The Commerce Cloud B2C allows you to sync your B2C catalog name, product classes and templates into PIM via the synchronize setup data job. This synchronization job should be run once during implementation to initialize the appropriate data structures in PIM and any time after when you change B2C classes or templates.

How it Works

The sync setup job synchronizes  two types of templates from B2C to PIM: Product templates and variant templates. Each template has several properties for the product or variant (such as SKU, name and all custom properties for the specific product class).

• B2C Product templates inherit the base class ProductContent.
• B2C Variant templates inherit the base class VariationContent.

By default the sync setup job synchronizes all product and variant template classes in B2C to PIM. It is possible to exclude product and variant classes from synchronization by decorating them with the PimNoSync attribute. It is generally recommended that you create a template for each leaf level category in order to enforce proper data governance. See Define category trees and categories in Optimizely PIM for product category design best practices.

By contrast, the sync setup job excludes all properties by default, and any properties you want to be synchronized must be enabled on a per property basis using the PimSync attribute. If a property is enabled for synchronization, PIM will automatically create this property if it does not already exist in PIM and assign it to the specified product or variant templates. If the property does exists inside PIM and is of the same type in both PIM and B2C then PIM will assign it automatically to the specified product or variant template. If the property exists inside PIM but is of a different type than B2C, then PIM will not assign it and you will have to map it to its associated templates separately.

Run the Sync Setup job

The Sync Setup job is configured in the B2C administration panel.

1. From the administration panel, click PIM: Synchronize setup data.
2. To enable the sync setup job, check Activate.
3. Select an appropriate schedule to run the job.

There are two ways to schedule the sync setup job: by setting a recurrence interval, or entering a specific time to run the job.

• Scheduled job interval: Use this input to configure a recurrence interval. This will run the job every n intervals (seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.) as specified. In most cases, sync setup jobs do not need to be run often, and can be manually run only when changes to classes or properties are made in B2C.
• Next scheduled date: Use this input to select a specific date and time to run the job once. Click the ellipses to pick a datetime to run the job, for example, in the next minute.

Configure Sync Attributes for B2C Classes and Properties

The B2C sync setup job normally runs in a completely automated fashion. All classes in B2C will automatically be synced to PIM and data types for any included properties will be converted from their native .NET data types into PIM data types. This behavior can be modified, however, by setting attributes on the relevant B2C classes or properties.

Controlling Sync Behavior with B2C Attributes

Below is a list of different attributes that can be used to control the integration between the B2C classes and PIM. These attributes must be added to classes within B2C.

Attribute name	Applies to	Description
PimNoSync	Product or variant classes	Prevents a template class to be synchronized.
PimSync	Properties in a product or variant class	Synchronize the property over to PIM. Fields marked with the Sync property will automatically be read-only inside B2C.
CultureSpecific	Properties in a product or variant class	Built into B2C. Allows for translations of the specific field.
Required	Properties in a product or variant class	Build into B2C. Marks a field as required.
Recommended	Properties in a product or variant class	Builds into B2C.

Data Type Compatibility

When syncing data between B2C and PIM, it is important to note that data type conversions will automatically be applied in order to map data appropriately. The following table explains the data type conversions that take place during sync:

B2C ASP.NET Type	Maps to PIM type
string	Text field
int	Number
bool	Boolean
LongString	Text area
DictionarySingleValue, EnumSingleValue	Radio button
DictionaryMultiValue, EnumMultiValue	Multiselect
DictionarySingleValue, EnumSingleValue	Dropdown
XHtmlString	HTML
Date	Date picker
DateTime	Date/Time picker