# Commerce data model and customer identity

*B2C Solution Architect Study Guide · Data Models and Management · Last updated November 13, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/b2c-solution-architect/data-models-and-management/commerce-data-model-and-customer-identity*

How customer profiles, products, catalogs, prices, inventory and orders are modelled in B2C Commerce and Salesforce Order Management, and how one durable customer key links Commerce, the service org and Marketing Cloud Engagement.

- Certification: Salesforce B2C Solution Architect
- Exam section: Data Models and Management
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/b2c-solution-architect

**Official exam objective:**

> Given the Salesforce supported standard object definitions for Commerce objects (profile, orders, products), articulate how key business entities relate between systems of record and systems of engagement.

## What the exam expects

- Explain what a shared B2C Commerce customer list shares across sites, and choose static, dynamic or system customer groups.
- Relate products, catalogs, price books and inventory lists to the external systems of record that feed them.
- Describe the Order Management records an order becomes and the order they are created in.
- Model each customer as one person across Commerce profiles, service-org records and Marketing Cloud Engagement subscribers.

Key terms: **customer list** (the organization-level set of registered customers a site uses); **storefront catalog** (the catalog assigned to a site whose categories form its navigation); **price book** (prices for a group of products in one currency); **Sales Channel** (the Order Management record that stands for one storefront); **subscriber key** (the value that uniquely identifies a subscriber in Engagement).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Customer list per site | A site uses one list; a list can serve many sites | [Customer Lists](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_customer_lists.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Registered system group | Members aren't necessarily logged in; use Authenticated = true | [Customer Groups as Qualifiers](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_using_customer_groups_as_qualifiers.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Storefront catalog | One per storefront; its categories are the navigation | [Catalog Design](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_catalog_design.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Master product | A container with no inventory records | [Domain Data Mappings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_data_cloud_domain_data_mappings.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Inventory lists | Up to 3,000; one list per site or store | [Inventory Management](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_inventory_management.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Price book scope | One currency, organization-level, N-to-N with sites | [Pricing and Price Books](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_pricing_and_price_books.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Store-specific pricing | Up to 2,000 stores; XML import only; store qualifiers only | [Store-Specific Price Book or Promotion](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_assigning_a_pricebook_or_promotion_specific.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Sales Channel | Name equals the B2C Commerce site ID | [Add a Sales Channel](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=commerce.om_impl_sales_channels.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |
| Order status on import | Draft for a new record, Active before the summary | [Importing Data into Order Management](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/salesforce-order-management/guide/order-management-importing-data-into-data-mgmt.html) |
| Subscriber key via Connect | 18-digit Contact, Lead or User ID | [Subscriber Key](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_co_subscriber_key.htm&type=5&language=en_US) |

## Check yourself

- When does B2C Commerce's nightly job delete an expired price table?
- Why do shipping-charge OrderItems from B2C Commerce get LineNumbers starting at 1000?
- When shoppers keep duplicate accounts on sites that share a customer list, what can they lose?
- How many inventory lists can B2C Commerce store, and what enforces the cap?

## Sources

- [Customer Lists in B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_customer_lists.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Create a Customer Group in B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_creating_a_customer_group.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Customer Groups as Promotion Qualifiers for B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_using_customer_groups_as_qualifiers.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Customer Group Object Import/Export in B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_customer_group_object_import_export.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [B2C Commerce Catalog Design](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_catalog_design.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [B2C Commerce Catalog Scenarios](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_catalog_scenarios.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [B2C Commerce Domain Data Mappings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_data_cloud_domain_data_mappings.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Inventory Management](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_inventory_management.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Pricing and Price Books in B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_pricing_and_price_books.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Assign a Price Book or Promotion to a Specific Store in B2C Commerce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=cc.b2c_assigning_a_pricebook_or_promotion_specific.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Add a Sales Channel to Order Management](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=commerce.om_impl_sales_channels.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [State and Country Codes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=commerce.om_impl_store_country_codes.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Importing Data into Order Management](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/salesforce-order-management/guide/order-management-importing-data-into-data-mgmt.html)
- [Salesforce B2C Commerce Storefront Order Data Map](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/commerce/salesforce-order-management/guide/order-management-b2c-commerce-data-map.html)
- [Subscriber Key (Marketing Cloud Connect)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_co_subscriber_key.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.account_person.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Interact with Synchronized Data Sources](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_interact_with_synchronized_data_sources.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [b2c-crm-sync README (v1.4.1)](https://github.com/SalesforceCommerceCloud/b2c-crm-sync/blob/641be82ba3ac731c1cc009d2ec71d01f2f9de29b/README.md)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 15 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the B2C Solution Architect pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams