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Bulk Product Upload

Bulk product upload lets vendors add or update many products at once by uploading a CSV file. Use this feature when you want to import a larger product catalog instead of creating products one by one.

What is bulk product upload?

Bulk product upload reads product data from a CSV file and creates or updates products for a vendor company. It can import product information such as:
FieldMeaning
Product nameName of the product
Product numberVendor article number
PackagingPackaging or unit description
StockOptional stock quantity
PriceOptional product price
Product descriptionOptional product description

Who can upload products?

Bulk product upload is available to vendor users. A vendor can only upload products for their own vendor company.
Vendors cannot upload products into another vendor company’s catalog.

Required upload file

The upload must include a CSV file. If no file is provided, the upload is rejected.

Field mapping

During upload, Mathership needs to know which CSV columns belong to which product fields. This is called field mapping. Required mappings are:
Mapping fieldMeaning
product_nameCSV column containing the product name
packagingCSV column containing the packaging information
product_numberCSV column containing the article number
For vendor uploads, the product number is required.
Optional mappings can include:
Mapping fieldMeaning
stockCSV column containing stock quantity
priceCSV column containing product price
product_descriptionCSV column containing product description

CSV delimiter

Mathership can detect common CSV delimiters automatically. Supported delimiters include:
  • Semicolon
  • Comma
  • Tab
  • Space
If the delimiter cannot be detected, Mathership falls back to a standard CSV format.

Creating and updating products

Bulk upload can create new products or update existing products.
SituationResult
Product number is newA new product is created
Product number already exists for the vendor companyThe existing product is updated
Product number is missingProduct is created with no product number placeholder
This helps vendors update an existing catalog without manually editing every product.

Product number handling

The product number is used to identify existing products during upload. If the CSV row has a valid product number, Mathership checks whether a product with that number already exists for the vendor company. If it exists, the product is updated. If it does not exist, a new product is created.
Keep product numbers consistent. Changing product numbers can create duplicate products instead of updating existing ones.

Stock handling

Stock is optional. If no stock column is mapped or the value is empty, Mathership stores stock as 0. If the stock value cannot be read as a number, Mathership also stores stock as 0.

Price handling

Price is optional. If no price column is mapped or the value is empty, Mathership stores price as 0. If the price value cannot be read as a number, Mathership also stores price as 0.

Product description

A product description can be imported when a description column is mapped. If no description column is mapped, products are created or updated without changing this optional description field.

Upload result

After the upload, Mathership returns a result with:
Result fieldMeaning
success_countNumber of rows successfully processed
errorsRows that could not be processed
rowCSV row number with an issue
errorReason why the row failed
dataThe row data that caused the issue
This makes it easier to correct the CSV and upload again.

Partial success

Bulk upload can partially succeed. This means some rows may be imported successfully while other rows have errors.
If some rows fail, review the error list, correct the CSV, and upload the corrected rows again.

Example: Product catalog upload

A vendor wants to upload a catalog with article numbers, names, packaging, stock, and prices.
CSV columnMapping field
Artikelnummerproduct_number
Artikelnameproduct_name
Gebindepackaging
Lagerbestandstock
Preisprice
Mathership then creates or updates the products for that vendor company.

Example: Updating prices

A vendor already has products in Mathership and wants to update prices.
StepAction
1Export or prepare a CSV with product numbers and prices
2Upload the CSV
3Map product_number, product_name, packaging, and price
4Start the upload
5Review the upload result
Existing products with matching product numbers are updated.

Example: Adding stock values

A vendor wants to add stock quantities to products.
StepAction
1Prepare a CSV with product numbers and stock values
2Upload the CSV
3Map the stock column
4Start the upload
5Review imported rows and errors

Common problems

Upload is rejected

Check that:
  • A CSV file was selected
  • Field mapping was provided
  • Required fields are mapped
  • The vendor company exists
  • You are logged in as the correct vendor

Required field is missing

Check that the CSV row contains values for all required mapped fields. Required fields are product name, packaging, and product number.

Product was duplicated

This can happen if the product number changed or was missing. Use consistent article numbers to update existing products.

Stock or price is 0

This can happen if:
  • The mapped column is empty
  • The value is not numeric
  • The wrong CSV column was mapped

Some rows failed

Bulk upload may still import valid rows even if some rows fail. Review the returned error rows, correct the CSV, and upload again.

Best practices

Use product numbers consistently

Product numbers are important for updating existing products.

Check the CSV before upload

Make sure required columns are filled and values are clean.

Use clear packaging values

Packaging helps customers understand how the product can be ordered.

Start with a small test upload

Test a few rows first before uploading a large catalog.

Review upload errors

Always review the error list after upload, especially for larger files.

Adding Products

Add a single product manually.

Edit Products

Update product information after upload.

Availability

Mark products as available or not available.

Product Images

Manage product images after upload.

Packaging Levels

Define how products are packaged and ordered.

AI Packaging

Generate packaging levels from packaging text.
Last modified on May 6, 2026