite the update of the catalogue. Conditions might not be up to date. Mercateo is unable to process the catalogue. That might occur, if - the order of the BMEcat tags is incorrect, - the BMEcat tags were incorrectly written, - the mandatory fields (e.g. item name) are missing, - the BMEcat is incomplete, - the BMEcat structure has not been complied with, - an incorrect BMEcat version, e. g. BMEcat2005, has been used, - the character coding is defective. Conditions from one or several CSV files are delivered for this catalogue. However, they cannot be processed. Syntax Non-processed BMEcat fields Valid BMEcat fields that Mercateo cannot process.
Critical error Error Quality defects Hint - Catalogue with errors, catalogue cannot be processed - Item with errors, item will not be displayed - Item with quality defects, item will be displayed - General hint Group Category Test criteria Supplier Test description Test category: Classification systems Classification systems Items without ecl@ss The item does not contain an ecl@ss allocation. - the ECLASS tag is missing - the value is missing - another classification system is used Classification systems Items without UNSPSC The item does not contain a UNSPSC allocation. - the UNSPSC tag is missing - the value is missing - another classification system is used Classification systems Items with ecl@ss6.0 Classification systems Items with ecl@ss5.1.4 Items with ecl@ss6.0 Items with ecl@ss5.1.4 Classification systems Classification systems Items with unknown classification system Item has several allocations to classification systems. These items contain a classification system unknown to Mercateo. They will not be processed. Several goods group allocations exists for this item. Classification systems Items without usable ecl@ss These items are internally listed without ecl@ss number and are therefore more difficult to find. - the item has no ecl@ss number at all - an ecl@ss version exists in the catalogue that is not supported by Mercateo - an ecl@ss version supported by Mercateo exists, but the number used is incorrect Test category: Product-order-details Product-order-details Items without valid order unit Product-order-details Product-order-details Items with adapted order or contents units Items with invalid packaging details The item will not be displayed in case of missing or incorrect order unit details. - the ORDER_UNIT tag is missing - the value is missing - the contained value is invalid. The value must comply with the UN/ECE standard. Order or content unit details were specified for this item that are not supported by Mercateo. Mercateo has adjusted the order unit for this item to the ISO standard. It is possible to specify a contents unit including packaging quantity in addition to the order unit. Incorrect packaging information will be ignored or adjusted. - the value of the content unit is invalid. The value must comply with the UN/ECE standard - the packaging quantity is no numerical value - negative values or 0 are specified for the packaging quantity - if no content unit exists but a packaging quantity has been specified - the same unit is used for order and content unit and if a packaging quantity above 1 exists at the same time Product-order-details Items with invalid order quantity details The article contains invalid information to the least order amount or a wrong combination with the volume discount rate. Inappropriate order indications of quantity are ignored or adapted. - a value is not a integer value - a value is smaller or immediately zero - the volume discount rate is put, but no least order amount is given - the relation of both values is inappropriate - the least order amount does not fit to the lowest scale boundery
Critical error Error Quality defects Hint - Catalogue with errors, catalogue cannot be processed - Item with errors, item will not be displayed - Item with quality defects, item will be displayed - General hint Group Category Test criteria Supplier Test description Test category: Statistics Statistics Number of all items in catalogue Number of items in BMEcat. Contains online items as well as items which are not available online. Statistics Statistics Statistics Statistics Statistics Test category: Product prices Number of all items in catalogue that are available online. Number of all items in catalogue with quality defects Number of all items in catalogue with errors Number of all items with customs number Creditor number found in catalogue Statistics Warehouse query activated Product prices Items without valid price Product prices Items with invalid price quantity Product prices Currency inconsistent with details in Mercateo system for this catalogue. Product prices Items without valid currency Number of all items without error that are available online. Number of all items that are available online but for which a warning exists. Number of all items with an error message. These items are not available online. Number of all items that receive a customs number. A creditor number was stored for this catalogue. A warehouse query has been activated for this catalogue. No or an invalid price has been stored for this item. That applies to individual scale prices as well. Items will not be displayed. - no or incomplete ARTICLE-PRICE tags have been specified - no value, no numerical or a negative value has been specified as price - no price has been stored for the item, while a CSV file (price file) has been stored - no or an incorrect LOWER-BOUND tag has been specified - there are several scale boundaries - prices do not decrease for increasing scales This item has an invalid price quantity (PRICE_QUANTITY). Items will not be displayed. - no value, a negative value or 0 have been specified - no numerical value exists - no integer exists No or an invalid currency has been stored for this item. Items will not be displayed. - no or incomplete PRICE-CURRENCY-tags ave been specified - no value have been specified - the specified value do not correspond with ISO 4217:1995 No or an invalid tax has been stored for this item. Items will not be displayed. - no or incomplete TAX tags have been specified - no value, a negative value or 0 have been specified - a tax rate not supported by Mercateo has been specified Product prices Items without valid tax Mercateo has adjusted the tax rate for this item. - an obsolete tax rate was used in the catalogue - a value exceeding 1 has been specified Product prices Items with prices having more than 2 decimal places A price with more than 2 decimal places has been stored for this item. These decimal places will be cut off. Other shop systems might possibly not be able to handle that. If a price quantity (PRICE_QUANTITY) is used, several decimal places are permissible and might be processed.
