Competence Center

Upload product data

Shop System / Backend

Uploading data involves two different steps, namely the product data feed and the sales details feed. Below, we take a closer look at the product data feed.

Product data need to be uploaded to the backend first. This is necessary because otherwise, it’s impossible to assign the accurate sales details to each product.

Product data uploads contain several mandatory fields to be completed that, however, don’t change much, such as the relevant product categories (monitor), MPNs and manufacturer/brand names.

Formats

  • .csv (default format, works for all uploads)
  • .xlsx
  • .xml / BMEcat (BMEcat requires manual conversion)

Creating the files

When it comes to importing and creating product master data, you’ve got two options. One is using a template, the other one is exporting the data from your PIM system. However, we recommend you export the data yourself and configure them in line with the Conrad requirements using the Mapping Assistant provided the shop system backend.     

Below, we’ve compiled information about attributes relevant to the product data feed. It includes both details on mandatory attributes and some pointers on recommended attributes that will help you increase the visibility of your products on our platform.

List of mandatory attributes (products)
Mandatory attributes (products)
Product category
Please provide a category for each item (either smallest subcategory or entire category tree).
Seller Product ID
The unique product code you use to identify the product and its orders. Usually, this is the product ID assigned by our ERP system.
Product title
Keep content unambiguous: each product is unique, and thus, should be given its own name.
The maximum number of chars displayed on SERPs and product detail pages is 120. Depending on ranking, channel and mobile device used to view the page, titles might be truncated.
Some search engines (e.g. Reco Engine) truncate titles with more than 70 chars to save space. Means make sure that the first 70 chars of each title describe the product in a distinguishable manner. Google PLAs are limited to 70 characters by default.
Start with purpose/item title, brand and MPN/type, followed by other product features sorted by importance. Research the keywords, no generalisation. Use descriptive names/titles as this improves findability and helps customers engage.
Add additional keywords afterwards.
Brand
Please provide the product brand name.
Manufacturer’s part number (MPN)
Unique manufacturing part number (MPN.) The MPNs are crucial when it comes to online product findability and matching on price comparison sites.
All brands (i.e. items not classified as "no name" products) require an MPN.
Sales unit
Provide the sales unit of your product. Choose one of the following units:
Piece: One unit, may also include accessories if applicable. Examples: One tube of glue, one notepad, one digital camera + battery + charger.
Pair: Two units of the same kind constitute a pair. Example: Gloves (as selling one single glove doesn’t make sense.)
Pack: Multiple identical products that are sold together. Example: 10 highlighters in one wrapper.
Set: Different products that are sold together. Example: a case with a fountain ben and a ballpoint pen.
Metre: Product is sold by the metre. Prices are quoted per metre. Example: Cables. HOWEVER, tape is sold as a piece or pack.
Note to suppliers: Sales units are unrelated to unit prices, to SKUs and to the order units you want us to use when purchasing a product.
Content
Specify the content (numerical). “Piece” refers to one item. “Pair” refers to two items. “Pack” usually means more than one piece.
Content quantity unit
Unit describing the sold quantity of a product.
For instance, if you sell a pack of 10 identical items, you need to choose “piece” (i.e. “10 pcs”.) 
Other content quantities are g, kg, ml, l, cm, m, m².
VAT (Sales)
VAT rate applicable to the product. Usually, this means the standard rate (e. g. 19 percent in Germany). Reduced rates might apply to books or food.
List of recommended attributes (products)
Recommended attributes (products)
Sales unit EAN / GTIN
Please enter the EAN / GTIN of the sales unit.
Leave blank if no EAN applies because you do not stock the item yourself. If this is the case, make sure you complete the “Brand” and “MPN” fields instead.
Product highlights / USPs
List any deal making and distinguishing features of the product. -> Start with the most discernible ones.
  • Provide the same content in the same order and use the same spelling across similar categories.
  • Put a middle dot (·) after each feature.
  • Do not use bullets or other types of bulleted lists.
  • Repeating the main technical specs helps customers navigate
Advertising copy
  • Running text in the form of prose, use of HTML tags allowed (<br />, <p>, <b>, <em>, etc)
  • No listings of product features.
  • Create easy-to-read content, focussing on product highlights and resulting user benefits.
  • Structured writing (paragraphs).
  • Include keywords
Product-related keywords
Select keywords for individual products to optimise SERP rankings. Separate keywords or phrases separated by a comma followed by a space (, ).
Do not use general terms such as product categories or practical examples, make sure you choose the accurate synonyms.

