Knowledgebase
Overview #
eCat's inventory file is used to publish product inventory balance information to eCat. This can include information like quantity available, on-order quantities, next arrival date and quantity, and inventory balances in different distribution centers.
Inventory File Fields #
| Code | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S | String | Any string |
| B | Boolean | Valid values for 'True' include 'T', 't', '1'. Valid values for 'False' include 'F','f'','0',<empty field>. |
| M | Monetary | Numbers with two decimals |
| F | Floating Point | Numbers with or without decimals |
| I | Integer | Numbers with no decimals |
The Fields #
| Field Name | Type | Req? | Length | Validation/Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BaseItemCode | S | Y | 20 | Item SKU number. This must exactly match the item number in the products.csv file. |
QtyAvailable | I | Y | 5 | Quantity of the product available to promise the customer for immediate shipment. This is usually calculated as 'on-hand' quantity minus 'backordered' quantity minus quantity 'reserved' to in-house sales orders. ('on-hand' less 'sales order backlog') |
QtyInTransit | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the product in-transit to the warehouse (on the water) |
QtyOnHand | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the product on-hand in the warehouse |
QtyReserved | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the product reserved/committed/allocated to unshipped sales orders |
QtyOnBackorder | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the product backordered against unshipped sales orders |
QtyOverseas | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the item available in the overseas warehouse. This field is useful for displaying 'white wood' and other inventories which are not 'on-hand', but which can be shipped more quickly than items that must be produced from scratch |
QtyOnPOrder | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the item on purchase order with the vendor |
QtyInShowroom | I | N | 5 | Quantity of the SKU on-hand in the showroom. This is useful for showroom planning, and for creating smart stacks of items that are 'not' in the showroom. |
NextReceiptDate | D | N | 8 | Date of next product receipt at your warehouse |
NextReceiptQty | I | N | 5 | Quantity of next product receipt at your warehouse |
<custom fields> | S | N | 255 | Custom fields can be added to the inventory file as needed and used for informational display, for defining SmartLists, product filters, for sorting the catalog and other purposes. Custom fields must be defined in the admin portal before they can be imported. Click here for details. |
Option1..OptionN | S | N | 5 | Use this and the following fields only if you are using the options fields in your products.csv file and have options defined in the admin console. |
DistributionCenter | S | N | 5 | Do not use this field. |
Importing the inventory file #
The inventory file upload tool (Tools/Upload Data/Inventory) can be used to manually upload your inventory.csv file. On the file upload page, click the 'Choose File' button, select the correct file on your computer, then click 'Upload File'. There will be a pause, followed by a confirmation message. After the file is uploaded it may take several minutes for SuperCat's server to check the file and update your eCat database.
The inventory file can also be imported by putting it in the '/data' directory of your eCat FTP site. This enables full automation of the file update process.
Error checking #
All data files are checked for errors before they are used to update eCat. After importing a file, check the 'File Import Status' report under Tools/Admin Reports. If errors are discovered in the file, the import date/time stamp will display as a blue link. Click the link to view a list of problems showing the line number and a description of the problem for easy troubleshooting.
There are two types of problem reports, 'errors' and 'warnings'. Errors are problems that could cause eCat to be unreliable or inaccurate. Records with errors are not updated in eCat. Warnings are less serious problems, like fields that are too long. All problems listed in the error report should be corrected.
In order to ensure eCat's reliability, no data will be imported if there is a serious ('fatal') error in the file.
Note: If there are 'errors' during the file import, previously imported records that are no longer included in the new import file will not be removed from your eCat data. Obsolete records are removed only when the file import is error free.
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