Skip to main content

BPAS

+91 98404 81581 Contact Us Contact Us
+91 98404 81581 Contact Us
+91 98404 81581

E-commerce API and Content Store

Perfion PIM · Complete Feature Guide

E-commerce API and Content Store Perfion Data Delivery Guide

Deliver product data in the shape each system expects, and share it with teams, dealers and the public through a branded portal: products with their variants, named for the receiver, in every language, from the same record.

See It for Your Business What this guide covers

The Perfion E-commerce API delivers product data to commerce and web systems as sites, categories, products and variants, ready to use. A channel holds the configuration for each receiving system, and each mapping names a feature the way that system expects, with every value tagged by its culture. The Content Store shares selected product information and assets with teams, partners or the public through a branded portal, with collections that stay current.

Written for e-commerce, IT, marketing and sales teams · By , Founder and Solution Architect · Last updated BPAS · Exclusive Boyum Practice. India's No.1 Customer-referred Boyum IT Partner.

At a glance

Perfion name
E-commerce API, channels and the Content Store
Where
The E-commerce API answers through the Perfion web service; the Content Store is a hosted portalChannelsMappingsContent StoreThe Content Store is an add-on with its own licence
Used by
E-commerce, IT, marketing and sales teamsSystems call the API; teams and partners use the store
Works with
Localizable featuresImages and filesE-commerce connectors
Four commerce entities
4 entities the E-commerce API deliversSiteCategoryProductVariant
How It Works

How Perfion delivers product data, to every system and partner

Each receiving system gets a channel and mappings, one request returns the catalogue in the shape it expects, and a Content Store shares selected content with the people who need it.

  1. Set up a channel

    A channel in the E-commerce API holds the configuration for one receiving system: a website, an app, a shop or a custom integration.

  2. Map once, named for the receiver

    Each mapping takes a Perfion feature, sets its output kind and names the output the way the receiving system expects.

  3. Request the catalogue

    One GetProducts request returns products with their variants, categories, images and files, each value tagged with its culture.

  4. Open a Content Store

    A branded Content Store shares the product information and assets chosen in Perfion with teams, partners or the public.

  5. Find, download and share

    Users search, download in the format they need, and share collections as a fixed zip or a live view.

An illustration, not a screenshot: a channel’s mappings, and one product returned with its variants and image.
Custom Feeds vs Perfion

Custom feeds and emailed files vs Perfion: what changes when systems and partners read from the record

Custom feeds reshape exported data for each system by hand, and partners are sent files. The E-commerce API delivers commerce-shaped data to each system, and the Content Store lets partners find current content themselves.

Product data delivered by custom exports and emailed files compared with Perfion's E-commerce API, channels, mappings and Content Store, as described in Boyum IT Solutions' Perfion documentation.
Task Custom feeds and emailed files Perfion E-commerce API and Content Store
A system with no connector A custom export script, rewritten when fields change. Products, variants and categories from the E-commerce API.
Field names Renamed by hand in every export. Named for the receiving system in each mapping.
Several systems One script, copied and edited for each. A channel for each; shared mappings written once.
Variants Flattened into rows, regrouped by hand. Returned nested under their product.
Languages A separate file for each language. Each value tagged with its culture.
Partner downloads Images emailed or left on a shared drive. A branded Content Store, with a login or public access.
Who sees what Anyone with the link sees everything. Only authorised users view or download what is shared.
Old content Old files keep circulating. Updates in Perfion reflected in the store.

See how your own systems and partners would be served from Perfion.

See it for your business
Capabilities in Depth

Perfion E-commerce API and Content Store capabilities: eight ways to deliver product data

Each capability shows what it does in Perfion and what it is worth to the business.

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The E-commerce API is built for delivering product data to commerce and web systems. It models the entities those systems expect, sites, categories, products and variants, and delivers them ready to use, so a single GetProducts request returns products with their variants, categories and assets. It runs Perfion’s own connectors for Sana Commerce, Shopify, Adobe Commerce and BigCommerce, and it is equally available for any platform, CMS or custom integration where no dedicated connector exists. Where the general Perfion API returns data in Perfion’s own structure, the E-commerce API is configured in detail beforehand, so a request needs only a few parameters.

