nopCommerce 2.4, Manufacturer Search, question

Greetings:

Is there a plugin that will allow for the searching of manufacturers...similar to the product search page, but for manufacturers?

Thanks in advance.

Josh

In case my original post is not clear...

Basically, I would like to create a page that would allow a user to provide their zipcode and the search results would return all of the manufacturers with the same zipcode for example.

Manufacturers don't have ZipCode.

You could create additional Manufacturers (or Categories) that are the Zip Codes themselves.  A product can be linked to multiple Manufacturers (and Categories)

Then, with no code changes, customer can select with existing left nav, or search using Advanced Search.  
Or, with minor code changes you could create additional dropdown on search page - filter for just the zip codes  (and you can also filter them out of Manufacturer dropdown)

Ouch!  I didn't realize Manufacturers didn't have zipcodes...I assumed they did.

Back to the drawing board.  Thanks for your input as always.

Josh

Okay, so I've taken a look at the 'Manufacturers' table and I can see the available fields....no Zipcode like you said.

I am not so sure about the idea of creating Manufacturers that are actually just zipcodes...that seems peculiar, and I'm afraid that would break down in the long run.  Just seems like it could be a maintenance nightmare.

How difficult would it be to create a separate table for Manufacturer Contact info?  Then I could join the Manufacturers table to the ManufacturersContactInfo(?) table.

On a side note....I'm afraid maybe I'm making a mistake by trying to treat my concept of "Stores" as "Manufacturers"...see, there is no product in my shop that is uniquely tied to any one "Store"; whereas, a typical "Manufacturer" does have products that are distinctly associated with it and no other manufacturer.

My shop markets and sells tropical fish.  And what makes my shop unique is that all I really do is collect deposits (ie, pre-orders) for rare and exotic fish...and once I collect a deposit, that triggers the order process.  That process involves alerting a pet shop (selected by the customer) and the distributor (my former employer) that a customer has placed an order that needs to be fulfilled.  So...a goldfish is a goldfish is a goldfish....and there's not one "Store" (ie, pet shop) among my network of pet shops that holds exclusive rights to sell a goldfish.  A goldfish is sold by all of the pet shops in the network.  And so, I'm worried that maybe I should reconsider trying to treat my "Stores" as "Manufacturers".

Perhaps I need to work hard to figure out a way to add a new entity to my nopCommerce installation:  a Store.

Actually, I might be able to use the 'Address' table.  It seems to be relatively generic.

Then I could create a ManufacturerAddress table that mimics the CustomerAddress table.

You can search the forums for posts about "multi store";  there's a code branch that implements it - but that seems overkill for your situation.  Also, any custom coding done outside of plugins makes it much more difficult to keep up with new releases of the core NopC.

The "CustomerAddress" table is actually CustomerAddresses  (plural).  It's a join table, and probably more than you need.  You could just add address fields to Manufacturer (Store) if each represents a single store location.  See
https://www.nopcommerce.com/docs/73/updating-an-existing-entity-how-to-add-a-new-property.aspx

You said all stores carry gold fish, yet you wanted a search by store - so is it really the case that all stores carry all products?

Not "search BY store"...but "search FOR store"....

Customers at my shop, browse the catalog of fish, corals, etc, and when they are ready to checkout, the first thing they need to do is to find a pet shop nearby to have their order shipped to....because the distributor refuses to ship directly to consumers.  It's a unique, admittedly somewhat odd, arrangement....but regardless that's the situation.

So, it's not a "search by store" scenario....it's a "search for store" scenario.

....just a few more thoughts:

I used "goldfish" as an example, however, the fact is my shop focuses on marketing the most rare and exotic species.  The species that are not typically found in a "mom and pop pet store."  

It's no irony that most pet shops across the country hold the same stock of tropical fish.  They all tend to keep the most commonly purchased species, and conversely they're all usually very hesitant to keep the rare species (because it's expensive, and it's likely that the fish will sit on the shelf for awhile before it sells).

So, my shop is a "middle man" - - a go-between.  I market the rare species, collect a deposit, and then trigger the order process.  Because the distributor has a strict policy of not selling directly to consumers, I must abide by the rule of having all order shipped to a local pet shop of the customer's choosing.

Josh

PS - thanks for your input and insights;  much appreciated.

How many stores are there?

I think using manufacturers would probably work for you without too much effort.  You can even paste the google map Iframe html right into the html editor.   And there is an "All Manufacturers" page (last link in the left nav manuf box) that shows them all, so you may not need a search, though you could easily put one there.