Inventory templates are used to define the data that is sent to be added into ChannelAdvisor inventory. When using the ChannelAdvisor Inventory Upload Spreadsheet a template is optional, however if you choose to use a Custom File format the template mapping is required.

Prerequisites

You should be familiar with the following topics before continuing:

• Using the Custom Upload File Format

Defining Inventory Data Using Templates

Complete the following tasks related to this topic:

Create a New Template

To create a new reusable Inventory Template, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your  Inventory> Product Mapping > Templates view.
    
2. Select Add New Template.
    
3. Enter the Template Name.
    
4. Enter the Template Code if uploading via FTP. You can use this code as part of your filename to automatically specify which template to use during the upload process. To specify a template, add the template code to the end of the upload filename after a "." EX: "CA Upload.TEMPLATECODE.txt" See Configuring an FTP Push for more information.

1. Customizing Template Fields
   
   
2. Using Business Rules and Lookup Lists
     
3. Step by step guide  on configuring templates and business rules.

Adding Attributes

"Attribute Fields" can be used to map product information that appears in your upload file that does not map to an existing ChannelAdvisor inventory field. If your upload file contains fields that do not map to an existing field, then you should create new Attribute fields in which to store that data. To add attributes to the template follow these steps:

1. Set the Attribute#Name to the name that you would like to appear in the UI for this field.
    
2. Map the Attribute#Value to the field in your upload file that contains the values for each item.
    
3. Click the Add Another Attribute button to add additional fields if needed.