You can update data for materials and variants already existing in Katana in bulk via spreadsheet (XLSX) import.
The most typical use cases include:
- Importing Variant codes (SKU) to existing materials in Katana. If you have a long list of materials without Variant codes in Katana, it might be more efficient to generate the codes in the spreadsheet rather than upload them into Katana and enter Variant codes manually.
- Updating Material names, Categories, Default Suppliers, Purchase prices, Barcodes, or Additional info for materials in bulk.
- Updating Reorder points for materials in bulk.
- Updating Default storage bins for products in bulk. This is only available for those on a Standard or higher plan.
- Enabling batch tracking for materials in bulk. This feature is part of the Full Traceability Add-on (automatically available for Professional plans).
The overwriting template and workflow in Katana are separate from the functionality of importing new materials and variants. Read more about adding new materials via spreadsheet.
How to bulk update data for existing materials and variants via import?
Navigate to Settings screen > Data import.
Find Update existing materials and reorder points and select Download data.
A spreadsheet (XLSX format) with all your existing Katana material data will be downloaded. This template includes a Katana ID column, which we will use for matching the imported materials with materials existing in Katana.
Make the preferred changes to material data in the spreadsheet.
Import the XLSX file back into Katana by selecting Upload data next to Update existing materials and reorder points in "Data import.
Updated data in the spreadsheet will overwrite existing material data in Katana.
Tip: Creating .xlsx on Mac. Open the spreadsheet in Numbers and choose File > Export to > Excel... from the menu at the top of your screen.
Tip: Creating .xlsx in Google Sheets. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets and choose File > Download as > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
What import rules are applied?
Imported materials are matched to products in Katana by the Katana ID included in the spreadsheet. This ID is not visible inside of Katana and is purely used for matching products.
Imported materials without a Katana ID match in Katana will be skipped.
Any changes to columns in the spreadsheet will update the associated data for products in Katana. The only exception is the Material variant column. Changes to this column will not update any data in Katana. This column is included in the spreadsheet only for better identification purposes for the user.
If the material has multiple variants, changing the Material name in the spreadsheet for only one variant will not split the material variants into multiple material cards in Katana, but it will overwrite the material name for the original material.
The Batch trackable? columns accept values "Yes", "yes", "Y", "y". If the field is empty, the current batch tracking setting for the item will not be changed. You cannot disable batch tracking for items in bulk when the batch tracking is already enabled in Katana. Navigate to the product card in Katana to disable batch tracking for each item.
If you have multiple Locations in Katana, the file will include multiple rows for each item variant in the file (one row for each Location). This is so you can also update your Reorder points for items with this file, which is a Location-specific value in Katana.
Updating material barcodes.
This feature is available on a Standard or higher plan and this field is only displays in the template if you're using a higher plan.Supplier item code - Add or change one or more supplier item barcodes to identify raw materials and purchasable products. Multiple barcode numbers are separated by a comma "," to your item variant as a supplier item code. Supplier item codes are imported if the supplier item code is switched on in the barcode settings.
Internal barcode - Assign or change internal barcodes to track inventory movements. Barcode numbers are between 3-40 digits.
Internal barcodes are only imported if the internal barcode is switched on in the barcode settings.
If internal barcodes are generated automatically, then internal barcodes are not imported.If you change Default supplier to a supplier that has a different supplier currency, the default purchase prices of this item will be converted to the selected supplier's currency.
Updating Default purchase prices for materials in bulk.
Starter plan: the Purchase price is per purchase unit of measure and in your base currency.
Standard, Professional, Professional Plus plans: the purchase price is per purchase unit of measure and in the currency of the default supplier of this item. The updated price values entered here are not converted anymore. Read here about purchase prices in foreign currency.
Note. If you do not have a different purchase UoM set, then the default purchase price is considered per tracking unit of measure.
If you use multiple Locations in Katana, the file will include multiple rows for each item variant in the file (one row for each Location). This is so you can also update your Reorder points and Default storage bins for items with the file (which are a Location-specific values in Katana).
If you have multiple Locations in Katana and there are multiple rows for each item variant in the file, and you change product data (e.g. material name, category, default purchase price, batch tracking settings) on one row but not on the other. The values for the bottom row for this item variant in the file will be imported to Katana.
Empty cells are ignored during import. Existing data in Katana will not be overwritten with blank values.
Except for barcodes, where the empty cells overwrite the existing values. This enables deleting barcodes in bulk.