Product image 1 URL

  • URL (deep link) of main product image
  • Supported file formats: .jpg, .png, .gif
  • Minimum size (short side): 400 pixels (840 pixels recommended)
  • Minimum file size: 350 kB (1.6 MB recommended)

Further recommendations:

  • 300 dpi resolution
  • Approval path (no automated paths)
  • Metadata providing information about the creator/copyright holder

You can upload up to 5 images per product.

How to upload

There are different ways to import product data.

FTP server

Mirakl allows setting up a server connection that enables automated product data imports. Log in to:

  1. "My Account"
  2. "Settings"
  3. "Imports"

Here’s a short checklist with information you need to provide:

  • Transfer Protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP or SFTP)
  • Host / server address
  • Port
  • File path (without host)
  • Login details (username and password)

Product data uploads are limited to "Normal" import mode. For instance, any changes made to product titles will be applied automatically when you import an updated file.

Product data upload DE

API

Product data, sales details and pricing data need to be uploaded using separate access points.  

  • Product data uploads -> Access point P41
  • Sales details upload -> Access point OF01 (“Normal”, “Delete & Replace” import mode)
  • Pricing data upload -> Access point PRI01 (“Delete & Replace” import mode only)

Import manually

You can upload product data, sales details and prices manually by using the Mirakl dialogue box. To do so, go to

  1. "My Inventory"
  2. "Import from file"

Use the tabs to view imports and request error reports if applicable.

Common error messages

Importing product information doesn’t always work right away. There are many reasons why your first attempt to create product master data might fail. This is why you always need to check the import history, looking for error reports. Likely errors are either data conversion errors or errors occurring during data integration.

Import error reports are available in your Mirakl account. Click the “Action” tab and go to

“My Inventory” > “Import from file” > “Check product data import”

Below overview lists common error codes and tells you how to fix them.

The attribute {0} is required.

Description:

First Case: Import via Operator's file template. A required attribute was not sent or was left empty.
Make sure all mandatory attributes have been filled out.

Second Case: Import using the configuration wizard. A required attribute from your product file was not mapped to a corresponding operator's attribute or is completely missing in your file.
OR
You have correctly mapped all of the mandatory attributes but the values for this attribute are empty in the product import file.

Solution:

First case: In the imported product file, enter a value for this attribute.

Second case:

  1. In the back office menu bar, select My Account > Mapping Configuration.
  2. Click "Use the configuration wizard" on your screen's top-right corner.
  3. Select step 4. attribute mapping.
  4. Map the attribute by dragging it to an operator's attribute.
    OR
    Verify that a value has been set for this attribute in the product import file.
The category {0} is unknown.

Description:

The category sent with your file does not exist, is not properly written or isn't mapped to an operator value.

Solution:

Please check the spelling of the sent category. In case the Mirakl template is used the whole category path has to be entered.

In case the mapping assistant was used, please verify if your category was assigned to a value on Conrad side.

The category could not be identified.

Description:

The column header which contains the category information is different from the value mapped in the mapping assistant.

Solution:

Check if the attribute name is properly written in the header of the file and is not different from the attribute name mapped in the mapping assistant.

In the back office menu bar, select My Account > Mapping Configuration.

Compare the values mapped for the Category attribute to the header name in your file.

The catalog category {0} must be mapped to a leaf operator catalog category.

Description:

A category is considered a leaf category when it is the lowest category level found in the category tree.

Solution:

In the back office menu bar, map your catalog category to operator catalog category:
Select My Account > Mapping Configuration.

Click the Use the configuration wizard button on the screen's top-right corner. Click the third tab to map your categories to operator's leaf categories: 3. Category Mapping.

