ChannelAdvisor can be used to send your product information across a variety of channels. In order to provide all of the information needed to describe your products on Marketplaces, or to advertise your products on Search and Shopping channels, you should carefully consider what information is needed and how you plan to send that information to ChannelAdvisor. In many cases an existing product feed, with some modification, can be used to add product information into ChannelAdvisor inventory. If you take the time to set up a file with accurate titles, descriptions, prices, and other relevant product data, you will have markedly better results across marketplace channels such as Amazon and eBay, which means more revenue for you.

Prerequisites

You should be familiar with the following topics before continuing:

• Recommended File Content – Is your data in an acceptable format for the channel (s) you plan on listing and do you have all of the information that is required?
• ChannelAdvisor Foundations – You should have a general understanding of the foundational tools that you will see often in ChannelAdvisor.

Video

Getting Inventory into ChannelAdvisor - Overview – This video is for sellers wishing to learn the various methods of adding inventory into ChannelAdvisor. This overview will demonstrate how to add inventory via User Interface, add inventory via the ChannelAdvisor format / Custom format spreadsheet, and how to add inventory via API. View Transcript

Tasks to Complete

Complete the following tasks to successfully upload inventory into ChannelAdvisor.

1. Choose an Upload File Format
2. Choose a File Delivery Method
3. View Inventory Upload Processing Best Practices

Choose an Upload File Format

Select from one of the upload formats below. Once you've made the decision about which format is right for you, please have a look at our documentation regarding File Delivery Methods so you can learn how to deliver this file to us.

• The ChannelAdvisor User Interface
  Individual inventory items can be added through the All Products view. This page enables the user to add new items one at a time into the system. This method is preferred when only needing to add a few items to inventory.  
   
• The ChannelAdvisor Bulk Upload Spreadsheet
  ChannelAdvisor provides you a suggested format for managing your inventory data in bulk. The ChannelAdvisor Bulk Upload Spreadsheet is the preferred method for adding, editing and uploading your inventory into ChannelAdvisor.
   
• Custom Bulk Upload Spreadsheet
  For those that prefer to keep their inventory data in their own custom format ChannelAdvisor does allow for a custom bulk upload method. Because a custom file can contain different information per user, per account or per file within an account, you must tell ChannelAdvisor how to interpret your data that is in the file. 
   
• XML Format
  ChannelAdvisor supports the ability to upload your inventory information in an XML file format. An XML file may contain fields that are not recognized by the ChannelAdvisor system. A template can then be used to map these fields and specify what data should be placed in the ChannelAdvisor inventory fields.

Choose a File Delivery Method

After you have decided on an upload file format for your inventory data, you will need to choose a method to deliver this data to us.

• User Interface
  ChannelAdvisor can accept your inventory uploads via the User Interface.
   
• FTP Push or Pull
  ChannelAdvisor provides the option to send inventory uploads over FTP (File Transfer Protocol). This secure method of data transfer allows you to create a product file and choose to upload it over the Internet without having to log in to the ChannelAdvisor application.
   
• Inventory API
  For advanced users with development resources who are looking to automate their online business directly from their back-end systems.