Gambio preparation should identify which generation of catalog structure, hosting environment, modules, and customizations the source Store actually uses. Current Product Options and Product Variants can coexist conceptually with older article attributes or article properties in long-lived Stores. Products can also depend on customer-group visibility, group prices, graduated prices, Categories, content, modules, external systems, and multilingual fields.
Every preparation action should name an owner, evidence artifact, and ready condition. The package should distinguish source evidence from target implementation: Product and variant relationships, historical Orders, Content Manager records, URLs, external identifiers, and module-owned data belong to migration readiness, while live payment, shipping, tax, email, theme, and checkout behavior remains target-side configuration.
Confirm the Gambio Environment, Access, and Recovery Path
Record whether the source uses Gambio Cloud or a self-hosted installation. Confirm access to the administration area, hosting and database where applicable, filesystem, Product images, downloadable files, Content Manager, modules, scheduled processes, and connected systems. Record the Gambio version, PHP/database environment for self-hosted Stores, theme, languages, currencies, active modules, GXModules, custom code, and integrations.
| Preparation action | Owner | Evidence | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm administration access | Gambio administrator | Working account and role summary | Products, options, variants, Customers, Orders, content, and modules can be inspected. |
| Confirm environment access | Infrastructure owner | Cloud-management or hosting/database/filesystem access summary | The available source evidence is known for the operating environment. |
| Create recoverable backups | Infrastructure owner | Database, files, images, downloads, and configuration backups with restoration owner | The source Store can be recovered without relying on the live system. |
| Record versions and customizations | Technical owner | Gambio, PHP/database where relevant, theme, module, GXModule, and custom-code inventory | Version-dependent structures and modifications are documented. |
| Map external systems | Integration owners | ERP/PIM/WMS/CRM/marketplace/accounting/payment/fulfillment endpoints and IDs | Continuing data authorities and synchronization keys are known. |
Preserve identifiers for Products, current variants, legacy attributes/properties, Categories, customer groups, Customers, Orders, content, modules, and external systems. The identifier map is essential when the same visible choice may be stored through different Gambio generations.
Classify Products, Product Types, and Category Relationships
Prepare Products by commercial behavior rather than by row count. Record article number, model or barcode identifiers, Product type, price, tax class, stock, dimensions, manufacturer, Categories, images, downloadable files, delivery status, quantity rules, multilingual descriptions, metadata, and visibility.
| Product pattern | Evidence to prepare | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|
| Standard physical Product | Product ID, article/model number, price, tax, stock, weight, Category, manufacturer, and images | One record clearly identifies the item sold and fulfilled. |
| Downloadable Product | File, Product link, access relationship, limits or expiry where used, and completed Order sample | The file and historical purchase evidence are recoverable. |
| Service or non-shipped Product | Product type, price, tax, availability, and Order example | Physical stock and shipping data are not invented. |
| Multi-Category Product | Product-to-Category assignments and priority public routes | Duplicate Products are not created merely to reproduce discovery paths. |
| Customer-group restricted Product | Group visibility, Product ID, price relationships, and representative Customers | Access and commercial scope are documented beyond the Product status. |
| Media-rich Product | Primary/additional images, variant-specific media, sort order, and storage path | Every asset has a known Product or variant owner. |
Record inactive, hidden, discontinued, unavailable, back-order, minimum-quantity, and graduated-quantity cases. These states need explicit destination treatment.
Separate Current Product Options and Variants From Legacy Structures
Current Gambio documentation distinguishes options, Product Options, and Product Variants. Product Variants represent concrete combinations and can override Product-level identifiers, stock, price, weight, or image relationships. Older Stores may use article attributes or article properties for similar storefront choices through different tables and rules.
| Source structure | Evidence to prepare | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|
| Current option | Option ID, values, translations, sort order, and Product assignments | Reusable choice definitions are documented. |
| Product Option | Product, linked option values, image references, required state, and display purpose | Product-level selectable values are traceable. |
| Product Variant | Variant ID, option combination, model/EAN/GTIN, price, stock, weight, image list, and Product link | Every sellable combination has complete identity. |
| Legacy article attribute | Attribute group/value, Product link, price/weight effect, stock behavior, and Order-line examples | Legacy behavior is not mislabeled as a current variant without evidence. |
| Legacy article property | Property groups, values, combinations, stock, Product link, and source-version context | Combination ownership and lineage are explicit. |
| Buyer personalization | GX-Customizer or module owner, field definition, entered value, and Order-line reference | One-time Customer input remains separate from reusable variant data. |
Build a choice ledger with one row per important option family. Record whether the value changes sellable identity, price, stock, weight, media, fulfillment, filtering, or only Product description.
