Bowker Book Data

Bowker Book Data

Retailer can integrate with Bowker Book Data to import product information from their database. This can streamline the process of creating a Book Stock Item.

Setup API details

Contact Bowker

Contact Bowker Book Data to request a Username and Password for API Access HERE.

Enter API Details in Retailer

  1. From the main screen of Retailer, click on Setup → API Connection.
  2. In the list of connections on the left hand side, click on the Bowker icon
  3. Enter your Bowker Username and Password.
  4. Click Save.
Note: For stores with multiple locations, this will need to be done at each store.

Book Department Setup

Each department that contains Book stock items, must be set in order to use Bowker.
  1. From the main screen of Retailer, click on Stock Maintenance → Suppliers & Departments.
  2. Click on the Magnifying Glass 🔎︎ button and select your books department.
  3. Tick the box This Department has stock items with Authors? (eg. Books).
  4. Press Save.
  5. Repeat on other Book Departments if you have more than one.
  6. Once finished, close and reopen Retailer.

Setup External Feed Settings

The External Feed Settings control if Bowker can be used from the Add Stock Wizard and Stock Screen.
  1. From the main screen of Retailer, click on Setup → Stock → External Feed.
  2. Down the left hand side, click Bowker.
  3. In the Stock Screen section, choose between:
    1. Disable - Bowker will not be used in the Stock Screen
    2. Enable for all products - Bowker can be used for all Stock Items
    3. Enable for Books Only - Bowker can only be used for Stock Items in a Book Department. See above.
  4. In the Stock Wizard section, choose between:
    1. Disable - Bowker will not be used in the Add Stock Wizard.
    2. Enable - Bowker will be used in the Add Stock Wizard.
  5. In the Import Stock Images section, choose between:
    1. Disable - Images will not be imported from Bowker.
    2. Enable - An Image will be imported from Bowker (if available).
  6. Down the left hand side under Common Settings, click Options.
  7. For Extra Details Destination, choose between:
    1. Web Description - Product Description from Bowker will be added to the Web Description field only.
    2. Extra Description - Product Description from Bowker will be added to the Extended Description field only. 
    3. Web and Extra Description - Product Description from Bowker will be added to both the Extended and Web Description fields.
  8. Click Ok.

Using Bowker in the Add Stock Wizard

  1. From the Stock Screen or Find Stock Screen, click the Add button. The Add Stock Wizard will open.
  2. In the Enter Barcode and PLU screen, scan or type in the product's barcode.
  3. Click Next or press Enter twice.
  4. In the External Feed Results page, the grid view will show multiple columns depending on what External Feeds are available.
  5. For any External Feed, click a data point to highlight it blue. At the top of the grid, click a External Feed name in the Source column to highlight all data points from that source.
  6. Once the data points you wish to use are highlighted, click Next.
  7. Continue with the Add Stock Wizard. The highlighted data points will be prefilled in the Wizard.

Using Bowker in the Stock Screen

  1. From the main screen of Retailer, click on Stock → Stock Screen or click Stock Maintenance → Stock Screen.
  2. Click the Magnifying Glass 🔎︎ button to open the Find Stock Screen. Select the item you wish to use with Bowker.
  3. In the Stock Screen, click the External Feed tab.
  4. The grid view will show multiple columns depending on what External Feeds are available and a 'Stock Data' column which shows the current data of the Stock Item.
  5. For any External Feed, click a data point to highlight it blue. At the top of the grid, click a External Feed name in the Source column to highlight all data points from that source.
  6. Once the data points you wish to use are highlighted, click the 'Save External Feed Details to Stock Item' button.

Bowker data points

The following data points can be imported from Bowker:
  1. Title as Retailer Description
  2. Author
  3. Sell Price
  4. Annotation as Retailer Extended and/or Web Description
  5. Supplier
  6. Images

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