  • Sites, categories, products and variants
  • One GetProducts request for the catalogue
  • Behind the standard connectors, open to any platform

Executive ROI Value

A website, app or platform without a standard connector gets product data in the shape it needs, without a custom export to build and maintain.

  • Any platform
  • Less custom code

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

A channel in the E-commerce API is a unit of configuration. Several channels can be configured differently, to deliver different data in different formats to different shops. One shop needs one channel; a second shop needs its own channel, unless it can live with exactly the same data. Mappings and settings marked as a * mapping exist on every channel, so what the shops share is written once and only the differences are set for each channel.

  • One channel for each receiving system
  • Different data and formats for each
  • Shared mappings written once with a star

Executive ROI Value

Each new shop or system starts from what is already shared, and the differences between shops are easy to see.

  • Faster new shops
  • Less repetition

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

A mapping takes a Perfion feature, says what kind of output it is through its output kind, and gives the output the name that makes sense to the receiving system. A context mapping tells the API where each entity’s data is held, a key field carries each product’s unique key, and fields, images and attachments carry the rest. A product can hold almost any kind of data, from text, numbers and dates to images and files, with values that differ by language or hold more than one value, and the API maps more or less all of it into a commerce-friendly shape.

  • From a feature, by output kind, to a name
  • Key fields, fields, images and attachments
  • Localizable and multi-value data carried

Executive ROI Value

The receiving system gets fields with the names it already uses, so nobody renames columns after every export.

  • Named right
  • No rework

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

With variant support, the API knows which items are products and which are their variants. A variant has at least one feature value that sets it apart from the other variants of the same product, such as colour, size or model: its variant dimensions. Perfion supports any number of variant dimensions, though the receiving system can limit them, and most support at least three. Each item is marked as a product or a variant, each variant names its product and sits under it in the item hierarchy, and products are returned with their variants nested inside.

  • Products and variants told apart
  • Any number of variant dimensions in Perfion
  • Variants returned nested under their product

Executive ROI Value

The shop shows one product with a choice of finishes or sizes, instead of a long list of near-identical items.

  • Cleaner catalogue
  • Easier buying

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Values from localizable features are output for each language with its culture, and the API outputs the languages chosen for it. Where the receiving system expects other culture names, or one language under several cultures, a language deviation maps them. Images come with their identifier, original file name and a web address that returns the image at the size set for the API, 1,024 pixels by default, keeping its aspect ratio; attachments come with an address to the file. Timestamps can be returned in a set time zone, and UTC is recommended.

  • Each value tagged with its culture
  • Language deviations for other culture names
  • Images at a set size, files by address

Executive ROI Value

Every language and every image reaches the receiving system in the form it expects, from the same record.

  • Every language
  • Right size

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The Content Store is a portal for sharing selected product information and digital assets with people who do not work in Perfion. Boyum describes three uses: an internal store that gives sales and support teams current product information; an external store that gives business partners the latest data and assets to market and sell the products; and a public asset portal where agencies, PR firms or consumers download high-quality images, videos and other assets. A store can require a login or allow public access, permissions decide who can view or download what, and organisations can be given access to specific categories. A business can run several stores, with a landing page that takes users between them.

  • Internal, external and public stores
  • Login or public access, with permissions
  • Category access for each organisation

Executive ROI Value

Dealers, agencies and the sales team serve themselves with current content instead of waiting for someone to email it.

  • Self-service
  • Controlled

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Each store carries the company’s branding: its name, a logo, a header image, a background image on the welcome screen and colours for screen elements, with custom pages of formatted text. The first part of the store’s web address can be chosen, and a store can run on the company’s own domain. Interface languages and data languages are chosen for each store, and users pick their language from a selector. The product information and assets each store shares are chosen in Perfion, and the category feature sets how items are grouped.

  • Logo, images, colours and custom pages
  • Own web address or custom domain
  • Interface and data languages for each store

Executive ROI Value

Partners see a portal that looks like the company and speaks their language, not a folder of files.