The attribute {0} is not in the possible values set in the value list.

Description:

The attribute value sent does not exist in the corresponding value list or wasn't mapped to the operator configuration.

Solution:

Verify that the value was mapped to the operator's value in the Configuration Wizard. In case the Mirakl template was used consider that the value is written correctly.

If a value is not available yet contact your operator to request the value to be added to the value list.

The attribute {0} must be an integer.

Description:

The attribute's type is INTEGER. The value you informed is not an integer.

Solution:

In the imported product file an integer value (with no decimals) should be entered.
An integer is a number that can be written without a fraction (e.g. 5, 47, 280).

The attribute {0} must be numeric.

Description:

The attribute's type is DECIMAL. The value sent within the product file is not a numeric.

Solution:

In the imported product file, you should enter a numeric value.
A numeric is a number that may contain a decimal (i.e: 25.6, 12, 65.99).

Manufacturer 'X' can't be changed to 'Y' for already existing product '80000000'.

Description:

A product has been created under manufacturer part number X.
A change of the manufacturer part number (to Y) is not allowed.

Solution:

Please check whether the manufacturer part number is transferred correctly and correct it if necessary.
If the newly transmitted value is correct, the initially created product must first be invalidated. To do this, the attribute "Product InvalidationFlag" must be sent with the value "invalidate".

Brand *Brand.X* can't be changed to brand *Brand.Y* for an existing product.

Description:

A product has been created under brand X.
A change of the brand (to Y) is not allowed.

Solution:

Please check whether the brand is transferred correctly and correct it if necessary.
If the newly transmitted value is correct, the initially created product must first be invalidated. To do this, the attribute "Product InvalidationFlag" must be sent with the value "invalidate".

EAN *123* can't be changed to EAN *456* for an existing product.

Description:

A product has been created under EAN 123.
A change of the EAN (to 456) is not allowed.

Solution:

Please check whether the EAN is transferred correctly and correct it if necessary.
If the newly transmitted value is correct, the initially created product must first be invalidated. To do this, the attribute "Product InvalidationFlag" must be sent with the value "invalidate".

OrderUnit '1 ST' can't be changed to '100 ST' for already existing product '80000000'.

Description:

A product has been created under order unit '1 ST'.
A change of this value (to 100 ST) is not allowed.

Solution:

Please check whether the values are transferred correctly and correct them if necessary.
If the newly transmitted value is correct, the initially created product must first be invalidated. To do this, the attribute "Product InvalidationFlag" must be sent with the value "invalidate".

Product with the same EAN+packaging or Brand+Manufacturer+packaging already exists for importId '123'. SellerProductId '8000000'.

Description:

The same combination of EAN and content quantity or manufacturer part number and brand name occurs several times in a product import. This combination must be unique for each product.

Solution:

Check the content and corresponding data records in your product file and correct them if necessary.

Duplicate with sellerProductId: '123', brandName: 'X', manufacturer: 'ABC', orderUnit: '1 unece.unit.C62' already exists.

Description:

A changed article number for an already created product was transferred.
Changing the article number of an already existing product is not allowed.

Solution:

Please check whether the article number is transferred correctly and correct it if necessary.
If the newly transmitted value is correct, the initially created product must first be invalidated. To do this, the attribute "Product InvalidationFlag" must be sent with the value "invalidate".

The usage of No-Name brand without providing an EAN is not allowed.

Description:

The brand "No Name" may only be used if there is a valid EAN available for an article and it is literally a no name product.

Solution:

If there is no valid EAN for a product, a corresponding brand value must be indicated.

No primary image URL was set with attributeId 'Product.PrimaryImageURL_MP'.

Description:

No image link to an image attribute existing in the product feed or assigned in Mirakl is transferred.

Solution:

Check the related records in the product file and ideally add a corresponding link to the product image.

Brand 'Brand.X' not found for transformation.

Description:

An error has occurred while processing the brand.

Solution:

Please contact your Conrad Marketplace representative.

Your error message is not listed or the solution did not help you? Then contact us: tom.mp@conrad.de

We will take care of your request as soon as possible.

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