> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mathership.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Bulk Product Upload
> Upload many vendor products at once from a CSV file
# 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:
| Field | Meaning |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Product name | Name of the product |
| Product number | Vendor article number |
| Packaging | Packaging or unit description |
| Stock | Optional stock quantity |
| Price | Optional product price |
| Product description | Optional 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 field | Meaning |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| product\_name | CSV column containing the product name |
| packaging | CSV column containing the packaging information |
| product\_number | CSV column containing the article number |
For vendor uploads, the product number is required.
Optional mappings can include:
| Mapping field | Meaning |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| stock | CSV column containing stock quantity |
| price | CSV column containing product price |
| product\_description | CSV 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.
| Situation | Result |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Product number is new | A new product is created |
| Product number already exists for the vendor company | The existing product is updated |
| Product number is missing | Product 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 field | Meaning |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| success\_count | Number of rows successfully processed |
| errors | Rows that could not be processed |
| row | CSV row number with an issue |
| error | Reason why the row failed |
| data | The 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 column | Mapping field |
| ------------- | --------------- |
| Artikelnummer | product\_number |
| Artikelname | product\_name |
| Gebinde | packaging |
| Lagerbestand | stock |
| Preis | price |
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.
| Step | Action |
| ---- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 | Export or prepare a CSV with product numbers and prices |
| 2 | Upload the CSV |
| 3 | Map product\_number, product\_name, packaging, and price |
| 4 | Start the upload |
| 5 | Review the upload result |
Existing products with matching product numbers are updated.
## Example: Adding stock values
A vendor wants to add stock quantities to products.
| Step | Action |
| ---- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 | Prepare a CSV with product numbers and stock values |
| 2 | Upload the CSV |
| 3 | Map the stock column |
| 4 | Start the upload |
| 5 | Review 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.
## Related pages
Add a single product manually.
Update product information after upload.
Mark products as available or not available.
Manage product images after upload.
Define how products are packaged and ordered.
Generate packaging levels from packaging text.