  • On brand
  • Every language

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Users find items by category, by search, including image and file names, and with filters, and see each item’s details with previews of images, PDF files and videos. Items go into a basket and are downloaded in several formats and quality settings, and a download package can be sent to several email addresses at once. Groupings of items can be saved as collections and shared by email, as a link to a fixed zip file or to a live view of the collection, with people inside or outside the organisation. A store can ask users to accept terms and conditions before they download.

  • Search, filters and previews
  • Downloads in several formats and qualities
  • Collections shared as a zip or a live view

Executive ROI Value

Partners get exactly the content they need, in the format they need, and a live link keeps showing what Perfion holds.

  • Right format
  • Always current
Core Concepts

5 Core Concepts of the E-commerce API and Content Store in Perfion

The first shapes data for commerce and the second sets up each receiving system. The third tells products from variants, the fourth shares content without opening Perfion, and the last keeps everyone on live content.

  1. Concept 01 · Commerce entities, not raw data

    Deliver Product Data in the Shape the Shop Expects

    The product data problem it solves

    The company website runs on a CMS with no standard Perfion connector. An agency writes a script that exports every item and rebuilds products, finishes and images from flat rows. Each time a feature is added, the script breaks and the site shows last month’s data.

    The concept explained

    The E-commerce API is built for commerce. Instead of returning data in Perfion’s own structure for someone to reshape, it delivers the entities commerce systems work with: sites, categories, products and variants, each product carrying its fields, images and files. The shaping is configured once in Perfion, with mappings and settings, so a single GetProducts request returns the catalogue ready to use. The same API sits behind Perfion’s own e-commerce connectors.

    Everyday analogy

    A tailor who keeps your measurements. Each new order takes one line, because the fitting was done once.

    In Perfion

    Both the E-commerce API and the general Perfion API are reached through the Perfion web service and answer in XML. A request to the E-commerce API calls a method with a few parameters, such as the channel and, if needed, the product keys and the mappings to include.

    Related:
    BPAS method · toolDeploy EnterpriseDesign before configurationThe data model is designed and signed off before anything is configured: the Design phase of toolDeploy Enterprise.
    Deliver product data in the shape the shop expectsLeft: a general Perfion API query returns raw items in Perfion's own structure: item 721 with item number BT-410, item 722 with finish chrome, item 722 with parent 721, and item 723 with an image identifier; the receiving system has to reshape it with its own code. Right: one GetProducts request to the E-commerce API returns the category Basin mixers, the product BT-410 with its three variants, chrome, matt black and brushed gold, nested inside it, and its main image. Bottom: the API is shaped for commerce with sites, categories, products and variants, runs Perfion's own connectors, and serves any platform without one.The same product, two ways out of PerfionGeneral query · Perfion's structureItem 721 · ItemNo = BT-410Item 722 · Finish = ChromeItem 722 · Parent = 721Item 723 · Image = 4f2c…Reshaped by your codeE-commerce API · GetProductsCategory · Basin mixersProduct · BT-410 · Basin mixerVariant · ChromeVariant · Matt blackVariant · Brushed goldImage · Main ImageShaped for commerce: site, category, product, variantIt runs Perfion's own connectors, and serves any platform that has none.
    The same basin mixer two ways: raw items from a general query, or one product with its variants, category and image from the E-commerce API.
  2. Concept 02 · Separate where needed, shared where possible

    Give Each Receiving System Its Own Channel, and Share the Rest

    The product data problem it solves

    The website and the dealer ordering app both need product data, but the website shows MRP and the app shows dealer prices. One export is copied and edited for the app, and a fix to the image field is made in one copy only.

    The concept explained

    A channel holds the configuration for one receiving system. Two systems that need different products, fields or formats get a channel each; two that can live with exactly the same data can share one. What the channels have in common is written once as a * mapping, which exists on every channel, and each channel keeps only what makes it different. With three shared mappings and one price mapping each, two channels need five lines instead of eight.

