Skip to content

Importing product data

Product and price data is loaded by importing a supplier spreadsheet — typically a price list uploaded as a document against the supplier's deal. Import runs asynchronously and is driven by a per-supplier field-mapping step so the same spreadsheet layout can be reused each time.

The mapping step

From a supplier's uploaded price-list document, open the mapping wizard. It:

  1. Reads the spreadsheet's header row and shows the available columns.
  2. Loads any previously saved mapping for that supplier (falling back to the site's default mapping if none exists).
  3. Lets you map incoming columns to two groups of fields — the core product fields and the fields for whatever you are importing (prices, media, logistics, or marketing) — and pick the meta-data columns.
  4. Lets you choose an import type: complete or partial.

Two save actions:

  • Save Mappings stores the mapping as the reusable per-supplier template for next time.
  • Save Mappings & Import stores the mapping and starts the import.

Saved mappings are validated against the real product-table columns; a mapped name that isn't a known column is folded into the core product fields.

What import does

The import runs in the background (you'll see progress notifications). It reads the workbook, applies the mapping, updates or adds products, loads prices or media as configured (including deriving a media sheet when image columns are mapped), and then reindexes the affected products so they appear in the catalogue. When it finishes, the source document is marked processed and a completion notification is sent.

Reimport marks missing products discontinued

Before a supplier import loads the new file, the supplier's existing products are marked discontinued. Products present in the new file are updated (and effectively re-activated); products not in the new file stay discontinued. This is the intended way stale lines drop off — but it means a partial or wrong file can discontinue products you meant to keep, so confirm the file is complete before importing.

Tracking import runs — the Updates feed

The Updates screen (menu: Prices & Products → Updates, admin-only) is a feed of import runs, one row per job: supplier, deal, source document, start time, runtime, products added, products updated, and type. It is a history of imports, not of individual field edits.

Each row has a digest toggle that flags whether that import run generates a change-digest notification.

Why an import didn't do what you expected

  • Stale grid. Imported products appear in the catalogue only after reindexing completes; give it a moment and reload.
  • Products discontinued. Anything absent from the imported file is left discontinued (see above).
  • Mapping. If fields land in the wrong place, check the saved mapping — an unmapped/misnamed column is treated as a core product field.