Introduction
Although the tabs in the PVX web app allow you to manually enter many types of data into your warehouse management system (WMS), this can be time-consuming and prone to errors when you are handling large amounts of information. In most instances it will be better to import the data directly into PVX.
Data can be imported using comma-separated values (CSV) files. These files contain rows of text in which the data are stored in 'fields', each separated by a comma. CSV files can be prepared using any text editing software, but most conveniently they can be generated from a table in a spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel.
In order for PVX to recognise the data when the CSV file is imported, the structure of the file needs to be defined in the system. This is achieved using integration templates.
You can also export data from the WMS using integration templates and CSV files.
There are three stages to importing data into your WMS using CSV files:
Creating the CSV file
Configuring the integration template
Importing the CSV file into PVX
We will illustrate these using the example of importing sales orders. This requires two separate import operations. Firstly, you use the 'Sales orders' integration template to import the details of each sales order (reference number, requested delivery date, and other information as required). Then, once the sales orders are shown in PVX, you can import the items and quantities in each sales order using a second integration template ('Sales order items').
Creating a CSV file
When you are creating a CSV file for the information you want to import, you need to make sure that it contains columns of data that PVX will recognise; in other words, it must match the appropriate integration template.
Browse to the list of CSV Import Integration Templates in the PVX Knowledge Base.
Find the list of permitted fields which can be include in the integration template that you want to use. Pay particular attention to the fields marked with an asterisk (*) as these are mandatory.
In your spreadsheet application, prepare a table for your data which has identical column headings as the fields in the integration template. You do not have to use all the columns in the template, only the mandatory ones.
Populate your table with the data you want to import and save the spreadsheet as a *.csv file.
Example:
To import sales orders, you need to use the sales orders integration template. The mandatory columns for this template are the sales order number, requested delivery date and site. Therefore, you can create a CSV file which contains these three columns together with some example data (as shown below).
Please note the following:
To avoid confusion it's often easiest to make your column headings the same as the field names in the template.
Check that the format of the data in each column is correct for that field; for example, dates must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy (see the list of templates for details).
Configuring the integration template
The first time that you use a particular integration template in PVX, you need to configure it. This is indicated by the Is configured column in the Integration Templates tab, which will show No. When you import data using this template on subsequent occasions, you do not need to perform this step unless you have added or removed columns of data in your CSV file.
Go to the Integration Templates tab in the Integrations module of the PVX web app.
Click Sales orders in the list of templates, and click Configure at the top right of the list.
In the dialog, click Choose File.
Browse to your CSV file of sales orders and click Open.
Click Continue in the dialog. The dialog now displays the list of allowed fields in the template that you can 'map' (or link) to the columns of data in your CSV file. The fields that must be included are marked with an asterisk (*).
Make sure that you are using the Import tab in the dialog.For each field that you want to use in the template, select the corresponding column heading in your CSV file from the drop-down list under Field name. Leave the Field name blank if there is no corresponding column of data in your CSV file; in this case, we are not importing the status in our example of a sales orders CSV file.
When you've configured all the relevant fields in the template, click Save in the dialog. The sales orders template will now show Yes in the Is configured column in the tab.
Importing the data
Once you've configured your integration template and set up the data in a CSV file which matches that template, the importing stage should be straightforward.
Go to the Integration Templates tab in the Integrations module of the PVX web app.
Click Sales orders in the list of templates, and click Import at the top right of the list.
In the Import dialog, click Choose File.
Browse to the CSV file of the sales orders and click Open.
Click Import in the dialog.
Wait for the importing to be completed (indicated by a message in the dialog), and then click Done.
Go to the Sales tab in the Warehouse module of the web app.
Find one of the sales orders you've just imported (search for the sales order number if necessary).
Select the sales order and click View.
Check that all the information has been imported correctly.
Note: There will be no items on the sales order yet as these are not included in the sales orders integration template.
Importing sales order items
To complete the importing of sales orders, you now need to repeat the process using the sales order items integration template.
The mandatory fields in this template are the sales order number (so that the items can be linked to a particular order) and the item code (or SKU); it is also useful to add the quantity of items ordered as shown in the example below. Use a separate line for each item in each order.
Once you import this file into PVX, you should see the items and their quantities listed in each sales order in the Sales tab.
Exporting data using CSV files
In addition to importing data to the WMS using CSV files, you can also export data from the system in a similar way. This can be useful for sending information to third-party software applications or for backing up the data in your WMS.
There is an import and export version of each integration template; these are often very similar to each other, although there may be additional fields available in the export template which are generated by PVX, such as the inventory level of an item.
You can configure the export template in exactly the same way as the import template, by using the Export tab in the dialog and selecting the columns in your CSV file that correspond to the fields that you can export from PVX. Then, when you click Export at the top of the Integration Templates tab, PVX will immediately generate a CSV file containing the data in the export template.
Note: Be careful when starting an export operation on certain objects. For example, if you have a large e-commerce operation, attempting to export all your sales orders may cause PVX to time-out.
Hints and Tips
If you are importing data using a template that is already configured, use column headings in your CSV file that exactly match the field names shown in the integration template that you are using to import your data. Alternatively, you can re-configure the template to match the new column headings.
The order of importing data is often important if one set of data references another. For example, as described above, you can only successfully import items on sales orders after you have imported the sales orders themselves. Other examples of this include: customers before customer addresses, suppliers before supplier addresses, roles before users, carriers before service types, and location groups before locations. Refer to the list of templates for further details.