    Everyday analogy

    A school uniform with a house badge. Everyone wears the same uniform; only the badge differs.

    In Perfion

    Settings follow the same pattern as mappings: a setting marked with a star applies to every channel. The configuration itself is held in Perfion, as a set of features whose names begin with ECommerce.

    Related:
    Give each receiving system its own channel, and share the restTop: the star channel, shared by all channels, holds three mappings: ItemNo to Item No, ItemName to Title, and Image to Main Image. Below it, two channels: Web, for the company website, adds one mapping of MRP to RetailPrice; Dealer, for the dealer ordering app, adds one mapping of DealerPrice to UnitPrice. Bottom: five lines do the work of eight; each channel gets the shared mappings plus its own.Shared mappings written once, for every channel* · All channelsItemNo → Item NoItemName → TitleImage → Main ImageChannel · WebCompany websiteMRP → RetailPriceChannel · DealerDealer ordering appDealerPrice → UnitPriceFive lines do the work of eightEach channel gets the shared mappings, plus only what makes it different.
    Three shared mappings on the star channel, and one price mapping each for the website and the dealer app: five lines instead of eight.
  3. Concept 03 · Products and variants, told apart

    Tell the API Which Items Are Products and Which Are Variants

    The product data problem it solves

    A basin mixer comes in chrome, matt black and brushed gold. The website receives three separate products with near-identical names, customers cannot see that they are one design, and the site team groups them again by hand.

    The concept explained

    With variant support on, every item the API should deliver is marked as a product or a variant. Each variant names the product it belongs to and sits under it in the item hierarchy, though not necessarily directly. The features that set variants apart are the variant dimensions: finish, size, colour or model. The API then returns each product with its variants nested inside it. Products with no variants are marked as products too, because once variant support is on, items marked as neither are left out.

    Everyday analogy

    A family photo with the names written underneath. Everyone is in one picture, and you can still tell who is who.

    In Perfion

    Perfion supports any number of variant dimensions. The receiving system may support fewer; most support at least three.

    Related:
    Tell the API which items are products and which are variantsLeft: six items in Perfion. BT-410, a basin mixer, is marked as a product; under it, three items, chrome, matt black and brushed gold, are marked as variants of BT-410. WS-12, a wall spout with no variants, is also marked as a product. A brochure stand is marked as neither and is left out. Right: what the API returns: product BT-410 with its three variants nested inside, and product WS-12; the brochure stand is not returned. Bottom: a variant sits under its product in the item hierarchy; Perfion allows any number of variant dimensions, and the receiving system may limit them, usually to at least three.Every item marked: product, variant or neitherBT-410 · Basin mixerProduct410-CH · ChromeVariant of BT-410410-MB · Matt blackVariant of BT-410410-BG · Brushed goldVariant of BT-410WS-12 · Wall spoutProduct · no variantsBrochure standNeither · left outReturned by the APIProduct · BT-410Variant · ChromeVariant · Matt blackVariant · Brushed goldProduct · WS-12Brochure stand: not returnedA variant sits under its product in the item hierarchyPerfion allows any number of variant dimensions; most shops support at least three.
    One basin mixer and three finishes, returned as one product with three variants; a brochure stand marked as neither is left out.
  4. Concept 04 · Selected content, for people outside Perfion

    Share Selected Content Without Opening Perfion

    The product data problem it solves

    Dealers and architects ask the sales team for images and specification sheets. Files go out by email and as a shared drive link that anyone can forward, and nobody knows which version a dealer is using.

    The concept explained

    A Content Store gives people outside the Perfion team controlled access to current product information and digital assets, without working in Perfion. The company chooses in Perfion which information and assets each store shares and how they are grouped, and the store shows them under the company’s own brand. A store can require a login or allow public access, permissions decide who can view or download what, and organisations can be limited to specific categories. Internal teams, business partners and the public can each have a store of their own.

    Everyday analogy

    A showroom with a reception desk. Visitors see what is on display, and the stock room stays closed.

    In Perfion

    The Content Store is an add-on with its own licence, offered only as a hosted solution, and it works with Perfion on premises too. Users can be asked to accept terms and conditions before they download.

