first I suggest you get the The Data Model Resource Book, Revised Edition, Volumes 1 & 2" books referred here http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBADMIN/OFBiz+Related+Books this will let you know the abilities of ofbiz. then read http://docs.ofbiz.org/display/OFBENDUSER/Catalog Your questions would be answered differently for each industry.
jason_lunn sent the following on 12/4/2007 4:26 PM: > Hello OFBiz-Users, > > I'm just getting started with OFBiz and I am looking for a thread, wiki > entry, document, or video that gives an in depth treatment to the different > ways one could conceivably design one's product catalog. > > The best series of documents I have found on the subject so far have been > included in the > http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=145855&package_id=189005 > oftaps user manuals . > > I'm basically after a discussion of tradeoffs between the various ways one > could describe the same set of products. Amongst other questions, this > discussion would answer: > > 1) How is each product type different from the others in terms of the way > they're treated by the standard OFBiz applications? > 2) When is it most appropriate to use sub-assemblies? > 3) The product being sold has a *lot* of permutations, say on the order of > 10,000 different possibilities. What is the process for deciding which > permutations should be features and which should be configurations? > > Sincerely, > > - Jason