Products Terminology
Summary
Flxpoint moves product data left to right through three stages — Source Inventory, Product Catalog, and Channel Listings — and this glossary explains the hierarchy, the flow, and what every listing status means.
Flxpoint moves product data left to right through three stages — Source Inventory, Product Catalog, and Channel Listings — and each SKU carries a status along the way. These terms explain the hierarchy, the flow, and what every listing status means.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Parent | A grouping of related variants, identified by a unique SKU (e.g. a shirt) |
| Variant | A sellable child item with its own SKU, price, and quantity that shares parent attributes (e.g. Small Blue Shirt) |
| Inventory | Raw supplier data imported from a source; editable only via the Get Inventory mapping and post-mapping workflow |
| Products (Catalog) | Built and merged from inventory; editable directly and via global pricing rules |
| Listings | Channel-specific versions of products, further customizable per channel |
| Stage | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Source Inventory (left) | First stage; edit only through the Get Inventory mapping template and post-mapping workflow |
| Product Catalog (center) | Editable manually, via bulk customization / global pricing rules, and the building template |
| Channel Listings (right) | Final stage before the channel; edits made upstream flow right into listings |
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Not Linked | The SKU does not exist yet in the next stage |
| Building | The SKU is moving from Source Inventory to Product Catalog |
| Builder Issue | The SKU failed to build to the next stage; open it to see the error |
| Linked | The SKU exists in the next stage |
| Linked to Some / All Channels | A listing exists for at least one, or for all, sales channels |
| Not Listed | A listing was created but not yet synced or published |
| Listed | The listing is synced/published and live on the channel |
| Hidden | Listed to the channel but not visible to end customers (behavior varies by channel) |
| Delisted | Previously listed, now delisted — and generally deleted from the channel |
| Broken Link | Was synced but is missing from recent syncs (often a deleted or changed channel SKU) |
| Deleting | Queued for deletion inside Flxpoint (brief) |
Delisted vs Hidden
Delisted generally deletes the SKU from the channel. If you only want to hide it from shoppers while keeping it live, use Hidden instead.
Deleting in Flxpoint vs delisting on the channel
Deleting a SKU in Flxpoint does not delist it from your channel. To fully remove a SKU, Delist it first, then Delete it.
Publish vs Overwrite vs Link
Publish sends a new SKU; Overwrite updates static data on an existing SKU; Link / Re-Link matches an existing channel product to a Flxpoint listing by identifier (UPC, SKU, MPN).
Flxpoint Tags are not Shopify Tags
Flxpoint Tags only filter and sort SKUs inside Flxpoint. They are not the same as a Shopify Tag and are not sent to your sales channel.
What is the difference between a parent and a variant?
A parent groups related items under one SKU; a variant is the individual sellable SKU (a specific size/color) with its own price and quantity.
What causes a Broken Link?
Usually a SKU deleted or renamed on the channel without updating Flxpoint. Re-Publish if it was deleted, or use Re-Link Listings to reconnect it.
What are Shipping Methods here?
Per-supplier translations of a shipping policy — for example, the Standard policy maps to UPS Ground for Supplier A and FedEx Ground for Supplier B.