Data eXchange (DX) Channels

In this article

1. Data Exchange channels are used to import inventory information to StoreAutomator.
2. Adding an Import Channel
3. Template Preparation
4. After the Import

Data Exchange channels are used to import inventory information to StoreAutomator.

Introduction

Data Exchange channels are used to import inventory information to StoreAutomator. This is useful if you have an internal inventory controlling program already set up, up & running. You would like to use StoreAutomator to communicate with sales channels like Amazon or eBay.

You can reach DX channel and their settings through:

Menu > Tools > DX Channels

The upcoming screen is a list of data channels created in the system.

Adding an Import Channel

This is the place where you provide information to download the data from. Click on the “Add Import Channel” button towards the upper right-hand side.

There are nine methods of downloading inventory listings.

• Channel Input imports the information into one of your selected channels as overrides, daily, through API connection protocol or a file,
• Channel Report, sends reports to your email or to an FTP site, obtained from channels that provide reports, such as Amazon, Walmart, etc. 
• FTP Channel obtains information through File Transfer Protocol or FTP connection from a remote computer and imports to your inventory,
• Import Channel imports information from one of your pre-selected StoreAutomator channels; e.g., Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, etc. to your inventory,
• Inventory Input, imports information from a data source into your inventory under a selected supplier’s inventory,
• Order Export, exports your orders to and receives tracking numbers from an FTP source,
• Warehouse Input obtains information from any channel or data source into your inventory under a selected warehouse’s inventory,

The below table compares Data Source, Target, and purposes of methods:

Template Preparation

Templates are basically a guide for the StoreAutomator system to figure which field in the incoming file needs to be written to which field in the StoreAutomator inventory or Channels. Templates are required for the said methods to perform, failing to define a template will prematurely terminate the process.

• To create Templates, you can either click on the “Add” text in the Template section or go to Settings> Templates and the “Add Template” button.
• Select Template type, as “Generic Import.”
• Choose your template type. Chosen template types provide the StoreAutomator system with the available fields for this type of upload. Once a template is selected, while you are adding fields, the fields defined are available for selection. You can choose these fields and match your own file’s fields, telling the StoreAutomator system to look into your file, look for a certain field name and send the data in that field to the corresponding StoreAutomator field. Templates are purpose-based, which means they will provide different fields for your usage; they need to be chosen correctly for your purposes. Here is a list of the templates and their purposes for your information:
• Channel: Channel Descriptions: For importing description related fields,
• Channel: Channel Inclusions: For importing channel-related fields,
• Channel: Channel Products: For importing all fields of products, use this one,
• Channel: Repricer Settings: For importing Price related fields,
• Inventory: Alias Conversion: For importing alias, AltSKU related fields,
• Inventory: Bundle Conversion: For importing bundle related fields,
• Inventory: Liquidation Settings: For importing Liquidation related fields,
• Inventory: Multi-Channel Sync: For importing sync related fields,
• Inventory: Multi-Channel Alias: For importing alias, AltSKU related fields,
• Inventory: Product Data: For importing alias, AltSKU related fields,
• Inventory: Publish State: For importing publish state-related fields,
• Order: Import Tracking: For importing Tracking related fields,
• Warehouse: Warehouse Product: For importing warehouse related fields.

It is better to use “Channel Products” and “Product Data” type templates to provide plenty of fields for importing purposes.

If your file does not have headers that is not a problem, in StoreAutomator you can define headers by using parameters, %0, %1,... and assign them to the correct product field. In the below example, the first column(%0) is assigned to the SKU field, and the second column (%1) is assigned to the quantity field.

Once the correct template is selected, the next step is to match and assign your fields to StoreAutomator fields. Make sure to save your work occasionally not to lose work. Prepared templates must be tested to see if they work properly and as expected.

After the Import

After the import your file will be converted to a StoreAutomator import file and then will be forwarded to the importer. Importer will process the file and you will receive a notification in the upper right corner. Click on the notification to view any errors or warnings about the import operation. If you got some errors, it means that these items did not make it to the inventory and the errors need fixing.

Also, you can find any imported file in the Import history, which is in Tools> Import> Import History.

This is a list of all imports in the last 30 days, their results, the original file and the result file. Clicking on the 'Download' button gets you the Original file and to get the results click on the text Results.

The best way to fix errors, since this is a converted file, download the converted file and correct the errors on this file. After the necessary corrections are made, the file can be uploaded using the normal import method (not the DX channel Method). You don't need to erase the successful items, they will be omitted.

The normal import method of StoreAutomator is from the menu, Tools>Import>From File; and dragging & dropping the correct file to the shaded area.

It is advised that you check the results every time an import file is uploaded to the system and correct any errors the last file might have.