Inventory Import Designer to Map and Import Files

(Inventory Import Tools users only)

The following procedure describes how to use the Inventory Import Designer window to import a data file that contains Inventory item change information into your Eagle system. Create or obtain (for example, from a vendor) a file that contains item changes. The data in the file can be in a fixed length format or delimited format (tab, comma, or custom). If you aren't creating the file yourself,  ask the provider of the file how the data is arranged in the file. If it is custom delimited, you'll need to know what character is used as the delimiter.

• Commas do not import via Inventory Import; they are converted to question marks ("?”). If the data you're importing contains commas in the item description field, Epicor recommends you globally change the commas to some other character (such as a space or semi-colon) before importing.

• When importing a date (such as Record Added Date, Last Sale Date, Catalog Date, etc.), it must be in the format of mm/dd/yy. The format mm/dd/yyyy will not work.

Mapping and Importing Files

1. Place the data file in a folder (directory) on your PC. The location and name of the file is up to you. But you will need to know where the file is located to use the Inventory Import Designer window.

2. From the Eagle Browser, click Data Import Menu, then click Inventory Import Designer.

3. Click Open, browse to the fixed or delimited file you are importing, and click Open.

3. In the Import File Type area of the window:

• Select the type of file you're importing— fixed or delimited (tab, comma, or custom delimited).  If you select Custom Delimited, you must also enter the delimiter character in the box that displays. This is the character that divides the data fields.

• If there is more than one record in the file that applies to a single SKU, enter the appropriate number in the Records per SKU field, and the system will concatenate the various records into one record per SKU.  If there is only one record per SKU, leave this field blank.

4. In the SKU Options area of the window, indicate any options you want to invoke:

• Remove dashes between alpha-numericThis option removes dashes in the SKU when the dash is between an alpha character and a numeric character.

• Remove all dashes within SKUIf the raw data has any dashes in the SKU numbers, use this option to remove all dashes.

• Remove all spaces within SKUIf the raw data has any spaces in the SKU numbers, use this option to remove all spaces.

• Remove characterIf there is a character in the SKU that you want to remove, enter it in this field.  The system will remove all characters in the SKU which match the character you enter.

• Add SKU number prefixUse this field to prepend the SKU with the characters you enter (up to 10 characters).

5. In the Import Options area of the window, fill in the fields as appropriate.

5. • Inventory SKU

     In this first field, indicate the file on your system against which the import file should be matched.
     
     Examples:
     
     1. If the items in the import file are identified by UPC, select UPC so the system will look in your UPC file to find a match for each item. Note: When matching by UPC, the system will ONLY look at your UPC file for a match.
     
     2. If the items in the import file are identified by SKU number, select Inventory SKU.

     3. If the items in the import file are identified by manufacture part number, select Manufacturing P/N. Note that the vendor you select in the Vendor field must match the "Mfg Vendor" field in Inventory Maintenance for the SKUs being imported. Note: If the Vendor you select does not match the Mfg Vendor, the import will not recognize the item, and will give the error “Item not found.” Even if the manufacture part number of the Vendor and the Mfg Vendor match, you will still get the error because the system has no way of determining that the manufacture part number is unique (because it is possible to set up multiple SKU’s with the same Mfg Vendor and manufacture part number).

   • VendorIf you selected Manufacturing Part Number or Alternate Part Number as your match criteria, you must select a vendor in the Vendor field.
     
     Inventory Import will consider the Manufacturing Part Number a match only if the Vendor you enter matches the Manufacture Vendor for that part number. The same is true for Alternate Vendor: to be considered a match, the Vendor you enter must match the Alternate Vendor for that part number.
     
     Selecting a vendor is optional if you selected Inventory SKU or UPC as your match criteria. If you do select a vendor and your match criteria is Inventory SKU, Inventory Import will consider the SKU a match only if the vendor matches primary, manufacturing, or alternate vendor.
     
      

   • StoreSelect the store into which you want to import the new items/item updates.

   • Flex Name

     Enter the flex name the system should use for this inventory import. You can create your own flex name (up to 8 characters), or you can use one that exists in Flexible Inventory Load.
     
