Product Type Hierarchy

The Product Type Hierarchy feature within the Product domain provides organizations with a structured framework to define a hierarchy of product types, each associated with specific sets of attributes. This hierarchy serves as the foundation for organizing and categorizing products based on their characteristics and attributes.

In the Product domain, there are five predefined hardened product types available, serving as a starting point for product categorization. These product types can be further customized and subtyped to create a tailored product type hierarchy that aligns precisely with the organization's unique requirements. Moreover, organizations can attach specifications (specs) to any product type within the hierarchy, specifying the exact data to capture when creating products of that type. These specs cascade down to descendant product types, ensuring consistency and data integrity.

The product type hierarchy is considered metadata, defining the types of products that can be created and the attributes that can receive values once a particular product is created. It's crucial to exercise caution when defining the product type hierarchy, as changing it after creating a product and assigning it a particular product type can be challenging.

Provided Preconfigured Product Types

The following five product types are provided for immediate use:

1. Goods Product
2. Service Product
3. Financial Product
4. Insurance Product
5. Medical Product

These five product types are categorized as hard types, meaning they come with an associated data model and services to support them. For example, the Medical Product type is associated with the MEDICALPRODUCT database table and is supported by services like AddMedicalProduct and UpdateMedicalProduct for maintenance.

Organizations can subtype any of the hard product types to create customized product subtypes, and this customization can extend further through subtyping. The result is a product type hierarchy that encompasses various product types and the data that can be captured for each product.

It's essential to differentiate the product type hierarchy from the category hierarchy. While the product type hierarchy defines the types of products and their associated attributes, the category hierarchy is employed to group products into hierarchical structures.

Use Cases for Product Type Hierarchy:

• Banking Products: Financial institutions can utilize the Product Type Hierarchy to systematically classify banking products, including savings accounts, credit cards, loans, and investment products. Each product type can have specific attributes and data requirements, ensuring accurate record-keeping and regulatory compliance.
• Retail Merchandise: Retailers can employ this hierarchy to categorize their merchandise, such as clothing, electronics, appliances, and groceries. By defining distinct product types for each category, they can capture relevant product details and specifications, enhancing inventory management and sales.
• Manufacturing Variants: Manufacturing companies can implement a product type hierarchy to distinguish between various product variants and configurations. This aids in managing production processes and effectively tracking product variations.