You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
342
Oh my gosh so confusing....plus there's also Master products.
At first glance it looks like in Field Service there is no Attributes, Categories, Master products...only Properties.
Is that accurate or no?
Is there somewhere that explains the differences between all of these and maybe explain use cases for each to compare when to use which?
I can only give examples of how I've used and defined Products, etc
Parent - We use this as the base (sorting) for Products. So, C?anon as the Parent for products like Ink Tank Black, Ink Tank Yellow, etc. When used on our Dyn. Portal shopping cart, Filters are shown as "Parent" named Tabs, Parent = C?anon to get the list of specific C?anon Ink Tanks, etc. That's about all I've used Parent for.
Properties - Of a Product/Parent Color = Black or Yellow or Cyan. I've set these up but really haven't tried to refine search, like show me all the Color =Yellow Ink Tanks. Seems the properties are linked to a Parent, so if you change between Parents with different properties, system will warn you. But, still fine. IE You have no Color = X property in ParentB, the list of Properties will change when Parent changed. I would define a few Properties each in different Test Products with different Parents, then change between Parent(s) on a Products. You will see what it does OOTB. Little tough to quickly explain, easy to test.
Unit Group - Per other Replies! It is locked once a Product is created. If you mess up and need to change Unit Group, you will need to create a new Product! I just kept the Unit Group Names very generic, as few as needed. Like Unit Group = Unit, which is suitable for all our random "Each" Products. I also have Unit Group = Roll, Sheet, Ream for the paper products we use/sell. Don't be overly specific with Unit Group Names. Unit Group is really the only inflexible field in a Product.
The Unit from Unit Group is used in the Additional Details / Price List Items of a Product and I believe this would be a very complex OOTB recalculate for all defined Price List / Prices if a Unit Group was ever changed. Instead MS Locked it once create. Unlocking that field will not allow you to change it! Tried that, then recreated a bunch of Products with proper Unit Group.;) Anyway, get your Unit Groups figured out before you create many Products.
I've used Product Relationship to add an Alternate/Similar/Substitute product only.
Sorry, I've had no use for Product Bundles yet.
Hope that helps!
Also, 3 things I have learned...the third being just now:
1. Products cannot change Unit Group after creation so make sure to have those set in stone.
2. Products cannot change Family after create so likewise make sure that is well planned and set.
3. Field Service currently cannot use Product Bundles? Confused by that but maybe I'm reading an old document I don't have the link but it was Microsofts Field Service FAQ.
When you wrote this I was in very similar shoes.
...and I still am because I had to put this on hold for a bit.
Now I'm back at it and would love to know what you've discovered!!!
I don't know if any of this will help but as we all collaborate and participate hopefully we can help each other.
Bundles/Kits
Per this document Bundles seem to be a newer and slightly different version of kits.
docs.microsoft.com/.../create-manage-product-families-products-bundles-product-properties
Categories vs Families for Products
I've still not figured this one out except to find that there doesn't seem to be any easy way OOB to sort/filter/search by Categories.
We currently don't see a need for Subject so will be leaving that alone. Likewise we plan to leave Categories alone for now too. With Families we'll start by keeping it pretty high level with few families and children.
For us, we need a more flexible way to attach meta data to products rather than a hierarchy. Hierarchies tend to be inflexible. We have lots of products that can fit into multiple hierarchies so need a way to allow for that. I think of the term Tag and at some point will probably implement with an additional field on the Product entity but don't know if I'll do that for our initial rollout.
Here is another write-up regarding Products and Services, in case you haven't come across it yet.
https://neilparkhurst.com/2016/09/01/field-service-products-and-services/
Best of luck,
Hartmut
Thank you.
Yes I know those are the documents. I've gone through many of them.
If you find a resource that explains things a bit more as a whole then let me know.
Again. I need to figure out the pros/cons and use cases for:
- Product Categories & Attributes vs Product Families & Properties
- Product Kits vs Product Bundles
I did find that we probably don't want to use Subjects with regards to products...at least not for anything right now.
Hi,
Here are the official documentations on the concepts.
Set up product families | Microsoft Docs
Set up product bundles to sell multiple items | Microsoft Docs
Manage attributes and attribute groups - Commerce | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Docs
Use properties to describe a product (Dynamics 365 Sales) | Microsoft Docs
Define subjects to categorize cases, products, and articles - Power Platform | Microsoft Docs
Hi,
Then you can refer to the following article.
Understanding the Dynamics 365 Product Catalog | Products (encorebusiness.com)
Well no I don't THINK so.
In doing the research to prepare the data for adding Products to our implementation there are so many tables to figure out the relationships of an purposes of:
Products, Product Families, Product Family Properties, Product Family Property Option Sets, Price Lists, Price List Items, Bundles, Bundled Products, Unit Groups, Units, Subjects, etc.
...and there so much confusing information out there. ...some of it stems I think from use of different wording such as:
Manage Attributes and Groups of Products
Set up Product Families
Use Properties to describe a Product
Classify Products and Bundles into Product Families
Define a Product Hierarchy by using the Category Hierarchy features in Commerce
...creates a dizzying array of questions like:
When would I use a Product Category hierarchy instead of a Product Family hierarchy
When would I use Product Attributes instead of Product Properties
Whats the difference between a Product Kit and a Product Bundle
What is the purpose of Subject when creating Products and Product Families
etc.
Lots of searching has found me no source that helps summarize in order to give me better focus.
Hi,
Do you mean Asset Properties?
If yes, please refer to the following documentation:
Asset properties in Dynamics 365 Field Service | Microsoft Docs
Stay up to date on forum activity by subscribing. You can also customize your in-app and email Notification settings across all subscriptions.
#1
André Arnaud de Cal...
291,253
Super User 2024 Season 2
#2
Martin Dráb
230,188
Most Valuable Professional
#3
nmaenpaa
101,156
Share
Report
All responses (
Answers (