Smart Select Rules - All Decoration Processes

Smart Select Rules help automate which supplier products are available for a decoration process (for example, DTG, embroidery, or sublimation). By using product descriptors (like color type, material, or finish), Smart Select can quickly include only products that suit your production capabilities, reducing manual setup and improving catalog accuracy.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why Smart Select Rules
• Step 1: Open Smart Select Rules
• Step 2: Enable descriptor criteria
• Step 3: Review catalog update notices
• Step 4: Save your changes
• What Smart Select does for you
• Best-practice tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional Resources

Prerequisites

Why Smart Select Rules

• Save setup time: reduce manual work when adding or maintaining supplier catalogs.
• Improve accuracy: limit product availability to items that suit your decoration process capabilities.
• Support scaling: keep large catalogs organized and consistent as products change over time.

Step 1: Open Smart Select Rules

Use these steps to access Smart Select Rules for a specific decoration process.

1. Log into your DecoNetwork website.
2. Go to Admin → Decoration Processes
3. Select the decoration process you want to configure (for example, DTG Printing).

4. Click Smart Select Rules

   

   A list of product descriptors is shown in the work area.

Step 2: Enable descriptor criteria

Smart Select uses product descriptors to determine which supplier products qualify for this decoration process.

1. On the Smart Select Rules page, review the available descriptor groups.
2. Tick the checkboxes to turn ON the descriptor options you want Smart Select to use for matching products.
3. Repeat for each descriptor group you want to apply.

Step 3: Review catalog update notices

When supplier catalogs change (for example, items are discontinued or replaced), Smart Select may display a catalog update notice to help you review changes before they affect your product range.

1. If you see an update notice, click View Details to review the affected supplier products.
2. Identify any discontinued items and plan replacements where needed.
3. Only proceed once you understand the impact on your catalog and any decorated products built from those items.

Step 4: Save your changes

1. After confirming your descriptor selections (and reviewing any catalog updates), click Save.

   Your Smart Select Rules are now applied to this decoration process.

   Note: If you make changes later, Smart Select will re-evaluate eligibility using your updated rules.

What Smart Select does for you

Import and setup automation

• Imports product specification details for eligible products.
• Builds product options like sizes and colors where supported by the supplier data.
• Creates SKUs and product variations automatically.
• Generates product thumbnails and images based on available supplier data.

Decoration compatibility and pricing support

• Helps filter products so only items compatible with your decoration process are included.
• Supports consistent product setup by applying your selection rules across the catalog.
• Works alongside markup and pricing settings to keep catalog pricing aligned to your rules.

Shipping and packaging data

• Imports packaging dimensions (where available) to support shipping calculations and rate accuracy.

Best-practice tips

• Start broad, then refine: begin with fewer, more general descriptors so you don’t unintentionally exclude too many products.
• Re-check after enabling new processes: any time you enable a new decoration process, review Smart Select Rules for it.
• Review update notices promptly: catalog changes can impact live product availability and decorated products in affiliate stores.
• Document your intent: keep a note (internal SOP) of why certain descriptors are enabled for each decoration process.

Troubleshooting

Too few products are eligible after enabling Smart Select Rules

• Disable overly restrictive descriptors (for example, leave only the most essential criteria enabled).
• Check whether you selected options that unintentionally exclude most products in your catalog.
• Save changes and re-check your catalog/product availability.

Too many products are eligible

• Enable one additional descriptor group at a time to narrow results gradually.
• Avoid enabling many descriptor groups at once – make changes incrementally so it’s easier to identify what caused the change.

A catalog update notice appears and I’m not sure what to do

• Click View Details to understand which supplier products are affected.
• Identify whether affected products are used in decorated products (especially in affiliate stores).
• Plan replacements before saving if products are discontinued.

FAQs

What are Smart Select Rules?

Smart Select Rules are criteria used by a decoration process to determine which supplier products are eligible for decoration. Rules are based on product descriptors and are configured per decoration process.

Do I configure Smart Select Rules once for all decoration processes?

No. Smart Select Rules are configured per decoration process. You should review them for each process you enable.

What does it mean when selections work as “OR”?

Within a single descriptor group, selecting multiple options means Smart Select will match products that meet any selected option. For example, selecting White and Light can match products that are either white or light.

What happens if I click Save while a catalog update notice is showing?

Saving while an update notice is present can remove affected supplier products from your catalog, and may also remove related decorated products that depend on those supplier items. Always review details first.

Can I override Smart Select for a specific product?

Yes – advanced product-level decoration settings (Under Products > Select Catalog) can be used to manually configure decoration areas and compatibility for specific products when needed.

Additional Resources

• Configuring Product Views & Assigning Decoration Areas for Products
• Decoration Processes Overview
• Managing Supplier Catalogs