Prepare Customer Groups, Prices, Quantity Rules, and Stock
Gambio customer groups can affect Product and Category access, content visibility, Product prices, graduated prices, tax treatment, discounts, and other commercial behavior. Stock may belong to a Product or Product Variant, while external systems may remain authoritative.
| Commercial area | Evidence | Owner | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer group | Group ID, name, members, visibility assignments, price fields, discount or tax behavior | Commerce owner | Group meaning is documented beyond its label. |
| Group-specific price | Product/variant, group, currency, amount, and fallback behavior | Pricing owner | Each price is connected to the intended Product and group. |
| Graduated price | Product/variant, group, quantity thresholds, price, and date context | Pricing owner | Thresholds and commercial scope are complete. |
| Quantity rule | Minimum quantity, purchase step, packaging unit, and Product/variant owner | Catalog owner | Quantity constraints are not hidden in notes. |
| Stock | Product/variant ID, quantity, stock-management mode, back-order state, and external authority | Inventory owner | The authoritative sellable-unit quantity is known. |
| Promotion or coupon | Code/rule, value, conditions, dates, usage, and historical Order references | Marketing owner | Historical discount evidence is separate from live target setup. |
Historical Order prices and discounts must remain snapshots. They should not be recalculated from current customer-group settings.
Prepare Customers, Addresses, Orders, and Service History
Customer preparation should include identity, customer-group membership, addresses, company or tax information, account state, consent evidence, reviews, memos where relevant, external IDs, and authentication dependencies. Order preparation should preserve Product or variant lines, selected values, addresses, quantities, prices, taxes, discounts, payment and shipping labels, statuses, comments, invoices, deliveries, refunds, withdrawals, and external references.
| Record area | Evidence | Owner | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer identity | Customer ID, email, group, status, addresses, language, company/tax fields, and external ID | Customer-data owner | Duplicate accounts and group assignments are resolved deliberately. |
| Authentication | Password scheme, social login/SSO, MFA, reset path, and communication owner | Security owner | Account access is planned without assuming password portability. |
| Order lines | Product/variant IDs, snapshot names, option values, quantity, price, tax, and discount | Order-data owner | Purchased items remain understandable independently of current catalog data. |
| Order state and comments | Status history, timestamps, public/internal comments, and responsible team | Operations owner | Historical workflow meaning is documented. |
| Documents and after-sale records | Invoice, delivery document, refund, withdrawal, tracking, and payment references | Finance/support owners | Historical support and reconciliation evidence is recoverable. |
| External IDs | ERP, marketplace, accounting, payment, and fulfillment keys | Integration owners | Cross-system lineage remains traceable. |
Include guest or restricted accounts, dealer groups, several addresses, current and legacy option Orders, graduated-price cases, refunds, withdrawals, and externally fulfilled Orders.
Prepare Categories, Content Manager Records, Legal Pages, and URLs
Gambio content can live in Product or Category descriptions, Product tabs, Content Manager entries, legal pages, banners, teaser areas, menus, themes, language files, or modules. Customer-group access can also apply to Products, Categories, and content.
| Storefront area | Evidence to prepare | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|
| Category hierarchy | Category IDs, parents, Product assignments, group visibility, translations, images, and metadata | Catalog hierarchy and access scope are complete. |
| Content Manager record | Content ID, type, language, status, group access, route, menu/footer placement, and media | CMS content remains separate from theme presentation. |
| Product tab or additional field | Product ID, field/tab definition, language, display position, and consuming theme/module | Product-owned content is not converted into a generic Page. |
| Priority URL | Product/Category/content owner, language, source path, metadata, and destination intent | Every high-value path has a keep, change, merge, retire, or redirect decision. |
| Internal link | Source content, linked object, old path, and destination intent | Links can be rewritten without losing the referenced record. |
| Theme or StyleEdit content | Theme, block, placement, source content, and responsible owner | Presentation dependencies are separated from portable content. |
Include legal and policy pages as content records while assigning current legal review to the appropriate business owner. Migration preparation should preserve content identity and placement evidence, not certify legal currency.
