Feature Pack 6

IBM has released Feature Pack 6 (FEP6) for WebSphere Commerce version 7. The new features include dynamic merchandising, starter store enhancements, and enhancements to business user tools, the Data Load utility, WebSphere Commerce Search, and store preview. These will enable merchandisers to deliver improved customer site experience with:

• Improved search rules to ensure the most relevant search results are returned to the shopper.
• A greater ability to better target shoppers with relevant dynamic product recommendations based on their current in-session choices along with historical shopping data.
• An enhanced store preview capability.
• User-defined folder support to simplify management of assets, promotions, and attributes.

Here are the specific enhanced features:

Dynamic Merchandising

• Capability to recommend products that are based on the navigation decisions of a shopper.
• “Use in merchandising” property allows merchandisers to assign attribute dictionary attributes as merchandising attributes. In turn, they can be used in the Marketing tool to create activities that recommend catalog entries that contain these specific attributes.
• Recommendation rules can produce more relevant results with the use of WebSphere Commerce search.
• Attribute dictionary is more utilized with WebSphere Commerce search. E.g. fine tuning search results with rules associated with attributes.

Business User Tools Enhancements

• Create an image map to define multiple click actions for image content.
• Creating and managing folders in Management Center to organize e-Marketing Spots, activities, content, customer segments, and promotions.
• Display an e-Marketing Spot title to customers that view the e-Marketing Spot. This title can be used to identify the advertising or promotion in an e-Marketing Spot to customers.
• Return information to an e-Marketing Spot to change storefront or e-Marketing Spot behavior. By returning information to an e-Marketing Spot, such as a style sheet or JSP, you can change what displays on your storefront, or how this content displays.
• Ability to create and manage folders to organize attributes in the attribute dictionary.
• In an extended site store, you can set store-specific catalog entry descriptions for catalog entries that are inherited by your extended site store. Setting store-specific descriptions overrides the catalog asset store descriptions for these catalog entries.
• Catalog Upload now supports XML.
• Ability to define product-specific swatch images so that shoppers can see the actual patterns and textures of products on the storefront. This overrides generic swatches from images defined in the attribute dictionary.
• Tealeaf is now integrated into the tooling.

Management Center (CMC) Store Preview Enhancements

• When you are previewing your store, you can display Create and Edit links that are embedded in store preview pages for certain business objects. These links open Management Center directly to the properties view for the business object, saving you time.
• Open store preview directly to the page that you are working on in Management Center. You no longer need to navigate to the page from the home page.
• Ability to generate a preview URL to share with those not in CMC and use on different browsers and devices.

Data Load Enhancements

• Ability to run a file difference preprocess for routine data loads to improve the Data Load utility performance for loading these files.
• Supports XML. Previously, it only supported CSV.
• The new attribute folders relationship between attributes are supported in loads.

WebSphere Commerce Search Enhancements

• Search rules can be configured to produce more relevant search results. For
  example, by promoting or demoting products in search results.
• Preview enhancements are supported in WebSphere Commerce search.
• An optional inventory index can be set up and built to refresh independently of other search indexes, such as the product index. Search rules can be created to demote products that are out-of-stock, or conversely, to promote overstock
  products.

Aurora Starter Store Enhancements

• Allows customers to subscribe to e-Marketing Spot feeds for product
  recommendations.
• While in preview mode, certain store pages display embedded Edit links that open business objects for editing in Management Center, saving time for business users.
• Tealeaf User Interface Capture API is embedded.
• Improved performance for the mini shopping cart reducing calls to the server while shoppers browse.
• Dojo upgraded to version 1.8. One large benefit of this is its support for IE9.
• Hebrew translation available.
• Tablet-tolerant making it fully functional on tablet devices supporting such typical tablet features as pinch-to-zoom and orientation switch.

Mobile Store Integration Enhancements

• Aurora starter store is optimized for the mobile web.
• Reference example provided for integration with IBM Worklight.
• Mobile starter store assets are provided to help reduce the time that is required to complete customization projects.

Fix Pack 7

Lastly, Fix Pack 7 (FP7, WCS 7.0.0.7) has been released which supports Rational Application Developer (RAD) version 8.0.4.2 iFix 1 (or a higher version 8.0 fix pack) and support for priority configuration of the refund method.

For additional referencing:
IBM WebSphere Commerce Highlights of Version 7 Feature Pack 6
IBM WebSphere Commerce V7.0 Feature Pack 6.0 increases core competitiveness and differentiation through relevant merchandising and accelerated business operations

Part numbers for download from Passport Advantage:

• IBM WebSphere Commerce V7.0 – Feature Pack 6.0 – part number CIIP9ML
• IBM WebSphere Commerce V7.0 – Feature Pack 6.0 Starter Store Companion Assets – part number CIK45EN
• Fix Pack 7 (7.0.0.7) is available for download from here
• IBM Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software for WebSphere Commerce – V8.0.4 (eAssembly CRM4YML)