Managing reports
A report is a data analysis that determines a single key performance indicator (KPI) or a list of KPIs. The data base for this analysis is an export of raw data at regular intervals. This data is saved on a secure cloud storage.
1. Raw data
Raw data is collected in the background, usually over night. The settings made in the Setup » plentyBI » Raw data determine which types of raw data are saved. You can retrieve the generated files via the REST API and process the data externally.
1.1. For end users
We have observed that business decisions are often not made based on key figures, but rather intuitively. In order to change this behaviour, we recommend using a business intelligence tool. Ideally, such a tool analyses different data from several sources. Start now and use our integrated plentyBI dashboard to keep track of relevant data and key figures. Further information is available in the plentyBI section of the manual.
1.2. For developers
Raw data is available in CSV format and can therefore easily be processed. All PlentyONE systems have a standardised REST API. The documentation is available on this page.
Raw data is retrieved in two steps. We recommend retrieving the data once a day after around noon. the process of generating raw data is completed for all systems.
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First, a list of available raw data files is retrieved via this route. The time at which the latest file of the last retrieval was created serves as a filter for the next retrieval so that data is not requested several times. The number of files that are generated per day may vary depending on how many creator processes are activated for a PlentyONE system. Furthermore, only a certain number of data rows is written in each file. If required, a additional file is created. With this route, either all files of a single creator or all files that were created during the retrieval interval are exported.
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With this route, a raw data file is exported. The required file path is contained in the sample space of the REST route listed in point 1. Raw data files are provided as a GZIP-compressed CSV file (RFC 1952). A comma is used as column separator.
Standard time stamp format
The standard date format is MM/DD/YYYY HH:MI:SS TZ. This date format can be copied directly to an AWS Redshift column of the type TIMESTAMPTZ. Example: 01/30/2019 05:14:57 Europe/Berlin |
1.3. Data format creator
The creator is a specific process that provides a raw data format. Each creator only saves data after you have activated the creator in the Setup » plentyBI » Raw data menu.
Automatic activation of raw data formats
In case key figures are only created in the Setup » plentyBI » Key figure configurations, the raw data formats do not have to be activated manually. The required data formats are automatically activated in the background as soon as the key figure configuration is saved. |
The individual data formats are named in English. For explanations and links to individual format pages, refer to Table 1.
Limited storage periods for raw data and calculation results
Within your PlentyONE system, raw data serve as the data basis for the key figures available in the plentyBI module. Depending on the plentyBI edition that was booked, raw data is stored for different periods of time.
The following storage periods apply per plentyBI edition:
The calculation results yielded by the stored raw data are available for different periods of time, according to your plentyBI edition:
More detailed information on each raw data format is available by clicking on the links in Table 1. |
Data format | Explanation |
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accountContacts |
Contact |
accounts |
Company |
categories |
Categories |
feedbacks |
Feedbacks |
itemManufacturer |
Manufacturer |
itemVariations |
Variation |
itemVariationSuppliers |
Links between suppliers and variations |
marketplaceStockMovement |
Stock information that was exported to specific markets |
messages |
Messages |
messageTagRelations |
Tag relations of messages |
orderDocuments |
Order documents |
orderItemAmounts |
Value of order items |
orderItemProperties |
Property of the order item |
orderItems |
Order item |
orderProperties |
Order property |
orders |
Order |
orderStatuses |
Order status |
paymentOrderRelations |
Relations between payments and orders |
payments |
Payments |
properties |
Properties |
propertyRelations |
Links between properties and other data |
stockManagementStock |
Stock |
stockManagementStockMovements |
Stock movements |
stockManagementWarehouses |
Warehouse |
tags |
Tags |
tagRelations |
Tag links |
users |
User |
variationValidation |
Variations that have been exported to markets but have been rejected |
More data formats will be added to this table as they become available.