Question about coding and csv stock files

[ArabianNights]

Evening All ?

Can anyone refer me to a good place where I can find coding information? I have a Shopify website and it will be connected to a warehouse, via api which will automate product stock levels. This means the stock levels kept in the warehouse will synch with what is on the website. The warehouse (outsourced) provides an csv stock file of product quantities to be updated to the website on a daily basis.

The issue is that when a product is out of stock, the product completely disappears from the csv file so this means that the product is still published on the website as available and in stock, when it physically isn’t. I have spoken to the warehouse and they cannot make changes to the way they do their csv files for some reason (I.e by listing the product as zero or ‘0’) but they suggest I use coding to adjust product not within the csv file list, as out of stock on the website.

Can anyone recommend where I can find this type of coding info? We don’t have an in house developer. Thanks ?

 

[johndon68]

The Shopify API documentation can be found here: https://shopify.dev/api/admin

 

[ArabianNights]

The Shopify API documentation can be found here: https://shopify.dev/api/admin

Thanks for this ? though I am not sure how Shopify’s API will help me in this situation - since I get my stock file from the warehouse.

 

[johndon68]

Thanks for this ? though I am not sure how Shopify’s API will help me in this situation - since I get my stock file from the warehouse.

Because, if I read your post correctly, you have a Shopify website and you need to be able to change the in stock quantity of the product on the website to zero and you asked about coding, the API would allow you to do that...

 

[ArabianNights]

Because, if I read your post correctly, you have a Shopify website and you need to be able to change the in stock quantity of the product on the website to zero and you asked about coding, the API would allow you to do that...

Yes, that’s right. However the API needs to come from the warehouse where the stock is stored. Shopify doesn’t have access to the inventory levels of the warehouse we use. We are in the process of getting the api connected from the warehouse to the Shopify site, but it’s taking some time, which is why I am looking for this temporary solution. Thanks ?

 

[johndon68]

I assume that you have a list of all of the products and I assume that you can update stock levels in Shopify via a CSV file (you certainly used to be able to last time I did any development work for it)?

If so, you could use Excel to compare the full list of products to the current list of products in stock from the warehouse and remove the duplicates. What you have left are the products that are not in the latest spreadsheet which would be the ones that are not in stock.

Take that list of products and create a spreadsheet with the product SKUs and a column for quantity (which would be all zeros) and then upload that file to Shopify.

Job done and no coding necessary...

John

 

[ArabianNights]

I assume that you have a list of all of the products and I assume that you can update stock levels in Shopify via a CSV file (you certainly used to be able to last time I did any development work for it)?

If so, you could use Excel to compare the full list of products to the current list of products in stock from the warehouse and remove the duplicates. What you have left are the products that are not in the latest spreadsheet which would be the ones that are not in stock.

Take that list of products and create a spreadsheet with the product SKUs and a column for quantity (which would be all zeros) and then upload that file to Shopify.

Job done and no coding necessary...

John

Yes!!!!! This is the perfect solution! Thank you! I wasn’t sure if comparing excel spreadsheets were possible - I know nearly nothing about excel ??‍ Only just recently learned about basic formulas! I’ll need to look into excel spreadsheet comparing. Thanks for much, very helpful ?

 

[Elliott Coleman]

Have your code change all stock levels to zero and then loop through the CSV file updating those that are in the stock file.

 

[ArabianNights]

Have your code change all stock levels to zero and then loop through the CSV file updating those that are in the stock file.

all sounds technical and complicated ? thanks for that suggestion, looks like that’s what needs to be done

 

[johndon68]

all sounds technical and complicated ? thanks for that suggestion, looks like that’s what needs to be done

Thinking about it, it may be a simpler alternative to what I originally suggested...

1. Take a CSV that has ALL the products listed in it, change the quantity to zero and import in to Shopify - that zeros out all the quantities.
2. Take the new CSV file only has products that are in stock and import it. All your quantities change with the exception of those that are not in the CSV file which remain at zero.

The only issue with this method is that, for however long it takes Shopify to process the file in step 2 all your products will show as out of stock...

John

 

[capacitum.com]

Hi,
Just out of curiosity is it a 3pl warehouse?
Do they not have software that integrates directly to shopify I think using a csv is a little old fashioned. We use a WMS system which connects our clients directly to shopfify no need for spreadsheets or anything

Let me know if I can help in any way

 

[johndon68]

Hi,
Just out of curiosity is it a 3pl warehouse?
Do they not have software that integrates directly to shopify I think using a csv is a little old fashioned. We use a WMS system which connects our clients directly to shopfify no need for spreadsheets or anything

Let me know if I can help in any way

I got the impression from the OP that CSV files are being used temporarily while a direct integration is being developed...

John

 

[capacitum.com]

I got the impression from the OP that CSV files are being used temporarily while a direct integration is being developed...

John

 

[capacitum.com]

Do you know what software they are using?

 

[johndon68]

Do you know what software they are using?

I don't but the OP did say this:

"We are in the process of getting the api connected from the warehouse to the Shopify site, but it’s taking some time,"

 

[capacitum.com]

You might want to look for another warehouse.
Quite frankly if they do not have the tech already in place they can't really be experienced and keeping csv files up to date will become a headache for you.
Ask them what software they are using

 

[Elliott Coleman]

Thinking about it, it may be a simpler alternative to what I originally suggested...

1. Take a CSV that has ALL the products listed in it, change the quantity to zero and import in to Shopify - that zeros out all the quantities.
2. Take the new CSV file only has products that are in stock and import it. All your quantities change with the exception of those that are not in the CSV file which remain at zero.

The only issue with this method is that, for however long it takes Shopify to process the file in step 2 all your products will show as out of stock...

John

I was under the impression, based on the wording of the original post that the OP is linked to his supplier via an API so assumed the OP was using code (ie PHP) to fetch the stock levels from the supplier and update stock levels on his shop.

Where does importing CSV files come into this? This is not an API and seems to be a rather outdated way of doing things.

 

[johndon68]

I was under the impression, based on the wording of the original post that the OP is linked to his supplier via an API so assumed the OP was using code (ie PHP) to fetch the stock levels from the supplier and update stock levels on his shop.

Where does importing CSV files come into this? This is not an API and seems to be a rather outdated way of doing things.

The OP said:

"The warehouse (outsourced) provides an csv stock file of product quantities to be updated to the website on a daily basis."

That's where the CSV file comes in - if you look at my first reply, I did mention the Shopify API but the OP said that wasn't what he wanted and and, ultimately, there would be API integration between the warehouse and Shopify but, in the meantime, CSV was the only option.

The OP did seem happy with my original suggestion for dealing with CSV files...

 

[Elliott Coleman]

The OP said:

"The warehouse (outsourced) provides an csv stock file of product quantities to be updated to the website on a daily basis."

That's where the CSV file comes in - if you look at my first reply, I did mention the Shopify API but the OP said that wasn't what he wanted and and, ultimately, there would be API integration between the warehouse and Shopify but, in the meantime, CSV was the only option.

The OP did seem happy with my original suggestion for dealing with CSV files...

Okay, I read the first bit which said

"Can anyone refer me to a good place where I can find coding information? I have a Shopify website and it will be connected to a warehouse, via api which will automate product stock levels. This means the stock levels kept in the warehouse will synch with what is on the website."

Admittedly, I didn't read all of posts following that.

 

[DontAsk]

The OPI clearly doesn't understand what an API is

However the API needs to come from the warehouse

so I do not rate the chance of them writing code to interface to the warehouse stock control system..