Entitlement policy gaps that hide products from buyers
Key Takeaway
When buyers can't see a product, the cause is often a gap in the entitlement setup. Check that the product and the buyer group are on the policy, the policy is Active, the see-products option is selected, and the search index was rebuilt afterward.
Entitlement policies control which products each buyer group can see in a B2B store, and whether those buyers can also see prices. When a buyer or a guest can't find a product, the cause is often a gap in that setup. The product, the buyer group, or the policy itself may not be configured, or the search index may not have been rebuilt. If you know how the pieces connect and which tools check them, you can find and fix the gap before launch.
Entitlement policies and buyer groups
You assign products and buyer groups to a policy. By default, a B2B store uses entitlement policies to decide which products and product categories are available to a buyer group. When you create a store, the system automatically creates a default buyer group and a default entitlement policy. You can add more of each as needed.
A B2B store can have multiple buyer groups and markets. A product can be assigned to multiple entitlement policies. Each policy can be tied to different buyer groups, so different customers can see different product sets.
Seeing products and seeing prices are separate choices on a policy, so you can set up a buyer group to see a product without seeing its price.
A store sells cleaning supplies to two buyer groups, Retail Partners and Distributors. The Retail Catalog policy holds floor cleaner and glass cleaner. It is assigned to Retail Partners and lets them see products but not prices. The Distributor Catalog policy holds floor cleaner, glass cleaner, and 50-liter bulk drums. It is assigned to Distributors and lets them see both products and prices. Floor cleaner and glass cleaner sit on both policies. Retail Partners buyers see the two cleaners without prices. Distributors buyers see all three products with prices.