    Related:
    Share selected content without opening PerfionLeft: Perfion, where the company chooses the features, categories, images and files to share. Middle: the Content Store, with the company's logo and colours, its own web address, and English and Hindi. Right: three audiences, each with its own store: an internal store for sales and support with a login, an external store for dealers and architects with a login, and a public asset portal for the press and consumers with no login. Bottom: the Content Store is a hosted add-on with its own licence; it works with Perfion on premises too, and only authorised users view or download.Selected content, shared without opening PerfionPerfionchooses what to shareFeaturesCategoriesImages and filesContent Storehosted, under your brandLogo and coloursYour web addressEnglish · HindiInternal storeSales and supportLoginExternal storeDealers, architectsLoginPublic portalPress, consumersNo loginA hosted add-on, with its own licenceIt works with Perfion on premises too, and only authorised users view or download.
    Perfion decides what is shared; an internal store, an external store and a public asset portal each serve their own audience.
  5. Concept 05 · Live views, not loose files

    Point People to Live Content, Not Loose Files

    The product data problem it solves

    A zip of showroom images is emailed to 40 dealers in October. In November a new finish is launched. In December dealers are still printing posters from the October zip, and the new finish is missing from every one.

    The concept explained

    The record stays in Perfion. Updates made in Perfion are reflected in the Content Store, and the E-commerce API returns what Perfion holds when it is asked. A collection can be shared as a fixed zip file, a snapshot of the day, or as a link to a live view, which shows the collection as it is now. Sharing the live view means the newest images and specifications reach partners without anyone sending them again.

    Everyday analogy

    A notice board rather than a photocopy. Everyone who looks sees the latest notice.

    In Perfion

    Collections can be made from a category, a search, individual items or any combination of them, and shared by email with people inside or outside the organisation. A download package can be sent to several recipients at once.

    Related:
    From BPAS · prodRecord newsletterprodRecordKeeping the record straight.One product data practice every month, written in plain English for product data teams.
    Point people to live content, not loose filesA timeline from October to December. In October a showroom collection is shared two ways: as a fixed zip file and as a link to a live view. In November a fourth finish is added in Perfion. In December a dealer opens both: the zip still shows the three October finishes, while the live view shows all four. Bottom: updates in Perfion are reflected in the Content Store; a live view shows the collection as it is today, and a zip is a snapshot of the day it was made.A live view, not another fileOctober · Collection sharedNovember · New finish in PerfionDecember · Dealer opens the linkFixed zip · a snapshotWhat December seesChromeMatt blackBrushed goldNew finish missingLive view · as it is todayWhat December seesChromeMatt blackBrushed goldGunmetalUpdates in Perfion reflected in the storeSend the link once; it keeps showing the current rangeA live view shows the collection as it is today. A zip shows the day it was made.
    One collection, shared two ways in October: in December the zip still shows three finishes, and the live view shows all four.
Best Practices

10 Best Practices for the E-commerce API and Content Store in Perfion

Each practice says what well-run product data delivery looks like and what it costs to ignore it. Designing channels, mappings and Content Stores for your systems and partners is what BPAS consultants do.

  1. 01Use a standard connector where one exists, and the E-commerce API where none does

    Choice · Platforms

    The rule

    Shops on Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento or Sana Commerce use their standard connector; every other system reads from the E-commerce API instead of a custom export.

    Risk if ignored

    Custom export scripts that break whenever a feature is added, and two ways of doing the same job.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 01Guide 14: E-commerce Connectors

  2. 02Give each receiving system its own channel when its data differs

    Channels · Receivers

    The rule

    Every system that needs different products, fields or formats has its own channel, named after the system it serves.

    Risk if ignored

    One channel bent to serve two systems, and a change for one breaking the other.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 02Vocabulary: Channel

  3. 03Write what the channels share once, for all of them

    Channels · Shared mappings

    The rule

    Mappings every channel needs exist once for all channels, and each channel holds only what makes it different.