Critical error Error Quality defects Hint - Catalogue with errors, catalogue cannot be processed - Item with errors, item will not be displayed - Item with quality defects, item will be displayed - General hint Group Category Test criteria Supplier Test description Test category: Item number missing Item will not be processed and not be displayed. Items with identical item number Item name (short description) missing Item name (short description) too short Long description contains prohibited contents Item in layout catalogue has no images Items with EAN number Several Items with identical item number. Item will not be processed and not be displayed. Item will not be processed and not be displayed. If the item name contains less than 2 (alphanumeric) characters, the item will not be processed and not be displayed. Long description contains contents that are inadmissible according to Mercateo's requirements to the catalogue. These items will not be displayed. Forbidden contents might be: - external links - tables - JavaScript An EAN number exists for these items. Mercateo needs EAN, manufacturer number and name of manufacturer for a unique identification of the item and their allocation to duplicates. Items with manufacturer details Manufacturer details exist for this item. Mercateo needs EAN, manufacturer number and name of manufacturer for a unique identification of the items and their allocation to duplicates. Items with delivery period details A delivery period has been specified for this item. Items with keywords Search terms have been stored for these items. Items with images At least one image has been stored for this item. Items with data sheets At least one data sheet has been stored for this item. Items with safety data sheets A safety data sheet has been stored for this item. Items with hazardous substance indicator Items with eco-label Items with energy label Items with test seal Item with quality seal Item name (short description) too long An identification according to GHS or according to the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances has been stored for these items. One eco-label has been stored for this item. An energy label has been stored for this item. A test seal has been stored for this item. A quality seal has been stored for this item. If the item name contains more than 180 signs, other signs are cut off. Items without valid EAN number In case of incorrect information in the EAN tag, any contents delivered will be ignored. Mercateo needs EAN, manufacturer number and name of manufacturer for a unique identification of the items and their allocation to duplicates. - the EAN tag is missing - the EAN tag is empty - the entered value does not correspond to the EAN/GTIN standard - the same EAN has been assigned several times
Items without valid manufacturer details No unique identification of items and their allocation to duplicates is possible in case of missing or incorrect details. - no manufacturer details exist - the name of the manufacturer is missing - the manufacturer number is missing - several manufacturer numbers exist for the same manufacturer - the manufacturer number is identical to the EAN Item number contains special characters Items with identical item name (short description) Item description incomplete Items with unknown manufacturer information. Please contact Mercateo! The item will be displayed but might not be processed by other systems. Several items have the same item name. No long description and properties exist for this item. Manufacturer details exist for this item. These may, however, not be uniquely identified and mapped to the manufacturer details used by Mercateo. Items might not be allocated to duplicates. Items without valid delivery period details Mercateo will set a standard delivery period if delivery period details are incorrect or missing. - the DELIVERY_TIME tag is missing - the value is missing - the delivery period specified is not an integer Items without images No image for this item. Items without large product images For this catalogue no big product pictures could be generated or these do not exist. Item number too long Item name contains HTML formatting Item number and catalogue ID specified by Mercateo combined have more than 35 characters. The item is displayed, might not however be processed by other systems. HTML formats in item name will be displayed unformatted. Long description contains undesired contents The long description contains contents that adversely effect the product display on Mercateo's site. Undesired contents might be: - HTML formatting - information on returns (might result in confusion, as such are displayed on a separate page) - information on data sheets (might result in confusion, as such are displayed on a separate site) Items with inadmissible keyword information - the search terms specified are too long (max. 1,000 characters) - too many search terms were specified for one item - the same search term was stored several times Items with errors in image allocation One or several images cannot be displayed for this item. - the image specified in the catalogue was not transferred as a file - the format of the transferred file is inconsistent with the format specified in the catalogue - the image is too small - the image exists in a format not supported by Mercate - the image type (MIME_PURPOSE) is not set to normal - the image name does not correspond to Mercateo's defaults (small letters are mandatory, no special characters, spaces or umlauts) - the image name in the catalogue is inconsistent with the name of the transferred file - non-supported formats are used (supported formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP) Items with errors in allocation of data sheets One or several data sheets might not be displayed for this item. - the PDF specified in the catalogue has not been transferred as a file - the image type is not set to data_sheet or safety_data_sheet - the name of the data sheet is inconsistent with the name of the transferred file