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Supplier Onboarding

NECTAR Supplier Inventory CSV Requirements

NECTAR (Normalized EDI and Catalog Tool for Admin Review) is a system for collecting, validating, and managing supplier product and inventory data.

This document defines the exact CSV format and rules suppliers must follow when submitting inventory and product data to NECTAR.

Submitting a file implies acceptance of these requirements.

Templates

Download Official NECTAR Templates

Important: Files must be uploaded to NECTAR as CSV. If you use Excel, export the file to CSV before uploading.

Test Your File

Use the tool below to validate your file before submitting it for processing.

Test Your Inventory Import

Upload your CSV or XLSX file to check for common issues before importing.

Accepted formats: CSV, XLSX (Max 50MB)

Purpose

NECTAR uses a standardized CSV file to:

  • Maintain accurate inventory levels
  • Normalize product data across suppliers
  • Prepare data for downstream systems (catalogs, fulfillment, EDI, and reporting)

This CSV is the authoritative source of supplier-provided product data.

File Format Requirements

Supplier files must meet all of the following rules:

  • File format: .csv (Comma-Separated Values)
  • Encoding: UTF-8
  • Header row: Required
  • One product per row
  • One SKU per row
  • No formulas, macros, merged cells, or styling
  • Values must be literal text or numbers only

Always start from the official NECTAR template (blank or example). The template header names are the authoritative schema.

Column Requirements (with inline examples)

The following columns must appear in the CSV header row. Header names must match exactly (including spacing and capitalization).

Column Name What it is Requirements Valid Example
SKU Supplier’s unique product identifier (primary key) Required. Must be stable across uploads. One row per SKU. FM-TSHIRT-BLK-M
UPC Universal Product Code Optional but strongly recommended. Digits only preferred. 012345678905
Model Number Manufacturer/internal model identifier Optional. MX-1000
Product Name Human-readable product name Required. Classic Crew T-Shirt
Short Description Brief product summary Optional. Soft cotton tee, regular fit.
Brand Brand name Optional. ForMyBee
Category Category/classification label Optional. Use consistent naming across products. Apparel
Cost Supplier cost (USD) Numeric > 0. Do not include $ or commas. 8.50
MSRP Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price Numeric ≥ 0. Do not include $ or commas. 19.99
Street Price Intended sell price Numeric ≥ 0. Do not include $ or commas. 14.99
Availability Quantity Inventory Units available Integer ≥ 0. No decimals. Negative values not allowed. 120
Lead Time Lead-time in days Integer ≥ 0. No decimals. Negative values not allowed. 1
Country of Origin Country where product is made Required. 3 Char code. View Country Data-Dictionary. USA
Weight Product weight Numeric. Units must be consistent within your feed. 1.2
Height Product height Numeric. Units must be consistent within your feed. 10
Width Product width Numeric. Units must be consistent within your feed. 8
Depth Product depth Numeric. Units must be consistent within your feed. 2.5
Color Color attribute Optional. Use consistent naming. Black
Size Size attribute Optional. Use consistent naming. M
Image URL Primary product image URL Fully-qualified URL beginning with http:// or https://. https://example.com/images/fm-tshirt-blk-m.jpg
Description Full product description Optional. Plain text recommended. 100% cotton crew t-shirt. Machine washable.
Additional Images Additional product image URLs Optional. Multiple URLs should be comma-separated. https://example.com/img1.jpg, https://example.com/img2.jpg

Identity & Matching Rules

  • SKU is the primary key. NECTAR matches products by SKU.
  • Changing a SKU creates a new product.
  • UPC and Model Number are used for reference/enrichment and do not replace SKU matching.

Pricing Rules

  • All pricing values are assumed to be USD.
  • Do not include currency symbols (e.g., $), commas, or text like USD.
  • Use plain numeric values only.

Valid: 10, 10.00, 9.99

Invalid: $10.00, 10,000, USD 10

Inventory Rules

  • Inventory Quantity must be a whole number (integer) and must be ≥ 0.
  • Negative values are not supported.
  • 0 is valid and indicates out-of-stock.

Image & Media Rules

  • URLs must be fully-qualified and publicly accessible.
  • Image URL is the primary image. Use Additional Images for more images.
  • For Additional Images, separate multiple URLs with commas.
  • Do not paste image files or embed binary content into the CSV.

Country of Origin

Country is in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 format. Three-letter country codes.

Validation Outcomes

NECTAR automatically validates each upload and classifies each row as one of the following:

  • Accepted – Data is valid and applied
  • Accepted with Warnings – Data applied but flagged for review
  • Rejected – Data is not applied due to validation errors

Rejected rows must be corrected and re-submitted.

Common Rejection Reasons

  • Missing required column(s) or modified header names
  • Missing SKU
  • Duplicate SKU rows in the same file
  • Non-numeric values in Cost/MSRP/Street Price
  • Negative or non-integer Inventory Quantity
  • Malformed Image URL(s)

Upload Expectations

  • Suppliers are responsible for accuracy and timely updates.
  • Daily uploads are recommended for fast-moving inventory.
  • Weekly minimum is recommended for static catalogs.
  • NECTAR does not infer or guess missing values.

Change Control & Review

Suppliers may update inventory, pricing, descriptions, and media URLs. NECTAR may flag unexpected changes and require clarification before approval in cases where review is required.

Support & Corrections

If an upload fails validation:

  1. Review the validation feedback provided by NECTAR
  2. Correct the CSV file
  3. Re-upload the corrected file

If issues persist, contact your onboarding representative.

Canonical Templates

Always use the official NECTAR supplier feed templates. The templates define the authoritative schema.

NECTAR
Normalized EDI and Catalog Tool for Admin Review