    Risk if ignored

    The same mapping kept in several channels, corrected in one and forgotten in the rest.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 02Vocabulary: * mapping

  4. 04Name every output the way the receiving system expects

    Mapping · Names

    The rule

    Output names are agreed with the team that runs each receiving system before mapping starts, and used exactly as agreed.

    Risk if ignored

    Fields renamed again on the receiving side, and a second layer of code to maintain.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Vocabulary: MappingCapability: Mappings named for the receiver

  5. 05Mark every product and variant, including products with no variants

    Variants · Data

    The rule

    Every item meant for a shop is marked as a product or a variant, and every variant sits under its product.

    Risk if ignored

    Products that silently drop out of the feed once variant support is switched on.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 03Vocabulary: Variant dimensions

  6. 06Agree languages and culture codes with each receiving system

    Languages · Cultures

    The rule

    Each receiving system gets only the languages it uses, under the culture names it expects.

    Risk if ignored

    Translated text the receiving system cannot match to its own languages.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Capability: Cultures, images and filesVocabulary: Language deviation

  7. 07Send images at the largest size the receiving system needs

    Images · Size

    The rule

    Images are delivered at the highest resolution the receiving system needs, and the system makes its own smaller versions.

    Risk if ignored

    Blurred zoom images on the shop, or oversized files slowing every page.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Capability: Cultures, images and filesGuide 11: Binaries

  8. 08Give each audience its own Content Store, with access to match

    Content Store · Audiences

    The rule

    Internal teams, business partners and the public each have a store with the content and the access that suit them.

    Risk if ignored

    Dealer-only content visible to the public, or partners shut out of content they need.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 04Vocabulary: Content Store

  9. 09Settle each store’s web address before it is shared

    Content Store · Address

    The rule

    Each store’s web address, or its own domain, is decided before the first link goes out, and stays the same afterwards.

    Risk if ignored

    Broken links in dealer emails, printed catalogues and bookmarks.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Capability: Branded, in your languagesFAQ 06

  10. 10Share collections as live views, not loose files

    Content Store · Sharing

    The rule

    Partners are sent a link to a live view of a collection, so they see what Perfion holds today; a fixed zip is kept for a dated snapshot.

    Risk if ignored

    Old images and specifications circulating long after the product changed.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your systems and partners? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS

    Related:Concept 05Vocabulary: Collection

Self-Audit · 10 Best Practices

Product data delivery self-audit: how many are in place today?

Tick each of the ten practices above that your business already follows. Your score updates as you go.

Practices in place
0 of 10

Tick the practices that are in place.

Book a data delivery review

Nothing you tick is stored or sent.

Illustrative scenario · not a client case study A Business Like Yours

Illustrative scenario: an Indian bath fittings maker, with product data sent out by hand

A maker of taps, showers and basin mixers sells about 1,500 products in several finishes through its own website, a dealer ordering app and about 900 dealers, and works with architects and interior designers on projects. Orders, stock and invoicing are in the ERP. Product content is kept in spreadsheets and folders.

The Operational Challenge

The website runs on a CMS with no standard Perfion connector, so an agency maintains a nightly export script that rebuilds products and finishes from flat rows. The dealer app gets its own copy of the export, edited to show dealer prices. Both break whenever a column is added.

Dealers and architects ask the sales team for images and specification sheets, which go out by email or as a shared drive link. Old files keep circulating, and orders are placed against finishes that have since changed.

  • A custom export for each system
  • Products and finishes rebuilt from flat rows
  • Images and specs sent by email
  • Old files still in circulation

The Financial Transformation

In Perfion, the website and the dealer app each have their own channel in the E-commerce API. Shared mappings are written once for both, and each channel adds its own price. Finishes are variant dimensions, so every basin mixer arrives as one product with its variants, and English and Hindi text arrive under the cultures each system expects.

Dealers, architects and the sales team use a branded Content Store with a login, and the press uses a public asset portal. Showroom collections are shared as live views, so partners always see the current range.

