Essendant as Source

Table of Contents

Product Operations Order Operations

Essendant is a leading wholesale distributor of office supplies, furniture, janitorial products, and industrial essentials. Serving businesses of all sizes, Essendant provides access to a vast catalog of products, competitive pricing, and efficient distribution for retailers and commercial buyers.

Step 1: Access the Connections tab, then select Fulfillment Sources.

Step 2: Click on +Add Source, name the source (e.g., Standard), and Save.

Step 3: Locate Standard in the FLX Supplier Directory, then click Continue.

Step 4: Enter the FTP User, FTP Password, and FTP Host (e.g., mft.standard.com).

Step 5: Click Continue, then Save Connection to complete setup.

Product Operations

The primary operation handles the bulk of your inventory management needs.

Get Inventory & Pricing and Quantity

GIS – Get Inventory & Pricing and Quantity [Primary]

Operation Workflow:

- FTP Download: The product feed (including pricing and quantity) is downloaded using your FTP credentials from the designated folder (e.g., /gis/), ensuring the file name is mapped properly.

- Product Files: The feed may include multiple files (e.g., products.zip) containing data for individual SKUs.

- Vendor Feed: Additional vendor or sync files (e.g., /xml/PriceFeed) can supplement or reconcile pricing and quantity data.

- Partial Data: If the feed covers only certain categories or SKUs, additional feed files might be required for full coverage.

- File/Folder Consistency: Confirm that your folder paths and file names exactly match your FTP settings to avoid download errors.

Operation Details:

- Custom Fields: Product notes and codes can be mapped to variant custom fields.

- Variations/Options: Simple product configurations are supported; advanced variation sets may not be included.

- Generic Pricing & Currency: You can map cost, list price, or sale price details if provided by the feed.

- Quantities: The feed provides an available quantity per SKU.

- Multiple Warehouses: Data is consolidated for a single warehouse; multiple warehouse support is not available.

- Images: Image URLs may be provided for some SKUs.

- Categories: Up to three levels of categorization (Category1, Category2, Category3) may be included.

- Archive Support: SKUs no longer present in the feed can be marked as archived in Flxpoint.

- Limitations: Some costs might be provided as a percentage of MSRP or as net cost only.

Once the feed is retrieved, Flxpoint will parse and update your inventory, pricing, and quantity records accordingly. Ensure that your folder paths, filenames, and field mappings are correct to avoid errors.

Mapping Template Overview

For mapping templates, you may choose to enable them for custom field mappings or disable them to use default settings.

- Don’t Map: Ignore the field entirely.

- Set to Empty: Force the field to be blank in Flxpoint.

- Field: Directly copy data from a GIS field (e.g., “SKU” → “Parent SKU”).

- Value: Apply a fixed or custom value to all records.

- Mapping Set: Use a predefined transformation or list (e.g., mapping internal codes).

- Rules: Apply conditional logic (e.g., “If Category1 = ‘Electronics’, then set Type = ‘Gadget’”).

Common Fields:

Parent-Level Fields:

Parent SKU: Typically mapped from “SKU” in the GIS feed.

All Attributes: Option to copy all attribute data, if available.

All Custom Fields: Captures additional product information provided by GIS.

All Images: Copies image URLs if the feed includes them.

Brand: Mapped from the manufacturer or brand field in the feed.

Categories: Mapped from GIS category fields (e.g., Category1, Category2, Category3).

Description / Title: Combine or map separately as needed.

Variant-Level Fields:

Master SKU: Often identical to the Parent SKU or defined separately.

SKU: Mapped separately if variant-level quantities are used.

Cost: Mapped from the cost field, if available.

Pricing: Mapped from list price, sale price, or other pricing fields.

Quantity: Map the available quantity per variant if applicable.

GTIN / UPC: Mapped from a unique identifier if provided.

Weight: Mapped if the feed includes weight data.

Common Issues & Tips

- NullPointerException: Verify your FTP folder and filename settings if Flxpoint cannot locate the feed.

- Partial Data: If certain categories or SKUs are missing, check whether additional feed files are needed or if the feed is incomplete.

- Mapping Mistakes: Ensure fields are correctly mapped (e.g., don’t map “SKU” to the folder path by mistake).

- Optional Mapping Templates: In the standard version, disable mapping templates to use default settings if custom mappings lead to errors.

- Additional Support: Contact Flxpoint support if issues persist or for help with advanced mappings, transformations, or scheduling updates.

Order Operations

It submits orders to vendors for fulfillment and subsequently imports the shipment details, ensuring an integration between order processing and shipment tracking.

Send Orders

When orders are placed, this operation generates an XML file containing all necessary order details and uploads it to Essendant’s FTP server for fulfillment processing.

Key Details

File Generation:
- The file is automatically created with a unique Fulfillment Request Number.
- It must adhere to Essendant’s XML schema for orders.
Data Included:
- Order Header: Order ID, date, and customer reference.
- Shipping Details: Customer’s name, address, city, state, postal code, and phone number.
- Line Items: SKU, quantity, price per unit, and any applicable discounts.
- Shipping Method: Indicates preferred carrier options (e.g., USPS, UPS, FedEx) with specific codes if required.
Processing Considerations:
- Once the file is uploaded, Essendant’s system confirms receipt automatically.
- Errors in data mapping (such as invalid SKUs or missing shipping info) may result in order rejections, so validation on your side is essential.

Get Shipments

After processing and shipping orders, Essendant places shipment files on the FTP server. This operation retrieves those files to update your system with shipping status and tracking details.