Variable changed to simple product - How to do ?

If a product is part of a variable product but you want to be a single you need to consider the implications on the systems.

Firstly get the product right in Retail Express, set the Manufacturer SKU (or Custom3) and make sure the Size and Colour is set up correctly.

Then you may need to delete the product in WooCommerce and contact us for a refresh. 

You may be able to removed it as variable and change it to a simple product but you MUST let us know to do a refresh.

The other solution is to turn off the integration, update the two systems SKU's and then once both systems are update turn it back on re-loading both systems.

Update the SKUs in REX to the new values, the integration would then try to create these new products in eCommerce. You can then move the images and descriptions over to the new product and delete the old one. The integration will now be linked to the newly created product.

Products can still remain linked between Retail Express and your eCommerce store and not be available from your store front. You can unpublish the product from your store front during these changes to ensure they are not bought in error.

Similar constraints apply when changing the Manufacturer SKU, the system will be trying to update based upon the original settings.

WooCommerce

Safe procedure

1. In Retail Express: give the product a Manufacturer SKU (or Custom3) that no other product uses. It is not neccessary to Clear or set Size/Colour as it isn't grouped with anything.
2. In WooCommerce, choose one of these:
   • Cleanest: delete the product and permanently empty the trash. Trashed variations can still hold the SKU. The sync will then recreate it as a simple product (as a draft
   • Keep the product (preserves URL, reviews, images): go to the Variations tab and delete all variations first. Then change the type to Simple, then set the SKU to the REX Supplier SKU (not the Code). Doing it in this order avoids the duplicate SKU error.
3. Ask TranslatorHQ for a refresh either way, so the cached Woo product and variant rows are rebuilt with the correct IDs. Without this, stock updates keep targeting the old variation IDs.

The same logic applies when changing a Manufacturer SKU. The parent's SKU and the grouping both come from it, so the cache and Woo will disagree until a refresh.