Odoo integration
Odoo is a strong ERP and operations hub for SKUs, variants, stock, and B2B pricing. CataZenta owns rich product content, per-channel copy, completeness, and marketplace syndication.
Recommended split of ownership
| System | Owns |
|---|---|
| Odoo | SKU, variant, UoM, stock, price lists, manufacturing BOM refs |
| CataZenta | Marketing copy, Amazon bullets, images, completeness, export jobs |
Avoid editing the same attribute in both systems without a source-of-truth rule.
Architecture
Odoo → CataZenta mapping
| Odoo field | CataZenta | Notes |
|---|---|---|
default_code | Product code | Primary match key |
name | Title attribute | Often needs channel-specific override |
description / description_sale | Long text attributes | Map per locale |
categ_id | Internal category | Map tree to PIM category nodes |
product_template_attribute_value_ids | Variant axes | Align with family variant structure |
barcode | GTIN attribute | |
image_1920 | DAM import optional | Prefer DAM for syndication-quality assets |
product.template vs product.product: map templates to CataZenta products and variants to variant rows when your Odoo catalog uses variants.
Sync patterns
A — Odoo as master (typical)
- Scheduled Odoo export (API or CSV).
- CataZenta import job upserts products.
- Merchandising and Zen AI enrich.
- Syndication to storefronts and marketplaces.
B — Enriched content back to Odoo
Push approved description_sale or website fields back via Odoo API for the Odoo website module — only after workflow approval in CataZenta.
C — Hybrid with WooCommerce / Shopify
Odoo → CataZenta → Shopify: Odoo never holds Amazon-specific bullets; CataZenta does.
Step-by-step pilot
- Create product family matching your top Odoo category (e.g. consumables).
- Export 20 SKUs from Odoo with all languages you sell in.
- Run import; verify variant axes and categories.
- Configure one channel (e.g. Shopify EU) and completeness rules.
- Run export to channel; fix job line errors.
- Scale schedule to nightly delta on
write_date.
Technical options
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| CSV / XLSX | Fast pilot | Manual unless scripted |
| JSON-RPC | Real-time, filterable | Requires stable API user |
| XML-RPC | Works on older Odoo | Verbose payloads |
| Middleware (n8n, Airflow) | Transform in flight | Extra component to operate |
Use Product API when you need custom transforms outside batch jobs.
Common issues
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Variants collapse to simple products | Map attribute values to family axes |
| Wrong language on export | Odoo lang → CataZenta locale mapping table |
| Images low resolution | Re-import masters into DAM |
| Price on marketplace wrong | Price often stays in Odoo/channel connector — document ownership |