Considerations for Batch Upload

When batch uploading the details of suppliers or categories, you must ensure that certain rules are followed.

Considerations for batch upload suppliers

The following points should be considered when batch uploading suppliers:

  • If you must upload multiple suppliers with the same name, you must not assign the Company Name field as the Lookup attribute. The Column Usage for the Company Name field should be set to Insert/Update. You must select any other unique field as the Lookup attribute for suppliers.
  • You must also not set the ID field as the Lookup attribute for uploading new suppliers. The ID field should be selected as the Lookup attribute only for uploading existing suppliers.
  • When you batch upload suppliers by using the Supplier ID as the lookup field, the following events may occur:
    • If you upload a supplier with a Supplier ID that already exists in the system, the supplier with the same ID gets updated.
    • If you upload a supplier with a Supplier ID that does not exist in the system, the new supplier is uploaded in the system with a system generated ID.
  • If you want to import new suppliers with the same Company Name, you must set up the batch upload definition Lookup attribute for a unique ID or value, such as the ERP number.
  • If you want to update the existing suppliers with the same Company Name and there is no unique Lookup attribute, you must perform the following actions:
    1. Get the supplier ID values for each supplier.
    2. Import the supplier data with supplier ID.
    3. Modify the supplier data, and import it again.

Considerations when uploading discontinued suppliers

Consider the following points when creating batch upload definitions for deactivated suppliers:

  • when importing new discontinued suppliers, all children of the discontinued suppliers must also be marked discontinued.
  • when discontinuing an existing supplier through bulk upload, if the supplier is already mastered, then either the Master record should be discontinued or the supplier must be unlinked from the master before the upload.

Maximum permitted character sizes for fields

The maximum permitted characters in the fields in the supplier batch upload template are listed in the following table. The maximum permitted size also includes the multi-byte characters for fields that support multi-byte characters. These character sizes are also applicable for the fields in the user interface and the web services.

Table 1. Maximum character size in fields
Field Maximum Character Size Multi-byte Support
Company Name 100 characters

This is a mandatory field.

 Yes
Master Company Name 100 characters Yes
Legal Name 100 characters Yes
Business Type 18 characters Yes
Website 256 characters Yes
Email Address 256 characters Yes
Main Phone Number 30 characters Yes
Fax Number 30 characters Yes
Business Description 255 characters Yes
Narrative Description 255 characters Yes
Date Established    
Number of Employees    
Primary SIC    
Primary NAICS    
Dead Status    
Dead Date    
Approved    
Legal Address Street 1 255 characters Yes
Legal Address Street 2 255 characters Yes
Legal Address City 50 characters Yes
Legal Address State    
Legal Address Country Code    
Legal Address Postal Code 20 characters Yes
P.O. Box Number 255 characters Yes
P.O. Box City 50 characters Yes
P.O. Box Zip 20 characters Yes
Primary Contact First Name 100 characters

This is a mandatory field. This field is required if the primary contact information is specified.

 Yes
Primary Contact Last Name 100 characters

This is a mandatory field. This field is required if the primary contact information is specified.

 Yes
Primary Contact Display Name 201 characters Yes
Primary Contact Title 200 characters Yes
Primary Contact Phone 30 characters Yes
Primary Contact Alternate Phone 30 characters Yes
Primary Contact Email 256 characters

This is a mandatory field. This field is required if the primary contact information is specified.

 Yes
Primary Contact Alternate Email 256 characters Yes
BVD Number 50 characters No
DUNS Number    
Equifax Number 50 characters No
ERP Number    
Federal Tax ID 50 characters No
SAP ID    
VAT Number 50 characters No
Annual Sales    
Equifax Rating    
Fiscal Year End    
Tax Exempt    
Stock Exchange 30 characters Yes
W9 Business name 100 characters No
Stock Symbol 20 characters Yes
W9 Name 100 characters No
Owner Citizenship 2 characters No
Owner Disabled    
Owner Ethnicity 30 characters Yes
Owner Gender 30 characters No
Owner Is Veteran    
Organization Number 50 characters Yes
Legacy External ID 50 characters Yes

Considerations when uploading discontinued categories

When importing new discontinued categories, all children of the discontinued categories must also be marked discontinued.

Parent topic: Supplier Batch Upload Template Formats