Variants from the MODUS Configurator to Shopware

The Shopware 6 API Connector can transfer item variants that are created in the MODUS M365 Configurator in Business Central natively as a configurable Shopware product. The base item becomes the configurable Shopware parent and each BC item variant (Item Variant) becomes a Shopware child product. The variant-defining characteristics (item attributes/attribute values) become Shopware Property Groups and Property Group Options.

This model complements the classic parent/child model based on the Configurable Items table (SOUSHW Parent Item). Both approaches can be used in parallel. The difference: here the base item itself is the Shopware parent and the children are real BC item variants - there is no separate item for each variant.

Architecture at a glance

• Parent = base item: receives the configuratorSettings field (the union of all attribute values across all variants).
• Child = each Item Variant: receives parentId (the Shopware ID of the parent), options and properties (the attribute values of this variant) as well as inventory, price and weight per variant.

Prerequisites

• The base item has item variants in Business Central (the standard Item Variant table), for example from the MODUS M365 Configurator.
• The unit of measure of the item has been uploaded to Shopware (as with simple items).
• An active Shopware configuration with Item Upload = enabled.

Setup in Business Central

1

Mark the item as a variant item

Open the Item Card and, on the Shopware Information FastTab, enable the Variant Item (configurable) field (SOUSHW Variant Master). The item is then treated as a configurable Shopware parent.

2

Upload

On the Item Card, click Upload as configurable item (variants). The connector first creates the required property groups/options, uploads the parent and then creates a Shopware child product for each item variant.

3

Check the status

Open the item variants of the item. There you can see the Shopware sync columns for each variant: active, synchronized, Web-ID, synchronized on and message.

For bulk runs, the Shopware Upload report additionally offers the Variant Item (configurable) option. Variant items are also taken into account automatically in the regular product upload.

What exactly is uploaded?

Element	Shopware field	Origin in BC
Parent	configuratorSettings	Union of all attribute values of all variants
Child item number	productNumber	Item No. + hyphen + variant code
Child assignment to parent	parentId	Shopware ID of the base item
Child axes	options, properties	Item attribute/attribute value of the variant
Child inventory	stock	Inventory per variant code (Item Ledger Entry) less open sales quantities
Child price	price	Base item price or standard price list
Child weight	weight	Variant-specific (Configurator) or item weight

Item attributes and attribute values (axes)

Each item attribute becomes a Shopware Property Group (property-group), and each attribute value becomes a Property Group Option (property-group-option). The Shopware IDs are stored in the mapping (Configurator Attribute module) and reused so that no duplicates are created. The relationship to the classic attribute matching is described under Match Attributes & Properties (Property Groups).

Origin of the characteristics: If the symbols of the MODUS M365 Configurator are not yet integrated into the extension, the connector uses a fallback: exactly one axis named Variant is created with the variant description. The parent/child structure and the inventory per variant already work fully at that point. The Configurator symbols are required in order to activate the real multi-axis item attributes.

Which variant model should I choose?

• Base item + BC item variants (this page): ideal if the variants are managed in the MODUS Configurator as real Item Variants. One item, many variants.
• Configurable items via SOUSHW Parent Item: ideal if each variant is a separate BC item. See Configurable Items.

To link existing Shopware variants afterwards, see Match Variants (Color & Size).

Frequently asked questions

How are MODUS Configurator variants transferred to Shopware?

The base item is uploaded as a configurable Shopware parent, and each BC item variant (Item Variant) is uploaded as a separate Shopware child product with a parentId. To do this, enable the Variant Item (configurable) field on the Item Card and use the Upload as configurable item (variants) action.

Where do the variant axes in Shopware come from?

From the item attributes and attribute values: each item attribute becomes a Shopware Property Group, and each attribute value becomes a Property Group Option. The connector automatically creates missing groups/options and stores their Shopware IDs in order to avoid duplicates.

What is the item number (SKU) of a variant in Shopware?

The productNumber of the child product is composed of the item number of the base item and the variant code (Item No. + hyphen + variant code). This makes every variant uniquely identifiable.

Is the inventory calculated per variant?

Yes. The inventory is determined per variant code from the item ledger entries (Item Ledger Entry) and reduced by the open sales quantities of that variant. Using Out of Stock per variant, the inventory can be set to 0 selectively.

Do I have to migrate the existing parent/child model?

No. The model based on SOUSHW Parent Item (a separate item for each variant) can still be used unchanged. The new model is additive and is used exclusively for items with the Variant Item (configurable) flag set.

What happens if the MODUS Configurator symbols are not yet integrated?

In that case a fallback with a single axis named Variant applies (value = variant description). The configurable parent/child structure and the inventory per variant already work fully; the multi-axis item attributes are activated as soon as the Configurator symbols are available.