Introduction

If you are looking to set up and link custom templates that get product and order data, you can do so directly in Onport. These order templates allow you to export data within Onport into a CSV or JSON file. This can be useful if vendors want to import the order details into an external fulfillment or accounting system for processing.

Setting up template details

To set up a new template, you will need to navigate to the Setup area and click API Templates > New Template:

Once you have created a new template, it’s time to set up the details.

1. Name: Select the name of the file.
2. Select the type of data to export: When exporting the file, it will have different lines (line a, line b, line c, etc.). You will need to select whether each line should reflect the purchase orders or the item.

3. File format: Choose in which format you would like to receive your file. Most of our customers use CSV, but you can also export it as XML, JSON (Raw), and JSON (Mapped)

4. How should the content be delivered: You can either send the data by email (as an attachment) or to a webhook. The webhook option will enable you to automatically export data into an external system (e.g. to ingest it into a BI tool). However, this will require custom development from a software developer.

Mappings

After setting up the template details, it’s time to map the details. You will need to do this to map what data each column should include and what the headers should be called. Often, your vendor will provide you with a format they would like you to use. Or, you might have a single format you provide to all your vendors.

1. Header: What do you want the file header to be in the file
2. Column type: Choose whether you want to enter data or text in the columns
3. Object: For example, if you want to add a column for sales reference, you would choose “Sale” as the object, and “Reference” as the attribute. Then click Add template mapping, and a column with sales reference will be added for the dropship provider.

4. As you start adding columns, you can adjust the position as needed from the arrows next to the column. This will change the order they appear in the file. Some systems might care about the order of the columns, which is why you might want to do it.

5. Select purchase to preview: After adding the columns, you can preview what the content and table look like with the mappings. It also outputs the CSV contents on the page.

Assigning the template

Lastly, you will need to assign the template to the individual vendors in the system, keeping in mind that each vendor might have its own unique format.

You can select a recent order to preview if you want to check that the file looks correct. Once you have assigned the template to the dropship provider, it will then be included on each email sent to the vendor as an attachment. Or, will be uploaded to an FTP server if you have selected orders to be sent by FTP.

Vendor accessing the template

Once assigned, the vendor will be able to access the template directly from their vendor portal.

To do this, they will need to go to the Orders tab in their portal and click "Export" at the bottom of the page. The template should then show up in a pop-up. They can click "Email" next to the template name, which will then send the template to their email.

❗️If you are looking to have a more automated way of sending out templates, contact our team at support@onport.com