Distributor info

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Dec 08, 2010 by Joachim JensrudVersion comment
3 min read

General info

Distributors can be added to the Webmercs solution if they can provide a price file of acceptable data quality.
Each price file has to be updated eletronically at least once a day(night).
There can be one file for each client, one file per price group, or one file for all clients - it doesn't matter how many files there are. Many customers can be linked to the same file if the distributor wants that.

Since correct stock is important we would like a stock file that is updated once an hour (but this is not a requirement). The format of this file can either be a regular price file that is updated once an hour or just a file with part number and stock.

If you have any questions: always ask support@webmercs.no

Distributors that can provide electronic ordering and have a big base of existing Webmercs clients will receive priority, and we reserve the right to refuse any distributor for any reason.

Format

We prefer one tab delimited text file with all the info, but other delimiters or XML, etc will also work. Special solutions with multiple files may be accepted.
Send test files to support@webmercs.no for approval.

Delivery

We prefer FTP communication for files (distributor sends to our server, or we download from the distributor), but we can download from web or receive via web service or by email, if ncessary.
Ask support@webmercs.no if you need additional info.

Logical names should be used for the price files - name of customer is preferred. The name cannot change (do not use date/time stamp for instance).

Minimum requirements for the contents of the price file

Mandatory fields

  1. Distributor part number (943F184 , distributors often have internal ids)
  2. Manufacturer part number (C4224A#ABB)
  3. Brand ( HP, Microsoft etc)
  4. Product name (Example Laserjet 4200, 22 pages/min, 2400DPI)
    (warning) Manufacturer name should not be part of the product name.
  5. Price (4224.50)
    (warning) Don't use currency indicator in the price field. Don't use thousand-separator. We need to know which decimal separator is used (, or .)
  6. Stock (Should be a whole number, like "10". Negative stock will be converted to 0. If you have text in the stock field we need to know all possible options)
  7. Category (Laser printers)

optional fields

  1. Weight
  2. ETA (Estimated time of arrival / next shipment date)
  3. image URL
  4. description (either link to file or the actual description)

Important

  • Both manufacturer and distributor part numbers have to be unique
  • make sure you use a delimiter that is not used in the product names. We prefer <tab> since it's very rarely used
  • the distributor cannot change the format without first notifying us

Ordering and tracking

We prefer vendors that have electronic ordering already in place.
Electronic ordering has to include the following:

  • order message (this can be file transport of XML, EDI, custom, web service, etc)
  • order response (where we get the order number for the order that was placed)
  • dispatch advice (track&trace message, indicating that the products were shipped, serial/IMEI numbers of the products, etc)

Send detailed documentation, including test account to support@webmercs.no .

no electronic ordering?

If the distributor has a webshop, we can often make a web robot that places orders and retrieves order status. However, this is quite a bit of maintenance, less stable, and will only be done if there is a fairly big customer base requesting or having this vendor in the catalog.

In some cases we will approve email ordering.

(warning) Please note that we will generally not participate in a distributor's development and testing of a new electronic ordering solution. We have too much development work on our own.

Distributors using the webmercs solution

Webmercs clients can be distributors for other webmercs clients with full electronic price file and order integration.