Add a Product Catalog

Product catalogs can be used as a formal way of assigning products to particularly defined lists, called "catalogs" or "formularies." These can be used to define a list of items for a particular service type, i.e. "Maternal Health Catalog" or they can be used to define a set list of products required at a specific location, for example, "Los Angeles Warehouse Formulary." 

For information on how to create a product catalog, click here. 

Product catalogs are similar to another feature in OpenBoxes, product tag. Catalogs can be seen on the product details page, under the product name in blue. Product tags appear under the product name in green. In the screenshot below, we can see some product catalogs associated with product 10001 in blue, and we can also see the tag "Vital" in green.

While both catalogs and tags represent ways to sort and filter products, they operate differently. Catalogs are selected from a pre-defined list entered by an administrator. Tags can be created at any time by any user creating a product. This makes catalogs ideal for more strict methods of categorization, where it is important not to have duplication or typos. Meanwhile, tags are inherently more flexible and better for ad hoc labelling of products. In the example above, catalogs have been used to indicate which countries are required to keep this item in stock. Tags have been used to indicate the level of importance of the item clinically. Used together, it is easy to find a list of products that are designated clinically vital and used in Liberia.

Adding catalogs to a product

We can add a catalog to a product after the product is already created.

1. On the product details page, Click on Edit Product. 
2. There are multiple tabs on the Edit page. Select "Catalogs". 
3. Under product catalogs, there is a drop-down menu where you can select a catalog. After you select a catalog, click on Add. 
4. We can also delete a catalog by selecting the Delete button under the Actions column.