Import Bill of Materials

Shipstream allows users to import Bill of Materials from Excel or CSV files. This article explains the following topics:

Bill of Materials Import Configs

Import Configs allow users to quickly run an import task based on pre-defined configurations for each merchant, or for all merchants. The standard Import Configs provided out of the box are available for all merchants and will cover most situations but if you need to add additional configurations follow the instructions below.

  1. Navigate to System > Import and Export > Import Configs.
  1. From the "Import Configs" page, click Add Bill of Materials Import Config in right side of the Manage Import Configs header.
  2. In the Config Information, fill out the following fields:
    1. Choose a merchant to associate with this config, or use the default "ALL" value to apply to all merchants.
    2. Set the config's Active field to Yes.
    3. Set a descriptive Name for the Config.
    4. Choose the data format for your import files (JSON or CSV).
    5. Choose a file type for the import files (Excel or Plain Text).
  3. Click Save when finished updating the fields.

Start Bill of Materials Import Task

  1. Navigate to System > Import and Export > Import Tasks.
  1. Click New Bill of Materials Import.
  2. Select your Import Config from the list. If none appear in the grid, follow the instructions for creating a Bill of Materials Import Config.
  3. Click Choose File to select your BOM import file. If you do not yet have a file, follow the instructions to Format the Import File.
  4. Choose the Merchant associated with the BOM products.
  5. Only one option for Handle Duplicates is currently supported. "Create", simply creates the BOM product regardless of if there is an existing BOM product.
  6. To receive an email notification when the BOM Import Task is complete, then set "Send Email on Complete" to yes. The BOM Import Task can take a moment when importing large product lists. This email address can be configured by navigating to System > Configuration > General > Import > Task Complete Email.

Import Products Troubleshooting

If your Import Task fails, there will likely be an error included on the task page. This can occur if a BOM component can not be found, or if there is a typo in the attribute names.

  1. From the Progress page, click View Import Task. Or if you are on the Import Task Grid, click the Import Task.
  1. Click the Records tab.
  2. The error message will appear in the Parse Error or Submit Error column. You can click this to view the specific error message.

Format the Import File

Once you've chosen a method for importing, you will file a download link for the sample import file on the next page or create one from scratch.

If you chose an Excel/CSV Import Task, then clicking this will download a .csv file

BOM Import Sample - CSV

BOM Import Sample - JSON

To better understand the attributes, please see the table below.

If the default value is being used for every BOM product,  you can remove the entire column. The System will automatically set each product to use that missing column's default value.

BOM Attributes

The following table contains examples and definitions for import file BOM attributes.

General

Attribute ID

Description

Example

id

The "id" column is not stored but is required to associate multiple rows in the import file as belonging to the same record. All rows belonging to the same BOM must have the same id and the id must not be used to describe multiple BOMs in the same import file.

1

name

The "Name" attribute. A descriptive, but not necessarily unique, identifier for the BOM product.

*Required

Generic Parts Pack

sku

The "SKU" attribute. A unique identifier for the resulting BOM product to be created or modified (if exists).

BOM-PARENT-001

yield_qty

Quantity produced after "Bill of Material" is performed.

*Required

2

is_kit_on_demand

Set this flag "yes" if items are picked when the order is fulfilled. This is done during the picking process.

yes

is_kit_to_stock

Set this flag to "yes" if items are assembled, barcoded, and stocked on shelf.

yes

assembly_instructions

Instructions displayed to the scanner user at the Work Order screen

Cover with plastic protection.

priority

If multiple BOMs are defined for a SKU, then they will be processed in ascending order of this field. An integer.

0

component_sku

The product SKU of the component.

component-A

component_qty

The quantity of the component item consumed by the BOM. A positive integer.

1

How did we do?

Work Orders

Virtual Inventory

Contact