     If you use an existing flex name,your mapping in the designer must correspond exactly to the fields in the existing flex report you selected.

   • File Contains AddsPlace a checkmark in this box if the import file contains "adds" (new items).

   • Stores for AddThis field only appears if you place a checkmark by "File Contains Adds." Enter the stores to which you want the system to add the new inventory records.

   • Stores for ChgIf you did not check the box for File contains adds, and you want the RFL to finalize the changes automatically, enter the stores/store groups for the modified items (if you only have one store, enter 1 in this field). Multistore users: any store-specific fields will be updated for all stores indicated.
     
     If you leave this blank, the Store field is used to determine which store to modify, and you must run the RFL manually. (this field only displays if you did NOT click File Contains Adds)

   • Set blank user codes toUse this field to designate whether you want to keep or blank out any existing User Codes associated with the items you're changing.
     
     # = preserve existing code value  
     
     ?= blank out the existing code value
     
     Note: You can also use a question mark (?) in the spreadsheet to tell the system to blank out the existing User Code value.

6. If the first line of the raw data is NOT part of the data you want imported, place a checkmark in the "Ignore first record" box.

7. Click Input to view the raw data.

8. Including SKU, map the fields in the data with the fields on the flex report you selected in the Flex Name field. Please note the following:

• If you want the system to auto-assign SKUs to the items you're importing, do NOT map the SKU field. When importing, answer Yes to the message "SKU not mapped in Designer. SKU will be generated based on the settings in MIC Options 104 &105. Continue?" (If you answer No, you can't continue using that mapping until you've added SKU to the mapping).  

• If you are not using auto-assigned SKUs, you must map the SKU "identifier" in the import file to the SKU field, whether the import file identifies the items by SKU, UPC, Manufacture Part Number, or Alternate Part Number.

• If you want to Import Alternate Part Numbers for a Primary Vendor, map the Primary Vendor column into the Alternate Vendor Column. For example, if you have a data file that contains SKU, Primary Vendor Code, Alternate Part Number, you would map it as follows: SKU, Alt Vendor, Alternate Vendor Part Number. The same principle applies to the Manufacturer Vendor and its Alternate Part Numbers.

• If you are importing Desired GP% from a data file or entering the value as a Constant, it must be expressed as a decimal ONLY (not a whole number), and there can be up to three decimal places after the decimal. For example, a desired gross profit of 49.9% must be entered as 49.9.

1. • Click Map Field.

1. • In the Map Field dialog box, scroll down to the field you want to map. You can type the first letter of the field to search faster. With the exception of the " Constant" field, the field you select must correspond to a field on the flex report you entered in the Flex Name field.

     You do not have to map the Constant to a column in the data file. Simply enter a value in the Constant box and that value will be imported.

     For example, since most data files will likely not come with a department number, you can use the Constant field to add a department to the data records. However, keep in mind that the Constant will be applied to all records in the file, so you may have to break up the file into segments (and use different mapping) if you want items to go into their respective departments.

5. • Click OK.

   • Fill in the fields in the dialog box that displays.

Click on any of the following for more information about a field.

1. 1. • PositionThis field only applies to delimited files.
        Enter the column that contains the data.  For example, if you are mapping SKU number, and the SKU is in the first column of the raw data, enter 1 in this field.  If you're mapping Department, and the department is in the second column of the raw data, enter 2 in this field, and so on.

      • Start PositionThis field only applies to fixed files.
        Enter the starting position of the data you're mapping.  For example, if you are mapping SKU number, and the SKU spans positions 12-24, enter 12 in this field (you'll enter 24 in the End Position).  If you're mapping Price, and the price spans positions 1-6, enter 1 in this field (you'll enter 6 in the End Position), and so on.

      • End PositionThis field only applies to fixed files.
        Enter the ending position of the data you're mapping.  For example, if you are mapping SKU number, and the SKU spans positions 12-24, enter 24 in this field (you should enter 12 at Start Position).  If you're mapping Price, and the price spans positions 1-6, enter 6 in this field (you should enter 1 at Start Position), and so on.

      • DecimalsThis field only appears when mapping a price field.
        If the raw data doesn't contain decimal points, enter the decimal places, so the system knows where to insert them.  For example, if your raw data shows a number with no decimal, such as 12333, and you enter 3 in this field, you are indicating that the number should be 12.333.

