Overview #

Product data is normally uploaded in a single data file named ‘products.csv’.

It is also possible to upload product data in multiple files via FTP.  This feature is provided to accommodate companies that need to supplement their eCat product data with information that cannot be easily exported from their ERP systems.  An example would be the need to merge basic product data like pricing, cubes, margins, sales velocity, etc. from an ERP system with marketing related information like materials, image file names, product 'story' etc. from a product information management system (PIM).

How it works #

After SuperCat Solutions enables multi-file product import for your company, you can put a primary product file named 'products.csv' in the '/data folder of your company's eCat FTP site along with one or more supplemental product files.  After the primary product file and all supplemental files are on the FTP site, upload an additional file named ‘sentinel.csv’.  The contents of the sentinal file are not significant.  After the sentinel file is uploaded, the set of product files will be queued for processing.  SuperCat's importer will merge data from all the uploaded files into a single product file that is validated as usual, then used to update the product database.

Requirements #

• The fields BaseItemCode, TradenameCode, CollectionCodes, and CategoryCodes must all be present in the primary 'products.csv' file.  
• Supplemental files should be named ‘products_1.csv’, ‘products_2.csv’, etc. 
• Supplemental files do not need to reference all of the products in 'products.csv', but supplemental file BaseItemCode values must be present in the 'products.csv' file.
• Fields referenced in the supplemental files must be either valid standard fields or custom product fields that have been defined/mapped in the admin portal 'Products / Custom fields' page prior to uploading the file.

Supplemental Product File Structure #

BaseItemCode   NewField1   NewField2   NewField3     ...
12345          new1value   new2value   new3value
67890          new1value   new2value   new3value
23456          new1value   new2value   new3value