Inventory Modules, GXModules, Custom Tables, and Integrations
Create an ownership ledger for modules, GXModules, payment and shipping components, marketplace connectors, Product feeds, search, loyalty, reviews, personalization, ERP/PIM/WMS/CRM integrations, custom tables, modified fields, and direct database changes.
| Dependency | Evidence to prepare | Ready condition |
|---|---|---|
| Module or GXModule | Name, version, status, purpose, configuration owner, tables/fields, and affected records | Module-owned data has a destination or retained owner. |
| Custom field/table | Schema, key relationships, business purpose, and consuming code | Custom records can be interpreted rather than copied blindly. |
| Theme customization | Theme version, StyleEdit settings, overrides, scripts, and affected content/routes | Presentation is separated from portable records. |
| External system | Endpoint, authoritative entities, synchronization direction, IDs, and cutover owner | Competing systems of record are avoided. |
| API or feed | Resources, credentials owner, payload identifiers, update direction, and error owner | Integration evidence is complete without exposing secrets in documentation. |
| Generated data | Cache, logs, sessions, search indexes, temporary exports, and abandoned tables | Non-authoritative data is excluded deliberately. |
Inactive modules should remain in the ledger when their fields or historical records still appear in Products, Customers, Orders, or content.
Select Representative Migration Test Samples
Choose samples that expose the actual Gambio generation and operating model. Record source IDs, article numbers, URLs, option lineage, customer groups, module dependencies, external keys, and the reason each sample was selected.
| Sample | Evidence to prepare | Preparation purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Product | Price, tax, stock, Category, manufacturer, media, group visibility, and Order | Establishes the ordinary Product baseline. |
| Current Product Variant family | Product, options, variants, identifiers, stock, price, weight, images, and Orders | Represents the current combination model. |
| Legacy attribute/property Product | Source version, groups/values, combinations, price/stock behavior, and Order lines | Exposes legacy structure before mapping. |
| Customer-group case | Customer, group, restricted Product/content, price, and relevant Order | Represents segmented commerce. |
| Complex Order | Variant or legacy choice, discount, tax, payment, shipping, invoice, refund/withdrawal, and external IDs | Represents historical commerce evidence. |
| Content/route case | Content Manager entry or Product/Category content, language, group access, URL, and links | Represents content and SEO ownership. |
| Module-owned record | Core entity, module table/field, configuration owner, and integration key | Exposes non-core scope before execution. |
The Gambio sample package is ready when each selected record has a source expectation sheet, option or variant context, related files, and a named reviewer.
Complete the Final Gambio Readiness Gate
| Readiness area | Ready condition |
|---|---|
| Access and recovery | Administration, Cloud or hosting/database/files access, images, downloads, backups, and restoration ownership are confirmed. |
| Catalog | Products, current variants, legacy attributes/properties, Categories, manufacturers, media, prices, stock, and identifiers are traceable. |
| Customers and Orders | Accounts, groups, addresses, Orders, lines, totals, statuses, documents, after-sale records, and external IDs have evidence. |
| Content and URLs | Content Manager records, legal pages, Product/Category content, themes, priority paths, links, and redirect decisions are documented. |
| Dependencies | Modules, GXModules, custom fields/tables, APIs, feeds, and external systems have named owners. |
| Samples | Representative records cover each material current, legacy, Customer-group, Order, content, and module pattern. |
The Gambio scope is ready when every material record can be traced to its source generation, owner, related records, evidence artifact, and intended destination or retained system.
Conclusion
Gambio preparation requires coordinated evidence across the operating environment, Products, current options and variants, legacy attributes or properties, customer groups, prices, stock, Customers, Orders, Content Manager records, URLs, modules, and external systems. The checklist should make lineage and ownership explicit before execution.
A complete readiness package preserves recoverable source evidence, distinguishes current and legacy catalog structures, separates historical transactions from live configuration, and gives every content or module dependency a named owner.
Common Questions
What should be prepared first for a Gambio migration?
Confirm whether the Store is Cloud-hosted or self-hosted, secure the available administration and infrastructure access, create recoverable backups, and record the Gambio version, theme, modules, and customizations.
Why must current variants and legacy attributes or properties be separated?
They can produce similar storefront choices through different records and rules. Current Product Variants can own identifiers, stock, price, weight, and images, while older attributes or properties may store those relationships differently.
How should customer groups be prepared?
Document group membership together with Product, Category, and content visibility; group prices; graduated prices; discounts; and tax behavior. Preserving the group name alone does not preserve its commercial meaning.
Which Gambio Orders should be selected as representative samples?
Include current variants, legacy attribute/property choices, Customer-group pricing, guest or dealer accounts, discounts, taxes, invoices, deliveries, refunds or withdrawals, and external integration references.
How should Content Manager and theme content be divided?
Content Manager entries and Product/Category content should retain their record identity, language, access, route, and links. StyleEdit, theme blocks, and template overrides belong to presentation and need separate ownership.
What belongs in the Gambio module ledger?
Record every module, GXModule, custom table or field, feed, API connection, and external integration that creates or consumes business data. Each item needs an owner, affected records, evidence, and a destination or retained-system decision.