System and method for managing product catalogs

1. A method for enhancing a product catalog database, the method being executed by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

receiving, over a computer network, two or more product records from a remote product catalog database, each product record corresponding to a product and including at least one unique product identifier;

determining, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, whether the two or more product records include different unique product identifiers, wherein the two or more product records comprise at least a portion of the product catalog database;

analyzing, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, at least a portion of the two or more product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product records include different unique product identifiers to determine whether the two or more product records correspond to an identical product; and

de-duplicating, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the two more or product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product correspond to an identical product by transmitting information to the remote product database indicating that the two or more product records correspond to an identical product, whereby the product database is enhanced to remove at least one of the two or more product records.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing at least a portion of the two or more product records comprises:

identifying an error in a first unique product identifier of a first product record in the two or more product records;

determining whether a portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to a corresponding portion of a second unique product identifier of a second product record in the two or more product records; and

designating the first product record and second product record as referring to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to the corresponding portion of the second unique product identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing at least a portion of the two or more product records comprises:

performing a comparative analysis of a first product description corresponding to a first product record in the two or more product records and a second product description corresponding to a second product record in the two or more product records; and

designating the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the comparative analysis compares one or more of word count, identical wording, metadata, or tags to generate a comparative score and wherein designating the first product record and second product record as referring to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis comprises:

designating the first product record and second product record as referring to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the comparative score is above a predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unique product identifiers of the two or more product records comprise one of manufacturer part number (MPN), Universal Product Code (“UPC”), International Standard Book Number (“ISBN”), European Article Number (“EAN”) or Japanese Article Number (“JAN”).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting a consolidated product record corresponding to the product to be stored in the product catalog database and causing the at least two product records to be deleted from the product catalog database.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting information indicating that at least one of the at least two product records should be flagged to be deleted from the product catalog database.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing step comprises applying at least one of a product ID template or a set of deduplication rules to the two or more product records.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the product ID template specifies one or more of: a permitted format of a unique product identifier, a total number of characters permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters not permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters required in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier, or one or more types of characters permitted in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the set of rules include one or more of: a rule governing permitted characters in a unique product identifier, a rule governing an acceptable level of similarity between unique product identifiers, or a rule identifying characters having a high error rate.

11. A system for enhancing a product catalog database, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to:

receive, over a computer network, two or more product records from a remote product catalog database, each product record corresponding to a product and including at least one unique product identifier;

determine whether two or more product records include different unique product identifiers, wherein the two or more product records comprise at least a portion of the product catalog database;

analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product records have different unique product identifiers to determine whether the two or more product records correspond to an identical product; and

de-duplicate the two more or product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product records correspond to an identical product by transmitting information to the remote product database indicating that the two or more product records correspond to an identical product, whereby the product database is enhanced to remove at least one of the two or more product records.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records further cause at least one of the one or more processors to:

identify an error in a first unique product identifier of a first product record in the two or more product records;

determine whether a portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to a corresponding portion of a second unique product identifier of a second product record in the two or more product listings; and

designate the first product record and second product record as referring to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to the corresponding portion of the second unique product identifier.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records further cause at least one of the one or more processors to:

perform a comparative analysis of a first product description corresponding to a first product record in the two or more product records and a second product description corresponding to a second product listing in the two or more product records; and

designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the comparative analysis compares one or more of word count, identical wording, metadata, or tags to generate a comparative score and wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause at least one of the one or more processors to designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis further cause at least one of the one or more processors to:

designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the comparative score is above a predetermined threshold.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the unique product identifiers of the two or more product records comprise one of manufacturer part number (MPN), Universal Product Code (“UPC”), International Standard Book Number (“ISBN”), European Article Number (“EAN”) or Japanese Article Number (“JAN”).

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting a consolidated product record corresponding to the product to be stored in the product catalog database and causing the at least two product records to be deleted from the product catalog database.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting information indicating that at least one of the at least two product records should be flagged to be deleted from the product catalog database.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the analyzing step comprises applying at least one of a product ID template or a set of deduplication rules to the two or more product records.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the product ID template specifies one or more of: a permitted format of a unique product identifier, a total number of characters permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters not permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters required in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier, or one or more types of characters permitted in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the set of rules include one or more of: a rule governing permitted characters in a unique product identifier, a rule governing an acceptable level of similarity between unique product identifiers, or a rule identifying characters having a high error rate.

21. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to:

receive, over a computer network, two or more product records from a remote product catalog database, each product record corresponding to a product and including at least one unique product identifier;

determine whether two or more product records include different unique product identifiers, wherein the two or more product records comprise at least a portion of the product catalog;

analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product records have different unique product identifiers to determine whether the two or more product records correspond to an identical product; and

de-duplicate the two more or product records based at least in part on a determination that the two or more product records refer to an identical product by transmitting information to the remote product database indicating that the two or more product records correspond to an identical product, whereby the product database is enhanced to remove at least one of the two or more product records.

22. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more computing devices, cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records further cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to:

identify an error in a first unique product identifier of a first product record in the two or more product records;

determine whether a portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to a corresponding portion of a second unique product identifier of a second product record in the two or more product record; and

designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the portion of the first unique product identifier not including the error is equal to the corresponding portion of the second unique product identifier.

23. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more computing devices, cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to analyze at least a portion of the two or more product records further cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to:

perform a comparative analysis of a first product description corresponding to a first product record in the two or more product listings and a second product description corresponding to a second product record in the two or more product record; and

designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis.

24. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the comparative analysis compares one or more of word count, identical wording, metadata, or tags to generate a comparative score and wherein the instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more computing devices, cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on results of the comparative analysis further cause at least one of the one or more computing devices to:

designate the first product record and second product record as corresponding to an identical product based at least in part on a determination that the comparative score is above a predetermined threshold.

25. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the unique product identifiers of the two or more product records comprise one of manufacturer part number (MPN), Universal Product Code (“UPC”), International Standard Book Number (“ISBN”), European Article Number (“EAN”) or Japanese Article Number (“JAN”).

26. The media of claim 21 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting a consolidated product record corresponding to the product to be stored in the product catalog database and causing the at least two product records to be deleted from the product catalog database.

27. The media of claim 21 , wherein the transmitting information comprises transmitting information indicating that at least one of the at least two product records should be flagged to be deleted from the product catalog database.

28. The media of claim 21 , wherein the analyzing step comprises applying at least one of a product ID template or a set of deduplication rules to the two or more product records.

29. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 , wherein the product ID template specifies one or more of: a permitted format of a unique product identifier, a total number of characters permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters not permitted in a unique product identifier, one or more characters required in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier, or one or more types of characters permitted in a predetermined portion of a unique product identifier.

30. The least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 , wherein the set of rules include one or more of: a rule governing permitted characters in a unique product identifier, a rule governing an acceptable level of similarity between unique product identifiers, or a rule identifying characters having a high error rate.