Written by:  Christie Badeaux
Date:  August 9, 1999
 
 

Demo Overview

This is a demonstration of the new 'push-like' capabilities in the Vignette Syndication Server version 4.2 - just released as of August 16th.

This demo showcases a product distribution (or syndication) solution for a fictitious company (that for the moment looks like Procter and Gamble) to two of their affiliates.  This demo represents a distributor distributing product information to two separate companies:  Groceries to Go, Inc. (an online grocery store) and Brickstone Stores (a brick and mortar type of store).  These stores have a trusted relationship with the distributor such that they have agreed to receive direct product updates to thier product catalog.

Note that this is not representative of all syndication relationships, but does showcase the capability for those trusted relationships that require this type of direct update.  Many of you have seen this request and this demonstration is mean simply to showcase that VSS can handle these types of requests.

The automatic updates between the distributor and it's affiliates occurs via the Minimal Subscriber capabilities that are a part of the VSS 4.2 release.  You'll hear more about this additional ICE functionality in the upcoming presentations.
 

Demo

[Show the Distributor site:

From within the Vignette firewall point your web browser to http://guisrv.vignette.com:900/John/index.html

Outside the Vignette firewall point your web browser to
http://demos.vignette.com:443/John/index.html
]

What you see now is the Procter and Gamble web site (or at least a duplication of it).

[Click on P&G Products link]

Procter & Gamble has a wide variety of products that it makes available to consumers, including paper products.

[Click on Paper link]

Now P&G has established various relationships with various retailers that sell P&G products.  Let's take a look at two of those companies (or affiliates).

[ Open new browser window and go to  http://demos.vignette.com:443/pg/products
User id:  techfront
Password:  access
]

This site "Groceries to Go!" is an online grocery store that specifically sells Procter & Gamble paper products.

[Open another new browser window and go to  http://demos.vignette.com:443/pg/products2
User id:  techfront
Password: access
]

This site "Brickstone Stores" is a typical brick and mortar store that has taken their real world business to the web.  This site is particularly interested in over the counter drugs and cosmetics.

[Switch back to P&G window http://demos.vignette.com:443/John/paper.html
]

Each of these affiliates, "Groceries to Go!" and "Brickstone Stores" have a close, trusted relationship with P&G such that they want to automate the receipt of product information as quickly as it becomes available.  In order to set up this syndication relationship P&G will need to set up Groceries to Go and Brickstone Stores as affiliates.

[Click on the  'Customer Administration' button and open in a new browser (note:  by opening in a new browser it will be easier later on to come back to this page)

This takes you to the SS login screen to access the Distribution Manager.

Userid:  admin
No password

Click on the 'Affiliates' tab
]

Normally, to set up an affiliate for the first time, we would select 'Create Affiliate'.  However, in order to be more efficient with this demo, we've already set up both affiliates.

[Click on List Affiliates by Name, select 'Brickstone Stores']

This page shows the Create Affiliate page with all the information completed for the affiliate - Brickstone Stores.

[Describe the fields]

Probably the two most interesting fields on this page are the 'Status' and the 'Web User Login'.  The 'Status' fields determines whether or not this is an active affiliate.  The 'Web User Login' field is used to set up the web user login that the affiliate will need to access their relevant content (or in this case products).

[Click on Offers tab, and List Offers by Name]

P&G has three types of offers that it makes to its affiliates:  Paper products, cosmetics, and over the counter drugs.

[Select one of the categories and review the information within the offer - what does it take to create an offer]
 

[FYI - Brickstone gets cosmetics and OTC drugs. Groceries to Go, Inc. gets paper products]

[Go back to P&G demo page http://guisrv.vignette.com:900/John/paper.html

Click on Product Administration and make sure that you have at least part of the affiliates windows on the screen because as you make changes to products the changes will be reflected on the affiliates site within 30 seconds.

Select a product, and update the pricing or quantity data. Select the Notify Affiliates button to send the updated data to the partner site.

Switch over to the affiliate that subscribed to that info.  For example, update Bounty paper and go to the 'Groceries to Go, Inc.' site and see the price and quantity update within seconds.

BEWARE:  Warning the Brickstone Stores page doesn't always update!!!!!!]