Import prices from an exterior file and how to create one

[DK_dev]

Hi everyone!

I have a Magento 1.9-based online-shop and I'm wondering how can I import prices for all the products from an exterior file/database (will be stored locally to automate other business processes). I need to have an exterior file/database, because I'm planning to create a database that will be used for our company's business processes' automation. Since prices can change from time to time, we need to use a convenient solution for keeping all our data clean and ready for import/export between online store and local database

Currently I have only Magento-based store and all information about products is stored there, hence first thing I need to do is to export all the required data from the website to be able to create a database, am I right?

Thank you for your help!

[Damian Culotta]

Hi @DK_dev,

I guess there isn't a magic solution and neither one valid answer.

Basically you need an integration with your ERP system (or similar). You can get different levels (and qualities) of integrations.

You can start using the Magento Data Flow but tha process will be manual.

Or you can build a Shell class that use the Data FLow profiles to try to automate the process. At the end, it will depend on how much energy you want/can apply to the integration. Also, it will depend on how much flexible your external system will be to transfer or provide the data.

(my 2 cents)

[DK_dev]

Hi and thank you for the tip.

I guess I'll keep digging deeper into the subject and meanwhile wait for anyone familiar with it on this forum.

Cheers!

[Damian Culotta]

Hi @DK_dev,

Maybe is about having a good roadmap about how and what you want to import/sync.

I guess you should eb able to get a lot of answers abotu different approaches but without knowing the system in the other end is a little bit hard.

Cheaper option is to export a CSV/XLS file from your system and convert to the Magento format. Then use the Dataflow to import those files.

This will need manual work. It will be a problem if you need to do this all the time.

Expensive option could include requesting data using webservices or downloading CSV fiels from your server.

Then that data should be parsed to be inserted into Magento.

Also, the same autoamtic process could send information to your end (if you need it).

As you can imagine, bewteen those two options there are a lot of possible approaches. But, again, it will depend on your end (your system).

Also, if you want to explore another options, here you'll find some modules and services that maybe can help:

- https://github.com/firebearstudio/importexportfree

- https://zapier.com/zapbook/excel/magento/

- https://www.cobby.io/

I don't know, I'm pretty sure you'll find a lot of options to explore.

Cheers!