Work with what suppliers deliver
Excel, CSV, XML, APIs and data pools come in exactly as suppliers provide them.
Supplier Data Onboarding
Supplier data that arrives the way you want it.
No supplier delivers product data in exactly the same way. That means every onboarding quickly turns into checking, adjusting and cleaning up. We standardise that process before your PIM, so you onboard faster and spot deviations before they move further into the chain.
These organisations onboard suppliers with ConnectingTheDots
WHAT FLOW DELIVERS
Less friction. More progress.
Automate the manual work
Structuring, mapping, enriching, translating and checking happen automatically as much as possible. That frees up your team's time for exceptions and quality.
Get data where it belongs
Every system, channel and customer gets the right product information, in the right format.
Grow without extra product data work
Add suppliers, assortments, brands, customers and channels without the operational work growing at the same pace.
A familiar situation
The bottleneck sits before your PIM.
Most delays do not happen in the PIM, but in everything needed to get supplier data there correctly.
Every supplier delivers differently.
Files, fields, categories and structures differ. That means every new supplier requires fresh mapping, checking and alignment.
Too much work before the PIM.
Buyers and product teams spend a lot of time on Excel, corrections and exceptions before product data becomes usable.
Problems become visible too late.
Feeds change, fields go missing and values become inconsistent. Often you only notice once incorrect data has already moved further into the chain.
Every onboarding starts from scratch.
Mappings, rules and agreements get rebuilt every time. Without reusable flows, onboarding stays dependent on manual work and scattered knowledge.
HOW WE APPROACH IT
Built for the part where product data really begins.
Catch differences before your PIM
Most PIM processes only start after import. We also tackle the part before it: bringing in, structuring and checking supplier data.
- Excel, CSV, XML and API
- Mapping per supplier
- Validation before import
Let suppliers deliver data their way
Different formats and structures are the starting point. We automatically translate them into your data model.
- Automatic field mapping
- Normalise values
- Translate categories
Make each new onboarding faster
Instead of one-off import scripts per supplier, mappings, rules and flows become part of your standard process.
- Reuse mappings
- Copy rules and validations
- Adapt flows per supplier
How customers get supplier data
under control before their PIM.
Different suppliers deliver different files, feeds and structures. These organisations bring them together first, before the data moves further into the chain.
Processing more than 50 supplier feeds centrally and mapping per supplier before the data moves on to the webshop and marketplaces.
- 50+ supplier feeds
- Mapping per supplier
Gathering product data from different suppliers centrally and making it fit for use across multiple formats and sales channels.
- Multiple suppliers
- Multiple formats and channels
Structuring complex supplier data from different sources and translating it into one usable base for further processing.
- Complex product data
- One central structure
Importing supplier data automatically and using it as one central source for publishing to the webshop and other channels.
- Automated import
- One central source
Mapping, validating and enriching supplier feeds automatically, after which product data flows to Magento through a fixed connection.
- Automated feed processing
- Direct Magento connection
Structuring, validating and linking supplier data in dozens of formats into one catalogue for resellers.
- Hundreds of suppliers
- One catalogue for resellers
Technical architecture
How supplier data flows through the platform.
01 · Ingest
Everything comes in
Process supplier data regardless of source or format.
Excel & CSVXML & APIIncremental updatesAutomatically recognises structures, columns and variations in source formats.
02 · Parse
Understand the source
Read files and feeds and make the content technically processable.
Schema detectionField recognitionFormat parsingRecognises patterns and interprets unfamiliar field names.
03 · Map
Into your data model
Translate source fields, values and categories into one fixed structure.
Field mappingValue mappingCategory mappingSuggests smart field matches and category mappings.
04 · Transform
Make data consistent
Normalise formats, values and units during processing.
NormalisationBusiness rulesData conversionsRecognises unusual patterns and suggests transformations.
05 · Enrich
Fill in data intelligently
Add missing or supplementary product information where needed.
Derived valuesAttribute enrichmentContent completionSuggests missing attributes and supplementary values.
06 · Validate
Checks before your PIM
Flag errors, missing fields and exceptions before data flows further.
Validation rulesQuality checksException handlingFinds deviations that fixed rules do not always catch.
07 · Output
Send data onward
Deliver validated product data wherever it is needed.
PIM & ERPWebshop & marketplaceAPI & feedsChecks completeness and consistency before publication.
How much manual work does onboarding a new supplier take?
Send us a supplier feed. We will show you where mapping, validation and corrections take time, and which steps you can standardise or automate.
- An analysis of your own supplier data
- Insight into bottlenecks before your PIM
- Concrete opportunities to speed up onboarding
Frequently asked questions.
Can't find your question? Get in touch
Supplier data comes in whatever format the supplier already uses. ConnectingTheDots maps the data to your data model, validates the content and flags deviations before the data moves on.
Supported sources include Excel, CSV, XML, APIs, supplier portals, Fashion Cloud and Vuuh. Other sources can often be connected too.
No. The supplier can keep supplying data in their own structure. ConnectingTheDots translates that data into your data model.
That depends on the quality and complexity of the data. By reusing mappings and onboarding flows, subsequent suppliers usually go live faster.
Changes to fields, values or structure can be flagged as data comes in. That way, errors do not go unnoticed further into the chain.
Yes. The onboarding layer can also prepare data for other PIM systems, webshops, marketplaces and internal systems.