3 questions from the package
From the RFI round. The first shows part of the guide each question carries; the workbook adds follow-ups, how to verify the answer, a priority and a weight.
1. List the attribute types your data model supports natively, for example text, rich text, number, measurement with unit, date, boolean, single-select, multi-select, asset reference, product reference and structured table.
Why it matters. When a needed attribute type is missing, teams store structured values as free text. Those values then cannot be validated, filtered or mapped to channel fields.
Good answer
- Each type is listed with its configurable constraints, such as minimum and maximum, decimal places and allowed values
- The measurement type stores the numeric value and the unit as separate fields
- Reference types link to other products or assets without copying their values
Red flags
- Measurements are stored as text strings such as "12 kg"
- Adding options to a select list requires a developer or a release
- Table-like data is held only as a text blob or through custom code
2. Can one product be assigned at the same time to nodes in [parallel taxonomy count] separate category hierarchies, such as merchandising, web navigation and industry classification?
Why it matters. If a product can sit in only one hierarchy, the buyer ends up keeping merchandising, navigation and industry classification in spreadsheets or duplicate records outside the PIM. Those copies drift apart and channels receive inconsistent categories.
3. At which levels can an administrator restrict who may view or edit product data, for example by role, attribute group, single attribute, category, locale or lifecycle state?
Why it matters. If edit rights can only be set by role across the whole product record, the buyer must either give contributors access to fields owned by other teams, such as regulated or commercial fields, or block them from the fields they are responsible for.
Capability areas
Data Modeling & Product Structures (12)
Attribute types, attribute groups and families, category-specific attributes, units of measure and conversions, variants and variant axes, bundles, kits, configurable products, and product-to-product relationships, all configured by business users. Excludes taxonomy design, which is covered in TAX, and locale-specific values, which are covered in LOC.
Taxonomy & Classification (8)
Internal category hierarchies, multiple parallel taxonomies such as merchandising, channel and industry classification schemes, mapping between taxonomies, attribute inheritance from categories, and reclassification of products at scale. Excludes channel-specific category mapping at publish time, which is covered in SYN.
Authoring, Workflow & Audit (12)
The business-user authoring interface, bulk editing, role- and attribute-level permissions, configurable enrichment and approval workflows, task routing, versioning, rollback and the per-attribute change history. Excludes automated quality rules (QUA) and generative assistance (AIE). Includes product lifecycle states (new introduction, active, discontinued, end-of-life) and what each state allows.
Data Quality, Completeness & Validation (10)
Completeness scoring by channel and locale, validation rules, format and value constraints, duplicate detection, and quality gates that block or flag products before publication. Excludes the destination's own validation feedback after submission, which is covered in SYN and TPX.
AI-Assisted Enrichment (11)
Generative descriptions, attribute extraction from text, images and documents, classification suggestions, translation drafts, and the human review step before AI output is saved or published, all measured on the buyer's real catalog. Excludes generic model governance, safety and AI cost, which the cross-cutting AI modules cover.
Channel Syndication & Marketplace Output (13)
Outbound feeds to marketplaces, e-commerce storefronts, social channels and print or PDF output, including per-channel attribute mapping, value transformation, channel requirement validation, scheduling, and ingestion of listing status and error feedback. Excludes data-pool and retailer-portal exchange, which is covered in TPX. Includes channel- and customer-specific assortments and B2B customer catalogs.
Trading-Partner & Data-Pool Exchange (9)
Publication to product data pools, retailer and distributor portals, and B2B partners, including partner-specific attribute requirements, subscription and publication management, handling of acknowledgments and rejections, and hierarchy and packaging data. Excludes consumer marketplace listings, which are covered in SYN.
Digital Assets & Product Media (10)
Native or integrated storage of images, video and documents; asset-to-product and asset-to-variant linking; renditions and transformations per channel; asset metadata, usage rights and expiry; and the propagation of asset changes to channels. Excludes general enterprise DAM functions unrelated to product content.
Supplier Onboarding & Inbound Product Data (10)
Supplier portals and feed ingestion, mapping of supplier files to the buyer's model, reusable mapping templates, value normalization, supplier-facing validation feedback, and staging before data enters the main catalog. Excludes ERP and PLM source-system feeds, which are covered in SRC.
Source-System Data Flow & Product Mastering (11)
Data ownership per attribute across ERP, PLM and PIM; merge and precedence rules when sources conflict; change propagation and event triggers on product updates; bulk import and export at catalog scale; and the product record's relationship to other master data. Excludes generic API, SDK and identity integration, which the integration module covers.
Product Content Localization & Market Compliance (9)
Locale- and market-specific attribute values, translation workflows and status tracking, fallback rules, market-specific assortments, and regulatory, safety and sustainability attributes that vary by market. Excludes localization of the product's own user interface, which the i18n-localization module covers.
Digital Shelf, Content Performance & Machine-Readable Output (8)
Digital-shelf monitoring of live listings, content performance analytics tied back to product records, and structured, machine-readable product output for search engines and AI shopping agents. Excludes general BI and reporting unrelated to product content.
