Variation products allow you to add a number of related products to Avasam as a single group
This help article is written for our suppliers and will not be relevant if you are an Avasam seller. To access seller-specific articles, please follow this link.
The most efficient way to create variation products is via CSV file import.
To learn about bulk importing products with CSV files, please go to this article.
Creating a new import configuration
To create a new import configuration for a new import file type or source, you will need an example file to use in the process.
- In Avasam, open the settings menu.
- Select 'imports'.
- Click on the 'add configuration' button.
- Provide a name to identify the import by and select the import type 'product basic detail'.
- You can select either 'FTP' or 'file' from the drop-down list labelled 'type'.
- 'FTP ' allows Avasam to access the CSV file from a remote/web file server provided by Avasam. You will be provided with your access details by the Avasam team and will then be able to manually or automatically add your files into this location by completing the following fields:
- Server
- Port
- User name
- Password
- File path
- File name
- Use SSL (yes/no)
- 'File' allows you to collect and upload a CSV file from the PC or device you are using at the time.
- Click the 'upload' button.
- Locate and select the file, then click 'open'.
- Click on the button marked 'analyse and map' to review the fields in the file specified.
- A data preview will be loaded. If this shows the data in the file correctly, then move to the field mapping section below it. If not, then contact support via the ticket system.
- The left-hand column lists the column headings in the file you uploaded and the right-hand column shows which Avasam field they have been matched to. Avasam will automatically match fields if their name matches the name of the field exactly.
- To create a mapping:
-
- Select the name of the CSV heading in the CSV field drop-down.
- Select the Avasam field you want to map it to in the map to drop-down list.
-
- 'FTP ' allows Avasam to access the CSV file from a remote/web file server provided by Avasam. You will be provided with your access details by the Avasam team and will then be able to manually or automatically add your files into this location by completing the following fields:
Product feed columns
Each product will have it's own row in the CSV file, but certain columns are specific to creating variation products, and are shown in the table below:
Column name | Description | Mandatory? |
ProductType | Producttype tells us if the product is a main product, (a parent), or a variant (a child). It is left empty if the product is not part of a variation. Main products don't need a variantsize or variantcolour. They also don't have prices or stock quantities. | No |
ParentProductId | Parentproductid is only needed by variants. It should contain the productid/SKU of the main product this variant belongs to. | No |
VariantSize |
Any product in the catalogue can have a size and/or colour, but only variants have a variantsize and/or variantcolour as well, telling Avasam how to organise them. No two products in the same variation can have the same values in both fields: | No |
VariantColour | No | |
VariantType | Can be size, colour or colour & size | No |
For completeness, the full list of fields required to create a product are below:
Column name | Description | Mandatory? |
ProductId | Internal identifier/SKU for product | Yes |
Category | Category name, see below | Yes |
Title | Product title | Yes |
Condition | "New", "A", "B" or "C" (in descending order) | Yes |
Brand | Product brand | Yes |
MPN | Original part number | MPN OR Barcode Mandatory |
Barcode | UPC or EAN number | MPN OR Barcode Mandatory |
StockQuantity | Current available stock level | Yes |
PriceExclVAT | Net price to seller. Ex VAT | Yes |
RRPExclVAT | Recommended Retail Price, ex VAT | No |
VAT%Rate | VAT rate to apply to product as whole number (eg. "20", "0") | Yes |
Model | Product Model number, if appropriate | No |
Colour | Product colour, if appropriate | No |
Size | Product size, if appropriate | No |
WeightUnit | Units used for item weights in file eg. "mg", "g", "kg", "lb" | No |
SizeUnit | Units used for item size in this file eg. "mm", "cm", "in" | No |
ShippingWeight | Total weight inc packaging | No |
PackageHeight | Shipping unit height | No |
PackageWidth | Shipping unit width | No |
PackageDepth | Shipping unit depth | No |
ProductWeight | Product weight (without packaging) | No |
ProductHeight | Product height (without packaging) | No |
ProductWidth | Product width (without packaging) | No |
ProductDepth | Product depth (without packaging) | No |
ProductType | Producttype tells us if the product is a main product, (a parent), or a variant (a child). It is left empty if the product is not part of a variation. Main products don't need a variantsize or variantcolour. They also don't have prices or stock quantities. | No |
ParentProductId | Parentproductid is only needed by variants. It should contain the productid/SKU of the main product this variant belongs to. | No |
VariantSize |
Any product in the catalogue can have a size and/or colour, but only variants have a variantsize and/or variantcolour as well, telling Avasam how to organise them. No two products in the same variation can have the same values in both fields: | No |
VariantColour | No | |
VariantType | Can be size, colour or colour & size | No |
CountryofOrigin | For any product that can be listed on Amazon , must be full Country name (eg "United Kingdom", "Germany". | No |
ImageURL1 (to 6) | You can supply URLs to download up to 6 product images. Image 1 will be the Main Image | No |
Product URL | URL (if available) of the product information page | No |
ProductPDFURL | URL (if available) of the product information as a PDF file | No |
ProductVideoURL | URL (if available) of the product information video | No |
ShortDescription | Short description of the product | No |
LongDescription | Long description of the product | No |
AttributeName1 (to 9) | Add in pairs. Creates extended property if does not exist for product. Name of property. | No |
Attribute Value1(to 9) | Add in pairs. Information to be stored for this product in extended property. | No |
- If a product is only differentiated by size, and this is the value of varianttype, then all child variants must all be a different size in variantsize.
- If a product is only differentiated by colour, and this is the value of varianttype, then all child variants must be a different colour in variantcolour.
- If products are differentiated by both colour and size, and colour & size is the value of varianttype, then then no child variant should have the same values in both the variantcolour and variantsize simultaneously.
Simple variation example
If we are selling a t-shirt, in 3 sizes (S, M, L) and 2 colours (red and blue), then we would have the following information in their CSV file:
Product Id | Product Type | Parent ProductId | Variant Size | Variant Colour | Variant Type |
TShirt | main | colour & size | |||
TRedS |
variant | TShirt | Small | Red | |
TredM | variant | TShirt | Medium | Red | |
TredL | variant | TShirt | Large | Red | |
TBlueS | variant | TShirt | Small | Blue | |
TBlueM | variant | TShirt | Medium | Blue | |
TBlueL | variant | TShirt | Large | Blue |