January 2013 Technical Bulletin

January 1, 2013

Dear Valued Customer,

The DataSource Technical Bulletin is updated monthly, conveying relevant technical information and announcements pertaining to the operation of DataSource. Unless mentioned otherwise, announcements are valid and effective as of the date of the message. Archives of the DataSource Technical Bulletin are available online on the CNET Content Solutions Customer Extranet in the Customer Service section (login required).

Thank You,
The DataSource Team

PDM Audit Project

Our PDM Audit is intended to improve the format of the specifications and attribute structure. Most of the categories are being revisited, starting with the most popular ones. There are potential concerns with this project we need to make
our customers aware of:

  • The project entails massive redistributions of SKUs.
  • Some searchable attributes will be deactivated.
  • The format of specifications will be changed significantly. The specifications will not just be improved, but they will look different.

Categories finished in December:

  • Coffee Makers (SC)
  • DVRs (JH)

Categories currently in progress or planned in January:

  • Printers (ED)
  • Power Devices & Batteries (MG)

Attribute Deactivation Feed

The following links are feeds which include all searchable attributes, both active and deactivated. This will allow DataSource customers to see what attributes have changed, and to check if these changes have been properly reflected within their databases. This feed is available in two different file formats: Excel and tab-delimited text.

The feed can be downloaded using the following links:

  http://www.cnetchannel.com/Support/PDM-files/Attribute_Deactivation_Feed.xls
  http://www.cnetchannel.com/Support/PDM-files/Attribute_Deactivation_Feed.txt

A covering document is also available. It describes the feed purpose and usage guidelines:
http://www.cnetchannel.com/Support/PDM-files/Attribute_Deactivation_Feed.pdf

NOTE: The feed does not include searchable attributes which were deactivated prior to January 1, 2010.

Completed and Planned Modifications

For the full list of completed and planned modifications, view the Modifications List.

Massive SKU Regeneration

In an effort to provide our customers with the best quality data available, there may be categories that we rework throughout the month and redistribute.

Below you will find the details/counts for affected and redistributed SKUs. Your patience is appreciated during these necessary redistributions.

Description Date # of affected SKUs
“System Accessories” (AJ)
Backfill of the attribute A06589 Environmental Standards / ENERGY STAR		 03-Dec-12 17,689
Backfill of the attribute A04806 “Miscellaneous / Microsoft Certification” in all affected categories 10-Dec-12 3,692
Backfill of the attribute A04806 “Miscellaneous / Microsoft Certification” in all affected categories 17-Dec-12 3,435
Backfill of the attribute A04806 “Miscellaneous / Microsoft Certification” all affected categories 24-Dec-12 5,153