How to set up a successful product import into the Plytix platform
In this article, you will learn how to structure a CSV file to successfully import data into the Plytix platform. We will go over suggestions for sanitizing data, the required fields, and how to import different entities like categories, variations, and relationships.
Creating Your Master Spreadsheet(s)
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Creating Your Master Spreadsheet(s)
To make sure data is uniform when entering Plytix, we suggest creating a sanitized master spreadsheet or spreadsheets. To test the importer and your formatting, start with a small selection of your products.
The functions below will help you reformat your data from multiple sources.
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Google Sheets |
Excel |
⚠️ CSV Files cannot be more than 20MB
Required Fields and Settings
SKUs
All products in Plytix must have a unique SKU. This is how we identify your products in the system. Your spreadsheet must include one SKU column. These SKUs are not limited by characters and can include a combination of letters and numbers.
⚠️ The SKU is required. If you do not include a column with SKUs, you will be unable to complete the import.
The SKU is the only required field. This is one of the 7 pre-defined attributes (system attributes) that you can import into Plytix. All other product information can be created using unlimited user-defined attributes.
💡 For your first import, we suggest gathering a small sample of your data (20-50 products and 5-10 attributes) to get familiar with the PIM. If you're unsure of what attributes to include with your products, take a look at Lesson 2 in our Plytix Academy.
Required Settings
In your spreadsheet…
- The first row of your sheet must include headers to identify attributes in each column
- There must be one product per row. Each row below the header row will be read by the PIM as a separate, unique product.
- All values of an attribute must be contained to one cell (see example)
Attributes with multiple values such as colors, materials, etc. must be contained to one cell in that row, separated by a delimiter like a comma. You'll be able to choose a format such as multi-select or dropdown for these kinds of attributes during the import process.
ℹ️ When importing attributes with multiple values, you can use a different separator other than a comma by configuring the import settings.
Other System Fields
The Plytix platform has 5 other pre-defined fields, or system attributes, that can match with your information upon import. These are all optional.
Categories
Plytix Categories is a special hierarchy attribute. Each root category can have up to 6 subcategories contained within it. To import category structures, follow the instructions and example below:
- Category structures (categories and subcategories) need to be defined with a separator (the examples will use the default separator ">")
- If a product is in multiple categories, separate category structures with a comma
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For example:
A pair of pants could have the following category hierarchies:
In a cell it would look like this: Clothing>Pants>Denim,Collection>2017>AW17,Men>Bottoms>Casual Pants>Denim,Men’s Clearance>Denim |
ℹ️ The ‘>‘ sign is the default option used to define the hierarchy of the categories from top to bottom. To keep the multiple values in the same cell, we separate them with a comma (other options for defining hierarchies and separating values may be used, and can be set during import).
Variation Of: Declaring Parents of Product Variations
The "Variation Of" system attributes allows you to define which products have a parent product.
To import variations correctly, make sure that:
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You have a parent product that all variations (or child products) refer to in the column 'Variation Of'
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No child product refers to another child product
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Parent products are the “root” and therefore have the 'Variation Of' column empty
- Child products follow the One product, one row rule and have all information in its row, even if it means having duplicate data across all child product rows as well as the parent.
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For example:
A product called "Raw Jeans" comes in sizes small, medium and large. The small size (SKU AW1701) is the parent product. The medium and large sizes are variations of this product.
💡 Parents of variations can be sellable or non-sellable products. While no company is the same, we recommend setting them up as non-sellable products. Learn why here.
Thumbnail
The Thumbnail system attribute can also be defined upon import. The Thumbnail is the product's visual identifier in the system. This also requires a public URL to be imported.
GTIN
The GTIN system attribute is an optional unique identifier in Plytix and is compatible with EANs, UPCs, and other Global Trade Identification Numbers. This attribute will validate the structure of the GTIN and its uniqueness, prohibiting any duplicates.
Label
The Label system attribute is the product's textual identifier in the system. This corresponds to your product's name or title. We suggest using a descriptive product name to give a clear idea of the item you're selling.
Custom Fields
Custom Attributes
You can create an unlimited number of custom fields in Plytix. These are called Custom Attributes. These can all be created upon import.
Learn about the different attribute types you can create in this article.
Now that you have all you need to create a sparkling spreadsheet, you are ready to import your products!
What's next?
- Learn about the process of importing your products
- Learn how to upload and import assets
- Learn how to import a Shopify CSV template into Plytix
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