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An import connector is a scheduled, automated feed that brings a partner or ERP catalog into MerchantOps without anyone uploading a file by hand. Where uploading products is a one-time action you take, a connector runs on a schedule and keeps your catalog in sync with an upstream source. Connectors are a generic pattern: any recurring source that can deliver a data file — most commonly a file drop over SFTP — can drive one. The rest of this page describes that pattern with a file/SFTP feed as the reference example.

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The pattern

1

A feed lands on a schedule

The upstream system drops a file — for example a nightly catalog export placed in an SFTP folder — on its own schedule. MerchantOps picks it up when it arrives.
2

The file is parsed and mapped

Each row is parsed and its columns are mapped to product fields and attributes, the same way a CSV upload maps columns — just applied automatically instead of interactively.
3

Products are created or updated

New rows become new products; rows that match an existing product update it. Re-importing an unchanged row is treated as a no-op, so a feed that mostly repeats itself doesn’t churn your catalog.
4

The run is tracked as a Job

Every run creates a Job with counts of created, updated, and failed rows, plus per-row error detail — the same tracking you get from a manual upload.
Connectors are configured per organization for your specific upstream source and schedule. Talk to your MerchantOps contact to set one up.

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When to use a connector

Reach for a connector when the source of truth for your catalog lives in another system and changes regularly:
  • A partner or vendor sends a catalog export on a fixed cadence.
  • An ERP or PIM produces a nightly or hourly extract.
  • You want new and changed items to flow in without a person running an upload.
For a single batch, or data you’re preparing by hand, a CSV upload is simpler. For programmatic, on-demand ingestion from your own code, use the API.

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Enrichment on import

Like other ingestion paths, an import can hand new and changed products to enrichment so they arrive filled in rather than bare. Enrichment runs in the background and is tracked under the import’s Job.

Uploading products

The manual, one-time counterpart to a scheduled connector.

Jobs

Monitor each connector run and review per-row errors.

How enrichment works

What happens to products a connector brings in.

The API & CLI

Programmatic, on-demand ingestion from your own systems.