Inventory Import File

The Inventory Import process provides current stock-level information to Kibo. This real-time inventory data helps OMS accurately assign orders to fulfillment locations and set product availabilities. Some clients who have multiple fulfillment locations use inventory data to manage inventory levels and assign orders to those multiple locations.

Types of Inventory Import

Two types of Inventory Import processes exist: Refreshes and Updates. Refreshes are more comprehensive and usually sent once per day, providing the total count for all products in the catalog. Updates are normally sent every hour and provide an adjustment to the values sent in the previous Refresh, indicating which product counts should be increased or decreased.

Refresh File Attributes

• Delivered to Kibo once each day
• Represents an accurate stock count for all products
• Includes products with a stock count of zero (0)

Update File Attributes

• Delivered to Kibo throughout the day
• Increments (+2) or decrements (-2) existing stock count(s)
• Sometimes called a ‘trickle’ feed

Getting Started

The client must have identified the SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) site where Kibo OMS picks up the inventory files. There needs to be a provide a username, password, remote path, and remote path archive for the file transmission location.

Creating and Uploading the Files

Inventory data should be submitted as XML or CSV files and compressed into Zip format before being transferred.

A Trigger/Control file should also be created each time data is submitted. The Trigger file tells Kibo that the inventory file is ready to process. This is an empty file with the same file name as the inventory files being submitted, and the extension .done (ex. KIBO_REFRESH_130909121152.zip.done).

The zipped file should be uploaded to the SFTP site followed by the Trigger file.

Naming Inventory Import Files

Inventory files should be named with the following conventions, depending on what type of inventory import it is:

• KIBO_REFRESH_YYMMDDhhmmss
• KIBO_UPDATE_YYMMDDhhmmss

Where:

• REFRESH identifies this file as a Refresh, and should be entered literally.
• UPDATE identifies this file as an Update, and should be entered literally.
• YYMMDD is the year, month, and day represented in two-digit format. For example, 130301 is March 1, 2013
• hhmmss is the time in Pacific Standard Military Time, expressed as hour-minute-second, that the file was created. For example, 205912 is 10:59:12 p.m. PT.

Substitute KIBO with the designated client/company name. This convention makes it easier for Kibo to track the file through its job queues.

Data Elements

These parameters are used in both CSV and XML file formats. When building the file, identify a location name and then follow it with blocks of the item-specific data for each product.

Field	Required	Format	Description
LocationName	Yes	String	The identifier of the location that is submitting inventory data. Note that this value should actually be the external ID for the location, not the name as stored in the OMS admin. This is due to the inventory system looking for a “Location Name” variable, but requiring it to match the external ID.
PartNumber	Yes	String	The merchant-assigned Part Number for the item.
UPC	Optional	String	The UPC for the item.
SKU	Optional	String	The SKU for the item.
Quantity	Yes	Integer	If this is a Refresh, this is the number of the item in inventory. Examples are 352 and 4. If this is an Update, this value includes a + (plus) or – (minus), and is the change in quantity from the previous submission. Examples are +352 and -4.
Bin	Optional	Integer	The name of the bin within a location. Used for warehouse and store management. It must exist for the LocationName.
LTD	Optional	Integer	Custom field used for store prioritization. Kibo will advise you on the type of data to enter in this field if you need to use it.
SafetyStock	Optional	Integer	Quantity of this item you want to keep in stock to ensure your stock isn’t completely depleted. Both Safety Stock and Floor are optional; most people prefer Safety Stock to Floor.
Floor	Optional	Integer	Absolute minimum quantity of this item that should be in stock at any time. Both Safety Stock and Floor are optional; the two values are used for similar purposes; most people prefer to use Safety Stock rather than Floor.
CurrencyID	Optional	Integer	Field defining which currency is used to store the RetailPrice. Required if RetailPrice is passed in. See the Currency API for details
RetailPrice	Optional	Decimal	The location specific price the product being refreshed. CurrencyID is required if RetailPrice is passed in.
Attributes	Optional	Array	A list of attributes that are assigned to the item.
InventoryLocatorName	Optional	String	An identifier to indicate where a particular SKU exists within a location. For example, “Aisle 5” would indicate that the bin this item belongs to is located in Aisle 5. The maximum length is 50.

Examples

Here is an example import sequence:

1. Create the file : KIBO_REFRESH_130909121152.xml (or .csv)
2. Compress (zip) the file : KIBO_REFRESH_130909121152.zip
3. Upload the zip file.
4. Upload a Trigger/Control file : KIBO_REFRESH_130909121152.zip.done

XML File

The following example provides inventory information for two locations and includes only required elements.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Inventory>
   <Location>
      <LocationName>0001</LocationName>
      <Item>
         <PartNumber>883360541099</PartNumber>
         <SKU>883360541099</SKU>
         <Quantity>11</Quantity>
         <SafetyStock>4</SafetyStock>
         <Floor>1</Floor>
         <LTD>3</LTD>
         <Attributes>RESTOCK-CARRIER|RESTOCK-TRUCK</Attributes>
         <InventoryLocatorName>Aisle 2</InventoryLocatorName>
      </Item>
      <Item>
         <PartNumber>883360541075</PartNumber>
         <SKU>883360541075</SKU>
         <Quantity>44</Quantity>
         <SafetyStock />
         <Floor />
         <LTD />
         <Attributes>RESTOCK-CARRIER</Attributes>
         <InventoryLocatorName>Aisle 3</InventoryLocatorName>
      </Item>
   </Location>
   <Location>
      <LocationName>0002</LocationName>
      <Item>
         <PartNumber>883360541099</PartNumber>
         <SKU>883360541099</SKU>
         <Quantity>11</Quantity>
         <SafetyStock>4</SafetyStock>
         <Floor>1</Floor>
         <LTD>3</LTD>
         <Attributes>RESTOCK-CARRIER</Attributes>
         <InventoryLocatorName>Aisle 4</InventoryLocatorName>
      </Item>
      <Item>
         <PartNumber>883360541075</PartNumber>
         <SKU>883360541075</SKU>
         <Quantity>44</Quantity>
         <SafetyStock>5</SafetyStock>
         <Floor>1</Floor>
         <LTD>2</LTD>
         <Attributes>RESTOCK-CARRIER</Attributes>
         <InventoryLocatorName>Aisle 5</InventoryLocatorName>
      </Item>
   </Location>
</Inventory>

CSV File 

The following example provides inventory information for two locations. Note that CSV has some special requirements:

• The header is optional
• Order of inventory fields matters: LocationName,PartNumber,UPC,SKU,Quantity,Bin,etc.
• String fields must be quoted

LocationName,PartNumber,UPC,SKU,Quantity,Bin,LTD,SafetyStock,Floor,CurrencyID,RetailPrice,Attributes,InventoryLocatorName
"0001","PartNumber1","UPC1","SKU1",11,"BinName1",1.0,2,4,1,25.99,,"Aisle 1"
"0001","PartNumber2","","SKU1",44,"BinName2",,"Aisle 2"
"0002","PartNumber1","UPC1","SKU1",11,,1.0,2,1,,"Aisle 3"
"0002","PartNumber2","","SKU2",44,,"Aisle 4"

Additional Resources

Refresh

• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryRefresh.xsd
• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryRefresh.xml
• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryRefresh.csv

Update

• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryUpdate.xsd
• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryUpdate.xml
• http://api.shopatron.com/xsd/InventoryUpdate.csv