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Common Error: Supplier Without UPC During Bulk Upload

When doing a bulk upload of materials in Ply, you might run into an error related to the Supplier and Supplier UPC columns in the template.

This happens because if an item has a Supplier assigned, that same item must also have a Supplier UPC. If the Supplier column is filled in but the Supplier UPC column is left blank (or vice versa), the system won't be able to process that row and the upload will fail.


Why does this happen?

In Ply, Supplier and Supplier UPC are linked as a pair: one cannot exist without the other within the bulk import template. This is a system validation to make sure every supplier has an associated product identifier.


Solutions

If you don't have the supplier's real UPC at the time of upload, they have two options:

Option 1: Use a temporary (placeholder) UPC

  1. Fill in the Supplier column with the supplier's name.

  2. Enter a temporary or "fake" UPC in the Supplier UPC column (for example, a number sequence that matches the expected format) so the upload can go through.

  3. Once the catalog is imported, the client can go into the material individually in Ply and update the Supplier UPC with the correct number as soon as it's available

Option 2: Skip the Supplier during upload

  1. Leave both columns blank (Supplier and Supplier UPC) for that item in the template.

  2. Complete the bulk upload without that information.

  3. After the upload, edit the material directly in Ply to add the Supplier and Supplier UPC together, once the client has both pieces of information on hand.


Recommendation

Always skip the Supplier and UPC and add them later. This tends to be cleaner, since it avoids having to remember to update a temporary UPC down the line.


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