What is a Catalog?
In Amaze PCC, a catalog is the central structure where product data is collected, organized, enriched, and distributed. It acts as the container for product content, including products (SKUs), categories (taxonomy), attributes, and related assets.
Catalogs enable organizations to:
Onboard supplier product data.
Apply rules for standardization and transformation.
Enrich and manage attributes consistently.
Publish data to downstream systems and channels.
In essence, catalogs form the foundation of product content management in PCC.
Types of Catalogs
a. Default PCC Catalog
Concept: The Default PCC Catalog is a pre-configured product catalog available in every Amaze PCC environment. It serves as the primary or baseline catalog for organizing and managing product data when no other distributor-specific catalog has been created yet.
When to Use:
As a quick-start catalog during initial setup.
For testing or proof-of-concept exercises.
As a reference framework when designing custom catalogs.
b. Distributor Staging Catalog
Concept: A Distributor Staging Catalog is a temporary workspace where supplier product data is first onboarded before it moves into the Distributor Catalog (the production-ready catalog). It is not meant to be the system of record but instead acts as an intermediate environment for cleaning, validating, and preparing supplier data.
Purpose: Acts as a safe environment to validate, transform, and test data before it enters production. The distributor can export the cleansed/normalized data to their external PIMs. This makes the Staging Catalog a flexible integration point, especially for organizations with hybrid ecosystems.
When to Use:
During supplier onboarding, especially for distributors using external PIMs.
To run data quality checks and apply transformation rules.
As a sandbox for experimentation without impacting live data.
c. Distributor Main Catalog
Concept: The Distributor Catalog is the primary operational catalog that functions as the system of record for distributor provided product data. It contains the complete list of products along with their details and specifications, making it the trusted source for syndication and distribution. This type of catalog is typically used when the distributor adopts PCC as their Product Information Management (PIM) system.
Purpose: Holds curated, enriched, and approved data ready for business use.
When to Use:
The distributor is using PCC as their PIM system.
For day-to-day product operations, such as updating attributes, adding new SKUs, or maintaining images and digital assets.
Supplier data has already been cleaned, validated from staging catalog and is ready for final use.
Product data needs to be syndicated to downstream systems such as:
ERP systems
E-commerce platforms or marketplaces
Partner or channel integrations
d. Consolidated Catalog
Concept: A Consolidated Catalog is a specialized catalog in PCC designed to merge and harmonize product data from multiple source catalogs (such as supplier catalogs, distributor catalogs, or staging catalogs) into a single, unified record. It leverages consolidation rules — like attribute value ranking, node map ranking, and matching logic to resolve conflicts and determine the most accurate or preferred values. Unlike staging or distributor catalogs, which deal with single data streams, the consolidated catalog provides a multi-source, reconciled view of products.
Purpose: Acts as act as a single source of truth when product information comes from multiple suppliers, partners, or systems. Resolves conflicts between sources using consolidation rules and produces a single, trusted product record.
When to Use:
When multiple suppliers provide overlapping product information.
To harmonize attribute values (e.g., “Red” vs. “Dark Red”) and such conflicts are resolved according to business-defined rules.
To create a unified product view for analytics, reporting, or master data governance.
When a single, trusted catalog is needed to unify feeds for downstream systems (e.g., ERP, marketplaces, or partner platforms) and syndication across multiple channels.
Onboarding Methods for Catalogs
When creating a new catalog in PCC, you select an Onboarding Method, which defines how data will flow into the catalog:
Regular Onboarding
Standard method where data is directly onboarded into the catalog.
Suitable for Distributor or Staging catalogs.
Consolidated Onboarding
Special method where a catalog is designated as a Consolidated Catalog.
Combines and reconciles data from multiple contributing catalogs.
Requires configuration of Consolidation Rules (e.g., Attribute Value Ranking, Node Map Ranking, Matching Logic).
Other Methods (via DataBridge / Channels)
Data can be onboarded through integration pipelines (CRUD or Enrich Channels).
Ensures flexibility for supplier feeds, third-party systems, or custom integrations.
Conceptual Flow of Catalogs
Suppliers → Staging Catalog
Supplier data is imported and validated.
Staging Catalog → Distributor Catalog
Cleaned, transformed, and approved data becomes the distributor’s system of record.
Multiple Catalogs → Consolidated Catalog
Data from different sources is merged and harmonized into a unified, trusted catalog.
Distributor / Consolidated Catalog → Channels
Final product data is syndicated to ERP, marketplaces, and digital commerce platforms.