  • One channel for each system
  • Products returned with their finishes
  • A Content Store for dealers and architects
  • Collections shared as live views
Illustrative figures for a typical Indian bath fittings maker of this size. They add up, but they are not a client case study.
Cost line Before (per month) After (per month) Difference (per year)
Custom export upkeep₹ 60,000₹ 15,000₹ 5,40,000
Image and specification requests₹ 50,000₹ 10,000₹ 4,80,000
Orders against old specifications₹ 30,000₹ 8,000₹ 2,64,000
Total₹ 1,40,000₹ 33,000₹ 12,84,000
Illustrative saving a year₹ 12,84,000Same figures as the table, not a client result

See how your own systems and partners would be served from Perfion.

Book a data delivery review
From BPAS

prodRecord Live

Enterprise product data insights from BPAS

Keeping the record straight, live every month

prodRecord Live is a monthly webinar series on product information management, held on the second Wednesday of every month from January 2027. Each session takes one product data topic and works through it in plain English with time for your questions.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Explore prodRecord Live
12
Live sessions in 2027 Second Wednesday, monthly
Who Benefits

Who benefits when systems and partners read from the record: one record, three answers

  • Promoter & CXOs

    Can every system and partner use our product data without a new project each time?

    Each new system is a channel on the E-commerce API and each new audience a Content Store, both reading from the record the business already maintains.

  • Digital & IT Manager

    Will our website and apps get product data in the shape they need?

    The E-commerce API returns products with their variants, categories and images, and each mapping names the fields to match the system that receives them.

  • Sales & Dealer Manager

    Will dealers and architects find current images and specifications themselves?

    A Content Store gives each audience its own branded portal, and collections shared as live views always show the current range.

Vocabulary

E-commerce API and Content Store Vocabulary and Definitions

From entities, channels and mappings to output kinds, variant dimensions, language deviations, Content Stores and collections. Each term shows what it means, why it matters, and a household comparison.

  1. E-commerce API

    Delivery · basics

    Built for commerce

    Operational definition

    The part of Perfion built to deliver product data to commerce and web systems as sites, categories, products and variants. It runs the standard connectors and serves any other platform.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Any shop, CMS or app gets product data ready to use, without a custom export.

    Everyday analogy

    A kitchen that sends each dish out plated, not as raw ingredients.

    See it in action:Concept 01 under Core Concepts →

  2. Entity

    Delivery · model

    Site, category, product, variant

    Operational definition

    One of the four kinds of record the E-commerce API delivers: a site, a category, a product or a variant. Each is a feature with a configuration in Perfion.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    The receiving system gets the same building blocks it is made of.

    Everyday analogy

    The labelled drawers of a filing cabinet.

    See it in action:A commerce-shaped API under Capabilities →

  3. Channel

    Delivery · configuration

    One per receiving system

    Operational definition

    In the E-commerce API, a unit of configuration: the mappings and settings for one receiving system, such as a shop.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Each system gets its own data and format without disturbing the others.

    Everyday analogy

    A delivery route, with its own list of stops.

    See it in action:Concept 02 under Core Concepts →

  4. Mapping

    Delivery · fields

    From, kind, to

    Operational definition

    A line of E-commerce API configuration that takes a Perfion feature, sets its output kind and names the output for the receiving system.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Fields arrive with the names the receiving system already uses.

    Everyday analogy

    A translation sheet: our word on the left, theirs on the right.

    See it in action:Mappings named for the receiver under Capabilities →

  5. Output kind

    Delivery · fields

    What kind of data it is

    Operational definition

    The type of a mapping, such as context, key field, field, image or attachment. It tells the API what data to expect and how to output it.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Images and files arrive with everything needed to use them, not just a value.

    Everyday analogy

    The label on a parcel: letter, box or fragile.

    See it in action:Mappings named for the receiver under Capabilities →

  6. * mapping

    Delivery · configuration

    Shared by every channel

    Operational definition

    A mapping or setting marked with a star. It exists on every channel, so what the channels share is written once.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    A correction to shared configuration reaches every channel at once.

    Everyday analogy

    The school uniform everyone wears; only the badge differs.

