Category Logistics Profile
A Category Logistics Profile describes the physical form of a product family and the product facts that can contribute to logistics. Choose it on the Category Details tab. The question-mark icon beside Logistics profile opens this guide.
The profile does not describe the shipping carton by itself. A five-metre LED strip on a reel is five metres of material, not a five-metre parcel. The parcel's dimensions and gross weight belong to the actual Product Pack or its Package.
What a profile controls
The selected profile determines which mapping roles appear in the Category editor, which sources and measurement families are appropriate, and whether packaging and transport handling are required. Only the selected profile's primary roles appear in the main mapping table. Its additional roles appear under Advanced mappings. Irrelevant roles are not shown.
Each mapping connects a logistics role, such as Material length, to a source, such as the Product attribute Length. It can also specify a requirement policy and a target unit. A profile name alone does not mean that every mapping is configured, every Product has the values, or a marketplace listing is ready.
Choose the profile
Start with the product's actual form and the way it is normally sold or prepared for transport:
- Is it digital or a service? Choose Non Physical.
- Is it a rigid object that can be described by its external dimensions? Choose Rectangular Solid, or Long Rigid for pipe, rod, bar, or a similar elongated product.
- Is it flexible material sold by length? Distinguish a straight or folded flexible length, a coil without a supporting reel, material wound onto a reel, and sheet-like material in a roll.
- Is it a liquid or loose material? Choose according to containment and the main quantity: volume, mass, or a flexible bag.
- Does it require special live transport, or is it a kit? Use the dedicated profile rather than forcing it into rectangular dimensions.
Use the following table to compare all available profiles. Primary mappings appear first; Additional mappings appear in the advanced section.
| Profile | Product form and mappings |
|---|---|
| Non Physical | Software, digital files, licences, and services with no physical delivery. Primary mappings: none; physical weight and dimensions are not applicable. Additional mappings: none. |
| Rectangular Solid | Rigid objects whose unpacked external envelope can be described by length, width, and height. Primary mappings: net weight; outer length; outer width; outer height. Additional mappings: gross weight. |
| Long Rigid | Pipe, rod, bar, and other rigid elongated goods. Primary mappings: length; diameter. Additional mappings: net weight; weight per length. |
| Long Flexible | Cable, hose, strip, or similar flexible material where coil, reel, or roll is not the applicable family-level form. Primary mappings: material length. Additional mappings: weight per length. |
| Coil | Flexible material wound into a coil, without a supporting reel or spool. Primary mappings: material length. Additional mappings: weight per length. |
| Reel | Material wound onto a supporting reel or spool, such as LED strip, cable, or wire. Primary mappings: material length. Additional mappings: weight per length. |
| Roll | Sheet-like flexible material wound into a roll, such as film, fabric, or membrane. Primary mappings: material length. Additional mappings: weight per length. |
| Liquid Containerized | Liquids supplied in bottles, cans, buckets, drums, or other containers. Primary mappings: volume. Additional mappings: density. |
| Bulk By Mass | Sand, grain, powder, or other loose goods primarily sold by mass. Primary mappings: net weight. Additional mappings: none. |
| Bulk By Volume | Loose goods primarily described and sold by volume. Primary mappings: volume. Additional mappings: density. |
| Flexible Bag | Goods supplied in a flexible bag or sack. Primary mappings: net weight; volume. Additional mappings: package outer length; package outer width; package outer height. |
| Live Transport | Live goods whose transport depends on environmental and handling requirements. Primary mappings: temperature range; requires ventilation; maximum transit time. Additional mappings: none. |
| Kit Bundle | Kits or bundles that form a packed trade unit. Primary mappings: units per pack. Additional mappings: none. |
The current profiles are application-managed recipes, not an editable reference-data dictionary. Adding or changing a recipe requires an application change so the editor, validation, and calculations agree.
The current Long Rigid mapping recipe describes length and diameter. For a rigid item with a rectangular cross-section that needs genuine width and height, use Rectangular Solid when that envelope is appropriate, rather than inventing a diameter. A profile must fit the supported measurements as well as the product's everyday name.
Packaging and handling
Long Flexible, Coil, Reel, Roll, Liquid Containerized, Bulk By Mass, Bulk By Volume, Flexible Bag, Live Transport, and Kit Bundle require packaging and do not allow unpacked shipping. Those settings are locked by their recipes. Live Transport additionally requires transport handling.
Rectangular Solid and Long Rigid allow unpacked shipping by default, but their packaging settings can be changed when the product family needs it. Non Physical does not require physical packaging or allow physical unpacked shipping.
Hazardous-goods requirements are a separate decision. Do not infer them only from the shape: two liquids, for example, can have different hazards.
LED strip on a reel
For LED strip normally supplied wound onto a reel, choose Reel at the LED strip family Category, where its descendants can inherit the same physical model.
Map Material length to the existing Length attribute with a length Measure and its correct unit. If that value must be present for every Product, make the Category-Attribute binding mandatory at the Product-level Categories and choose the appropriate required mapping policy. Weight per length is an additional mapping only when reliable data is available.
Do not map the strip's material length or strip width to the parcel's length or width. A five-metre strip can be wound onto a small reel, then placed in a carton. Record that sold or shipped unit and its real dimensions in the Product Pack and Package. Reel selection and material-length mapping do not configure the reel or carton automatically.
If a descendant genuinely describes a different physical form, such as a rigid LED assembly supplied straight rather than flexible strip on a reel, review the Category boundary and use a justified local profile. Do not create an override only because one seller uses a different carton.
