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Products and Assets Data Model

Configure the Data Model for your Products

This guide helps you in the design and maintenance of the Product Data Model in THRON. The product data model centralizes information by defining data, structures and connections with content and channels.

To proceed, make sure you are an Administrator or have the "Can manage product data modeling" permission.

 

Fundamental Entities

The entities define what describes the product and how that data feeds contents, enrichments and publications. This alignment ensures that content and variations are consistent throughout the life cycle via shared attributes and taxonomies.

  • Attributes: The base unit of the Data Model. Each attribute defines a specific characteristic and contains configurations on how it is represented and managed.

  • Attribute Groups: Logical containers that group homogeneous attributes by category or function, ensuring order and scalability.

  • Families: Templates that define the data structure of a homogeneous set of product sheets, reducing information "noise".

  • Variations: Manage multiple configurations (size, color) avoiding duplicates and exploiting automatic inheritance.

 

Let's get started

To proceed, make sure you are an Administrator or have the "Can manage product data modeling" permission

1 Defining the Attributes

  1. Navigate to Platform Settings → Products → Attributes.

  2. Choose the attribute type and define its name

  3. Decide whether it is a localized attribute or not. This choice cannot be changed later.

  4. Organize them into logical groups (e.g. Commercial, Technical, SEO).

## In-depth Articles
- Creation of Product Attributes
- How to logically group your attributes

 

2 Creation of the Family

  1. Log in to Platform Settings → Products → Families.

  2. Choose a clear name that describes the type of product (e.g. Shoes, Bags, etc.)

  3. In the Family Configuration assign the attributes that will be part of the family

## In-depth Articles
- How to configure Families

 

3 Configure the Family with Variations (optional)

  1. If you need to manage hierarchies use Variations (e.g. color or size)

  2. Define the rules of inheritance and identify which attributes vary at the variant level.

## In-depth Articles
How to configure Variations for the Family

 

4 Create the structure of Catalogs and product categories

Not all products go everywhere. The Catalogs are the "containers" that allow you to differentiate the offer: you can have one for the Shopify store, one for Amazon but also a specific one for the Asian Market or for the US market.

What to do:

  1. Create your Catalogs: Go to Platform Settings → Products → Catalogs. Use clear codes (e.g. shop-retail-eu).

  2. Design the Tree structure: Create the Categories to organize products within each catalog. You can nest them up to 10 levels deep to manage even the most complex taxonomies.

  3. Localize the names: Translate category labels for each active market (Locales). The system will automatically show the correct name to your international customers.

Quick tips

If you are starting out: do not create a structure that is too deep. Keep a maximum of 3 levels of categories (e.g. Men > Footwear > Sneakers) to ensure browsing speed and ease of mapping to external channels.

Agile movements: If you need to reorganize the hierarchy, use the Move function to change the "parent" of a category or reorder it relative to the others.

Monitoring: Click on the counter next to each category to instantly see the list of linked products and verify catalog coverage.

 

## In-depth Articles
- How to organize products into catalogs and categories

 

5 Configure relations between products (optional)

If you need to create one-way relations between products add a Reference attribute to the family. Use this attribute when the reference product is a component, an accessory or a part of the product (for example bundle, accessories, upsell etc)

 

Best practice

  • Keep the model lean: limit attributes to those necessary for identification, search and filters.

  • Prefer shallow hierarchies and relations only when they bring concrete value.

  • Before extending changes to the entire catalog, apply progressive changes and test them on a representative subset to reduce the risk of unforeseen impacts

 

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

  • Inconsistencies in the catalog: Verify that mandatory attributes are filled in and taxonomies are aligned.

  • Product not visible: Check that family and variations comply with the minimum data for identification and search.

Practical Examples by Sector

  • Fashion: Families (Shoes, Accessories) with Color x Size variants.

  • Furniture: Families (Sofas, Tables) with variants for covering and module configuration.

  • Cosmetics: Variants for shade and format (30ml, 50ml).

  • Manufacturing: Focus on Mechanical components, Small parts and Tools.

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