      • Multiplier(Optional)
        This field only appears when mapping a price field. Enter the multiplier you want the system to use to mark up or down the price in the Price field before it is entered into the Flexible Loading file (FIL).  For example, if you enter a multiplier of .8, the system calculates a price that is 20% less than the price in the Price field.  If you enter a multiplier of 1.5, the system calculates a price that is 50% higher than the price in the Price field. You can enter a number with up to four decimal places.

      • Constant(Optional) enter a value that you want to always use for the field you are mapping. Then leave all other fields blank. For example, the data file contains "adds" (items that are not yet in your Inventory file) and does not contain department data (a dept code is required for an add). You could edit the data file directly to add the department data, but some file formats are difficult to edit. Therefore, map the Department field and in the Constant field enter a department code to use for adds. All of the add SKUs will use the value you enter.

9. Repeat step 8 until all fields are mapped. If you make a mistake and need to delete a mapped field, use the Delete button in the Map Field dialog box.

10. Click Output to verify that the information is mapped properly.  For comparison, you can click Input to compare your mapping to the raw data.  

If there are any problems, repeat step 8 to remap the problem field(s). Then click Output again to verify that the problem has been corrected.

11. (Optional) You can save the map file for future use, so if you import other data files that are set up the same as the one you just mapped, you can retrieve the saved map instead of having to recreate it. To save, click Save Map. In the dialog box that displays, enter a name for the map in the Desc field, then click Save.

12. Click .  The Inventory Import dialog displays.

13. Click Import. As the import executes, a progress bar displays. In a moment, the total number of records imported displays in the last line of the dialog box. If there are no errors, click Cancel to close the dialog.

14. If you received an error, use the following information to troubleshoot the problem.

15. "The flex name XXX is in use. Please create a new flex name before importing” (where "XXX” is the value in the flex name field in Flexible Inventory Load. This error means you used an existing flex name in the Flex Name field, and your mapping does NOT exactly match. To remedy the problem, you can either 1) correct your mapping so it does match the existing Flex Name, or 2) simply type a different flex name (up to 8 characters) in the Flex Name field.

16. "Flex Name XXX exists and is set to contain adds. Please change.” This error means when you created the map file, you did NOT check the "File contains adds” box , and the value in the "Adding New Items” field in the corresponding flex name in Flexible Inventory Load is set to Y. To correct the problem, you must place a checkmark in the File Contains Adds field, or use a different flex name.

17. "Flex Name XXX exists and is not set to contain adds. Please change." This error means when you created the map file, you checked the "File contains adds” box, but the value in the "Adding New Items” field in the corresponding flex name in Flexible Inventory Load is set to Y. To correct the problem, you must remove the checkmark in the File Contains Adds field, or use a different flex name.

18. If the Import dialog indicates that errors occurred, as shown here,

click View Log to view the error log. Scroll to find the entries for the most recent import and review the error messages.

This log file is used by all the Data Import applications and can get quite large. The system does not automatically delete the oldest entries. You can delete old entries that are no longer needed. Highlight the lines that you want to delete and from the Edit menu, click Delete. Then from the File menu, click Save.

16. Verify the import was successful in the Miscellaneous Log.

    1. From the Network Access Main Menu, type SHOWLOG and press <Enter>.
    
    2. Down-arrow to the Miscellaneous Log so it's highlighted, and press <Enter>.  (Tip:  instead of using the down-arrow, you can type mi to hotkey directly to the Miscellaneous Log, and then press <Enter>.)
    
    3. Look at the last few lines of the Miscellaneous Log (you may need to use the <Next> key to advance to the end).  Look for a message that states how many items were added to the work file.  The message should look similar to the following:
    
    

The Miscellaneous Log is accessible via Network Access. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you check this log before proceeding.

17. Use Flexible Inventory Load (FIL) to view/modify the imported data.

18. When you are satisfied with the data, finalize it by running the Flexible Inventory Load Report (RFL) with option F. However, if you entered a store(s) in the “Stores for chg” field, the system will queue and run a finalized RFL automatically, one for each individual store you indicated.