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Central Item Pool

The Concept

The central item pool is the heart of the hub model. Instead of maintaining separate item masters for each marketplace, there is one single central table – the Marketplace Items – where all product data converges.

Each item is created once in Business Central and can then be assigned to any number of marketplaces. All channels access the same data base.

Item Pool: BC Item β†’ Marketplace Item β†’ Central Pool

What Is in the Item Pool?

The central table ALN MC Marketplace Item stores all data that a marketplace requires:

Product Master Data

Field Description
Item No. Link to the BC item
Marketplace Item ID The item's ID on the respective marketplace
Title Product title for the marketplace
Description HTML product description
EAN / GTIN Internationally unique article number
Brand Brand name of the product
Manufacturer Manufacturer name
Manufacturer Item No. MPN (Manufacturer Part Number)
Category Marketplace category of the item

Status & Synchronization

Field Description
Item Online Is the item active on the marketplace?
Synchronized Was the latest version successfully transmitted?
Sync Status Current synchronization state
Last Synchronization Timestamp of the last sync
Update Required Flags for item, price, and quantity updates

Price & Inventory

Field Description
Marketplace Price Current sales price on the channel
Price Fixed Flag if the price should not be calculated automatically
Currency Sales currency of the channel
Marketplace Quantity Available quantity on the channel
Quantity Fixed Flag if the quantity should not be calculated automatically
Location BC location for inventory calculation

Inventory Control

Field Description
Safety Stock Minimum stock that will not be sold
Maximum Quantity Upper limit for displayed availability
Quantity Percentage Only a portion of available stock is listed
Include Supplier Stock Whether supplier stock should be added
Bundle Content Pieces per bundle (stock is divided)

Images

Field Description
Primary Image URL Main image of the item
Image Count Number of linked product images

How Do Items Get into the Pool?

There are three ways items enter the central pool:

1. Manual Assignment

You select a BC item in the Marketplace Item List and assign it to one or more marketplaces. Product data is taken from the BC item master and can be adjusted.

2. Automatic Creation from Supplier Data

When a supplier connector imports new item data and the item already exists in Business Central, it can be automatically assigned to the marketplace items. Master data (EAN, description, manufacturer) flows from the Supplier Data Pool into the Item Pool.

3. Import from Marketplace

Some connectors can import existing listings from the marketplace and create them as marketplace items (e.g., Amazon ASIN search, Kaufland product matching).

What Happens When Data Changes?

When data in the item pool changes – e.g., a new price, an updated description, or a changed quantity – update flags are set:

Flag Meaning
Item Update Required Master data (title, description, EAN, images) has changed
Price Update Required The sales price has been recalculated
Quantity Update Required The available stock has changed

The responsible connector apps detect these flags and synchronize the updated data to the respective marketplace. This happens either automatically via Job Queue or manually through the item update worksheet.

Advantages of the Central Pool

Consistency Across All Channels

Since all marketplaces work from the same data base, product data on Amazon, Otto, Kaufland, and all other channels is always consistent. A change to the EAN or manufacturer name immediately takes effect on all channels.

No Duplicate Maintenance Effort

Instead of adjusting the same product description in five different systems, you change it once in the item pool. The connectors handle the distribution.

Complete Overview

In the Marketplace Item List, you can see at a glance which channels an item is listed on, at what price it is being sold, and how much stock is available.

Marketplace-Specific Adjustments

Despite the central base, you can make individual adjustments for each channel. Each connector can add additional fields via Table Extensions – e.g., Amazon FBA settings, Otto category assignments, or Kaufland price rules.

Interaction with Other Hub Modules

Data Flow: Supplier Data β†’ Pool β†’ API Synchronization
  1. Supplier Connectors import prices and stock levels into the Supplier Data Pool
  2. The Price Engine calculates sales prices per price list from that data
  3. The Item Pool stores the calculated prices and quantities
  4. The Marketplace Connectors synchronize the data to the respective API