A catalogue becomes complex when the same offer changes by variant, customer, market, availability, or commercial rule.
Topic
Separate products and variants
The product describes what a customer chooses; the variant identifies what is sold and managed. Mixing the two creates duplication, inconsistent filters, and difficult updates.
Topic
Price may depend on context
Price lists, quantity, customer, market, and period can produce different prices. Rule priority should be explicit and testable before the value reaches the basket.
Topic
Availability and sellability
Having stock does not always mean an item can be sold. Geography, channel, customer, and product composition may restrict sellability even when inventory exists.
Topic
Design before migrating
Before importing thousands of rows, define entities, relationships, and rules. A fast migration into the wrong model makes every later correction more expensive.
Example
Blor Company
A public example of this structure is the Blor Company catalogue: the same item exists in several variants and is published across 43 language and country combinations, with around 800 products per market and one catalogue serving both consumer and gym customers.
Visit Blor Company →Checklist
What to verify
- Product separated from variant
- Pricing-rule priority
- Sellability separated from stock
- Data model validated before import