Read the current profile and its origin
The profile name is displayed beside the Logistics profile heading. The origin explains whether this is an intentional saved choice or a fallback:
- This category: the profile was saved on the current Category.
- Inherited category profile: the profile comes from a concrete ancestor or an approved Universal Category. The source Category link identifies where it was defined.
- System default (not configured): no saved profile was found. Rectangular Solid is the system fallback, not a considered choice for this product family. Select the appropriate profile and configure its mappings.
- Conflict: inherited sources do not agree. Review the named sources and resolve the conflict rather than assuming a complete profile.
The profile and individual mappings have separate provenance. A profile can come from a parent while one mapping is overridden locally. Mapping source links identify the Category that supplied each saved rule; they are not necessarily the current Category.
The nearest concrete ancestor's profile takes precedence over Universal defaults. Approved Universal links provide reusable defaults where the concrete chain does not provide a profile. Conflicting Universal defaults require review.
Prefer configuring reusable settings once at the highest Category where they are valid for every descendant. Keep a local override only when the descendant really needs a different rule. Inspect the saved summary after reloading to confirm the actual origin.
Configure mappings
Open Edit logistics profile, select the profile, and configure only the roles that appear for it. The editor hides the saved summary while you edit; the selected editor profile is a proposed change until saved.
Sources
The available sources depend on the selected profile and role:
- Product Attribute uses a compatible attribute in the Category's live template. Length requires a length quantity; weight requires mass; density and weight per length have their own quantities.
- Package uses the packaging value. The flexible-bag profile offers this source for its additional external-dimension roles.
- Sold Quantity is available for net weight in Bulk By Mass and Flexible Bag, when the sold quantity has a compatible mass unit. A quantity of "one bag" is not a mass measurement.
- Formula is available only for approved roles and recipes. The current Category editor offers Long Rigid Cylinder for a Long Rigid length or diameter rule. It takes length and outer-diameter inputs; length supplies the length output, and diameter supplies the diameter output and the cylindrical envelope's width and height. It does not calculate weight.
- Not Applicable explicitly states that a role does not apply. It is different from leaving a meaningful role Not mapped.
The Formula selector is enabled only when Source is Formula. The list is not a free-form arithmetic editor. The presence of a volume and density mapping does not, by itself, configure a liquid-weight formula.
Attributes and mandatory values
Pickers show attributes compatible with the role's type and Measure. They use the current Category's direct and inherited attribute settings, including Category-specific Measure and Unit overrides.
An optional attribute can be a valid mapping candidate. However, if a mapping is Required for every Product, its source attribute and any required formula-input attributes must also be mandatory in the Product-level Category template. Changing the mapping policy alone does not set the Category-Attribute mandatory flag.
If an expected attribute is missing, inspect the Category's Attributes tab: is it available through direct or inherited bindings, does it have the correct type, and are its Measure and Unit compatible? Do not add a duplicate merely to make it appear in the picker.
Requirement policies
Choose a policy according to the role's meaning:
| Policy | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Optional | The role may contribute a value when available. |
| Required | The value is intended to be available for every Product using the rule; mandatory source attributes must support this. |
| Required For Physical Offer | The value is relevant when preparing a physical offer. |
| Required For Carrier Rates | The value is relevant when carrier-rate calculation needs it. |
| Review Only | Retain it for review rather than treating it as an ordinary required value. |
| Prohibited | The role must not be used for this profile. |
These policies express intent. Actual marketplace acceptance and carrier readiness depend on the consuming integration's validation and the concrete Product Pack data; saving a policy does not certify either.
Target units
Default unit keeps the source's applicable unit. An explicit target unit requests a compatible output unit, not a relabelling of the same number.
Mapping a value in its existing native unit does not require rescaling. Converting to a different unit requires usable conversion metadata. Missing or incompatible metadata must be reviewed; do not assume that a unit name alone makes conversion valid, or invent coefficients to bypass a warning.
Keep product facts and shipping facts separate
Product attributes describe the item or material. Product Pack describes a concrete sold or shipped trade unit and may contain explicit packed measurements. Package describes the physical packaging and its dimensions, capacity, tare, and fit constraints.
For shipping resolution, explicit Product Pack measurements take precedence, followed by the applicable Package measurements. A packaging-required profile must not fall back to the straight material's dimensions as though they were the shipping envelope.
Examples:
- A pipe may have a length-by-diameter unpacked envelope, but a bundled or crated pipe uses the real packed dimensions.
- Liquid volume describes the contents; the bottle, can, drum, or shipping carton supplies its external dimensions.
- Sand sold by mass or volume still needs its bag, pallet, container, or other actual transport unit.
- A reel's material length does not determine reel diameter, reel width, carton dimensions, or gross shipping weight.
- A kit needs the assembled Product Pack or Package; do not add component dimensions together to guess an envelope.
Marketplace-required packed dimensions and gross weight should be completed at that concrete trade-unit level. A missing value stays missing until reliable data is supplied; zeroes and guessed measurements are not substitutes.
Save and check
Use Save logistics profile to save the logistics editor, then reload the Category and check the current profile, its source, and the saved mapping summary. Inspect a representative descendant to confirm inheritance. Other Category Details changes use their own save action.
Before preparing Products or external listings, also check the effective Product template, required input values, the actual Product Pack and Package, and the consuming integration's preflight. A configured Category profile is one part of readiness, not the final shipping calculation.