A product catalog is a governed collection of product or service information used for discovery, selling, buying and fulfillment. It may be customer-facing, supplier-provided or maintained internally for procurement and operations.
What information belongs in a catalog?
- Product name, identifier and description
- Specifications, images and documents
- Units, variants and configuration rules
- Prices, currencies and effective dates
- Availability and lead time
- Compliance, shipping and supplier data
Catalog vs. price book
A catalog describes what can be bought or sold. A price book organizes approved prices for products, customers or markets. The two may be connected but should not be treated as identical.
What is a procurement catalog?
A procurement catalog presents approved goods or services to internal buyers under negotiated supplier terms. It can reduce free-text requisitions and off-contract purchases.
How should catalog data be governed?
Assign field owners, validation rules, effective dates and change approvals. Keep identifiers stable and prevent outdated specifications or prices from remaining orderable.
What should be measured?
Track completeness, search success, data errors, inactive items, price accuracy, catalog adoption and order exceptions. High item count alone does not show usefulness.