    See it in action:Concept 02 under Core Concepts →

  7. Variant dimension

    Delivery · variants

    What sets variants apart

    Operational definition

    A feature that sets the variants of one product apart, such as colour, size, finish or model. Perfion supports any number of them.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    The shop shows one product with choices, not a list of near-duplicates.

    Everyday analogy

    The sizes on a shoe box: one shoe, several fits.

    See it in action:Concept 03 under Core Concepts →

  8. Language deviation

    Delivery · languages

    Another culture name

    Operational definition

    A mapping that outputs a Perfion language under another culture name, or under several cultures.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Each system receives text under the language codes it recognises.

    Everyday analogy

    The same letter, addressed in the format each country’s post office expects.

    See it in action:Cultures, images and files under Capabilities →

  9. Content Store

    Sharing · portal

    Hosted, with its own licence

    Operational definition

    A hosted Perfion add-on with its own licence: a branded web portal where selected product information and digital assets are shared with teams, partners or the public.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Partners help themselves to current content without working in Perfion.

    Everyday analogy

    A showroom open to visitors, with the stock room kept closed.

    See it in action:Concept 04 under Core Concepts →

  10. Collection

    Sharing · links

    A zip or a live view

    Operational definition

    A saved grouping of items in the Content Store, made by category, search or selection, that can be shared by link as a fixed zip or a live view.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    One link gives a partner exactly the set of products they need.

    Everyday analogy

    A playlist: the same songs, gathered for one listener.

    See it in action:Concept 05 under Core Concepts →

FAQ

E-commerce API and Content Store: questions digital and sales teams ask

Short answers, each with a link to the part of this guide that explains it.

  1. Perfion’s standard connectors for Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, including Adobe Commerce, and Sana Commerce run on the E-commerce API. For any other platform, CMS, app or custom integration where no dedicated connector exists, the E-commerce API delivers the same commerce-shaped data directly.

    More on E-commerce Connectors

  2. The Perfion API has a general-purpose query language: you tell it everything about the data you want, and it returns data in Perfion’s own structure, which usually needs reshaping. The E-commerce API is configured beforehand with channels, mappings and settings, so a request needs only a few parameters, and the result is much closer to what the receiving system expects. Both are reached through the Perfion web service and both answer in XML.

    More on Concept 01

  3. Sites, categories, products and variants. A product can carry almost any value Perfion holds: text, numbers, dates, images and files, including values that differ by language and features with more than one value. Images come with a web address that returns them at the size set for the API.

    More on Mappings named for the receiver

  4. Anyone who needs current product information or assets without working in Perfion. Boyum describes three uses: an internal store for sales and support teams, an external store for business partners who market and sell your products, and a public asset portal where agencies, PR firms or consumers download images, videos and other assets.

    More on A Content Store for each audience

  5. No. They use the Content Store, not Perfion. A store can require its own login or allow access without one, permissions decide who can view or download what, organisations can be limited to specific categories, and users can be asked to accept terms and conditions before they download.

    More on Concept 04

  6. The Content Store is an add-on module with its own licence, offered only as a hosted solution. It works with Perfion on premises as well, and Boyum’s Operations team oversees the installation. A store can run on the company’s own domain.

    More on Branded, in your languages

  7. Yes. The E-commerce API and the Content Store read product data from Perfion itself, so this guide applies whichever ERP your other data comes from. What changes from one ERP to another is the integration that brings ERP data into Perfion.

    More on ERP integration

Still have a question?

Ask about your own products, categories and channels. A BPAS consultant will answer in plain English.

Ask BPAS
Works Together With

See your systems and partners served from your product data

See how your website, apps, dealers and partners would get product data from Perfion, in the shape and language each one needs. Choose the path that fits the ERP you run.

Running an enterprise ERP?Book a product data assessment On SAP Business One or Business Central?Explore Boyum solutions, B1UP and toolDeploy
World first · 2025The world's first Boyum Partner Center of Excellence.Hosted in the cloud and available for evaluation and proof-of-concept work across the Boyum Solutions portfolio.See it to believe it — get convinced by working on it.Explore the PACE sandbox