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Every SKU in Catalog Production moves through a fixed sequence of 13 canonical stages, from the moment the requirement is created to the moment the product is listed on a marketplace. The current stage, the next required action, and the time already spent in that stage are always visible on the work item — so any team member can tell at a glance exactly where a SKU is and what needs to happen next.
Stage transitions are enforced server-side. Unauthorized transitions — for example, a Listing Team member trying to approve QC — are rejected with an error. The UI hides buttons that are not available to your role, and the server enforces the same rules independently.

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The 13 stages

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1. Requirement created

The SKU has been added to Catalog Production but no reference images have been uploaded yet. The work item exists in the queue with a priority level, request code, and optional deadline, but no generation work can begin until product references are provided. Next action: Upload front and back product reference images in Catalog Planning or via the Excel import.

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2. Reference assets pending

The SKU record exists and is waiting for its product reference photos to be attached. The system has detected that at least one required reference is missing — for example, a saree SKU requires front drape, rear drape, body detail, and pallu spread before the preflight analysis can begin. Next action: Complete the reference upload in the associated Catalog Planning batch.

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3. Planning

Both front and back references (and any additional required references) have been uploaded. Gemini Vision is running its preflight analysis — validating product truth, understanding garment structure, colour palette, and fabric detail, and producing the five-pose generation plan. This stage is automated and typically completes within seconds to a few minutes. Next action: Wait for the preflight to complete. If it stalls, the Planning Manager can trigger a re-analysis from the Planning batch.

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4. Ready for generation

The Gemini preflight completed successfully and the five-pose plan is locked. The SKU is waiting either for a scheduled automatic generation run or for a manual Auto-Start or Generate Selected action from a Creative Team member or Planning Manager. Next action: Click Auto-Start Ready in the toolbar to queue all ready SKUs at once, or select specific SKUs and click Generate Selected.

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5. Generation in progress

GPT Image 2 is actively generating the five-pose set for this SKU. The generation job is durable — if it is interrupted, it resumes from where it left off rather than restarting from scratch. Progress is reported pose by pose in real time. The five standard poses being generated are:
  1. Hero front — primary product showcase
  2. Professional side / three-quarter — depth and silhouette
  3. Authoritative back — full rear view matching the back reference
  4. Creative Gen-Z editorial — trend-forward lifestyle framing
  5. Close-up face + detail — fabric texture and accessory focus
Next action: No manual action required. The SKU moves to Quality Review automatically when all five poses complete.

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6. Quality review

All five poses completed generation. The SKU is waiting for a Review Team member (or Admin) to evaluate the output and make a pass or reject decision. Automatic QA telemetry from the generation job is visible alongside each pose, but the human QC decision is always required before the SKU can advance. Next action: A Review Team member opens the SKU, reviews all five poses, and clicks Approve final set or Reject and request changes.

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7. Re-generation required

The Review Team rejected the five-pose set and recorded re-generation guidance. The SKU is blocked from advancing to listing until a new generation attempt is completed and passes QC. The rejection notes are preserved in the activity trail and are passed as additional direction to the next generation job. Next action: A Creative Team member or Planning Manager triggers a new generation run from the rejected SKU. The original references are reused along with the reviewer’s guidance.

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8. Approved

The Review Team passed the five-pose set. The approved pose versions are locked and a listing handoff package is automatically created. The SKU is no longer considered blocked and moves into the listing preparation flow. Next action: The system automatically creates the handoff package. The Planning Manager can assign a Listing Team owner if one has not been set.

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9. Ready for listing

The listing handoff package has been prepared and the SKU is waiting for the Listing Team to pick it up. The five approved pose images are available as download links from the SKU detail panel. Next action: The Listing Team member opens the SKU, downloads the images, and clicks Listing in progress to start work.

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10. Sent to listing team

The listing handoff email has been sent (automatically or manually) and the Listing Team has been notified. The five approved pose images and the listing package are included in the delivery. Next action: The Listing Team member opens the SKU via the email or via Catalog Production and begins the listing process.

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11. Listing in progress

A Listing Team member has acknowledged the SKU and is actively listing it on the marketplace. The SKU stays in the active queue until the Listing Team marks it done. Marking a SKU as Listing in progress records the start timestamp, which is used for stage timing. Next action: The Listing Team member completes the product listing on the marketplace and clicks Mark as listed in Catalog Production.

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12. Listed

The product has been successfully listed on the marketplace. The SKU moves out of the active work queue into the completed section. The completion timestamp, generation duration, and total elapsed time are all preserved in the activity trail. Next action: No further action required. The item is retained in history for audit and reconciliation purposes.

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13. Blocked or failed

A SKU enters this stage for one of three reasons:
  • Generation failure — the generation job encountered an unrecoverable error (provider timeout, asset storage failure, or exhausted retry attempts). The SKU detail panel records the specific error category.
  • QA exhaustion / manual block — a Planning Manager or Admin manually blocked the SKU due to an unresolvable issue with the references or the creative brief, or the SKU has been rejected multiple times without improvement.
  • Dependency blocker — a required upstream condition (such as a missing reference or an unresolved campaign) prevents the workflow from continuing.
How to unblock:
  1. Open the SKU detail panel and review the blocked reason and any error details shown there to understand why it is blocked.
  2. If the cause is a generation failure, fix the underlying issue (correct the references, update the creative brief) and trigger a new generation run. The durable worker resumes from the point of failure where possible.
  3. If the cause is a manual block or QA rejection, resolve the issue with the relevant team, then escalate to a Planning Manager or Admin to remove the block and restart the workflow.
  4. If the problem cannot be resolved, escalate to an Admin who can archive the work item or force a stage transition.
Every unblock action is recorded in the activity trail with the actor’s identity and timestamp.

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Stage timing

The workflow engine tracks exactly how long a SKU spends in each stage. Timing is accumulated across all visits to a stage — so if a SKU is rejected from Quality Review and re-enters it after re-generation, the total time shown reflects all visits combined. The current stage entry time is recorded when a SKU transitions into each stage. For completed stages, both entry and exit timestamps are preserved, letting you audit how long QC, generation, or listing actually took for any individual SKU. This timing data powers the Production health overview, which shows counts and durations for active, generating, QC-required, and completed work across your entire workspace.