Import Builder
Import Builder/Guides/Collecting product data
E-commerce

How to Collect Product Data from Suppliers Without Spreadsheet Chaos

Every supplier sends product information their own way: a PDF price list, a spreadsheet with merged cells, barcodes in scientific notation. Ask for it once, in one format, and your store imports and product feeds all come from the same clean list.

Why it usually goes wrong

Suppliers export from their own systems, so every file has different column names, units and conventions. Someone then retypes or reshapes it into your store's import format, and each pass adds mistakes: a barcode loses its leading zero, a price arrives as "$12.50 ex GST", two variants share a SKU. Fixing it later is slower than asking for it in a fixed format, checked as it's filled in.

1. Identifiers: one code per product and variant

Everything else is matched on these, so get them right first.

The supplier's SKU for every product and variant, and your own SKU if it differs
Barcodes (GTIN, EAN or UPC), kept as text so leading zeros and long numbers survive (Barcode SKU Mapping template)
The manufacturer's part number, for products without a barcode

2. Names, descriptions and brand

What customers read, so ask for it in a form you can publish.

A product name without stock codes, sizes or promotional wording added
A plain description of the product, without links or prices
The brand, left blank for unbranded goods rather than N/A
The category, from a list you give them rather than their own

3. Variants and options

The part most likely to break an import.

One row per variant, each with its own SKU
Option names and values from a fixed list (S, M, L, not Small, med and Large)
How your store lays variants out (Product Variants in a CSV template)

4. Prices, stock and ordering

Numbers you'll calculate with, so they need to be numbers.

Unit cost and recommended retail price as plain numbers, with the currency in its own column (Supplier Product template)
Minimum order quantity and lead time in days
Available stock, as a whole number

5. Images and dimensions

What your store and feeds need to show and ship the product.

Direct links to image files (ending .jpg or .png), not shared folders or pages that need a login
Weight and dimensions, with the unit stated once for the whole file
Country of origin and customs codes, if you import or ship abroad

Mistakes that break product imports

Barcodes turned into scientific notation, or missing their leading zeros
Prices with currency symbols, ranges or notes such as ex GST
Two variants with the same SKU, or none at all
Option values spelled differently on different rows
Image links to shared folders or pages instead of the image files
Weights and sizes in mixed units

The platform-specific versions of these problems are in Shopify product CSV import errors, WooCommerce product CSV import errors and the Google Merchant Center feed guide.

How to collect it

Send one form, not a template spreadsheet

Give each supplier a form with exactly your columns. SKUs are required and unique, prices and quantities must be numbers, barcodes stay as text and categories come from a dropdown, so the file arrives in one shape every time.

Let them paste what they already have

Suppliers can import their own export into the form and fix only what's highlighted, rather than retyping a catalog.

Map it to your store once

With one clean list, each import is a copy with your platform's column names. Or send the platform template directly: the Shopify and WooCommerce products templates download files in each format.

Collect every supplier's products in one format

Start from the supplier product template, adjust the columns, and send each supplier one link. They fix what's highlighted, and you get a CSV in your format. Their data is checked in the browser and never stored by us.

Try the supplier product template

Related Guides

Relevant Templates