How to Add & Configure a Source

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This guide walks you through the full process of adding and configuring a Source in Flxpoint—from initial setup to inventory validation and best practices for ongoing operations.

1. Overview: What is a Source?

A Source in Flxpoint represents a fulfillment center and/or source of product/inventory data—typically a supplier/distributor, warehouse, marketplace feed, or file feed (CSV/SFTP).

A Source typically enables Flxpoint to:

Import Product Data

Titles, categories, images, and content

Import Pricing & Quantity

Cost, stock levels, and availability status

Send Orders

Fulfillment requests to the supplier

Receive Shipments

Tracking numbers and invoice data

When Should You Add a Source?

You onboard a new supplier/distributor
You need to bring in inventory from a warehouse
You connect a marketplace/store feed as a supplier-like feed
You ingest inventory via CSV/SFTP feed
You need better routing + fewer oversells by syncing availability

Why This Matters

Your Source is the operational foundation of how inventory, pricing, and fulfillment function inside Flxpoint. It determines which products enter your system, how costs and quantities are updated, how orders are routed to suppliers, and whether shipment tracking flows back automatically.

Because every catalog listing, routing rule, and automation depends on accurate Source data, even small setup errors—such as incorrect SKU structure, missing buffers, improper pricing configuration, or skipped validation—can lead to:

Oversells and stock discrepancies
Margin loss from incorrect cost data
Failed fulfillment or missing tracking updates
Operational disruption when scaling to additional suppliers

⚠️ Important: Taking the time to configure and validate your Source properly ensures accurate inventory, protected margins, reliable order automation, and a scalable system.

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2. Prerequisites

Before starting setup, collect and confirm the following:

A) Business Requirements

Decide what you want from this source:

Data only (inventory import only)
Full automation (inventory + orders + shipments)
Frequent pricing/qty updates (Primary + Secondary flows)

Best Practice: Confirm the supplier supports the integrations you need (especially Send Fulfillment Requests + Get Shipments if you plan to route orders).

B) Supplier Technical Requirements

Depending on the integration type, you may need:

API keys / tokens
Username / password
FTP/SFTP details
Supplier-provided mapping headers / SKU format

C) Flxpoint Requirements

You must have a Source created before importing inventory
Integrations must be set up before running imports

3. Step-by-Step: Add a Source

Step 1 — Go to Sources

Navigate to: Flx Admin → Sources

Step 2 — Add Source

Click: Sources → + Add Source

You will:

Enter a Source name
Select the Source Type that matches your operation (e.g., vendor warehouse, marketplace feed, etc.)
Optionally Assign a Vendor (recommended)

💡 Why assign a Vendor? Assigning a vendor helps with reporting, supplier segmentation, and vendor portal access scenarios.

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4. Configure Integrations

Once the Source exists, go to the source's Integrations area and click Start Creating Integrations.

Choose the integrations you need. Flxpoint commonly supports these Source flows:

Integration	Purpose	Required?
Get Inventory [Primary]	Imports new inventory items, product data (categories, images, content), and optionally pricing/quantity	Required for most sources
Get Inventory [Secondary]	More frequent pricing/quantity updates (not all suppliers support it)	Optional but recommended
Send Orders / Send Fulfillment Requests	Sends fulfillment requests/orders to the supplier	Required if routing orders
Get Shipments	Pulls shipment and tracking updates back into Flxpoint	Required if routing orders
Get Source Invoices	Retrieves source invoices for POs/FRs processed to the source	Optional
Get Inventory Images	Retrieves images from FTP or ZIP file with standard naming convention	Optional

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5. Import Source Inventory

What Importing Does

Importing Source Inventory retrieves rich product data, pricing, and quantity/status information. After import, you can build your Product Catalog and Channel Listings.

How to Import

Importing is done by running Get Inventory [Primary]:

Click the Sources icon in the Flxpoint toolbar
Click the gear icon next to your source
Go to Integrations → Get Inventory [Primary]
Configure if needed
Click Run Integration

Flxpoint imports new inventory and updates existing inventory records.

6. Source Inventory: How to Use It

What Source Inventory Is

Source Inventory houses inventory data imported from your source(s). Each SKU represents an item that can be fulfilled. It includes product content, pricing data, and quantity data.

How Source Inventory Is Used

Reflects current source data
Supports Product Catalog building
Acts as fulfillment items for order routing
Supplies price/qty details used downstream

💡 Important: Every run of Get Inventory integrations can update Source Inventory—data can change each time the integration runs.

7. Searching Source Inventory (Validation Step)

Once inventory is imported, validate by searching in: Products icon → Source Inventory → Parents or Variants

Parents View Search

Search by Parent SKU
Aggregated variants (e.g., "at least one variant has UPC X")
Other parent-level fields

Variants View Search

Search by pricing, quantity, bin location
Variant fields (and parent fields too)

8. Best Practices

A) Source Naming Conventions

Recommended format: [Supplier/Vendor Name] – [Type] – [Region/Warehouse]

Examples:

RSR – Vendor Warehouse – US
ACME – Dropship Supplier
ABC – CSV Feed – Daily

💡 Why this matters: Cleaner reporting, easier routing rules, and less operational confusion when you have 5–50 sources.

B) Inventory Buffer & Out-of-Stock Behavior

Purpose: Prevent oversells when supplier feeds lag.

Apply an inventory buffer (e.g., subtract 1–5 units) on fast-moving SKUs
Decide what happens when supplier sends 0 quantity, stops listing a SKU, or marks it inactive/discontinued
Run inventory sync frequently enough to match supplier velocity
If Secondary inventory exists, use it for frequent qty/price updates

C) Cost & Pricing Configuration

Before activating the source for selling:

Validate imported cost
Confirm pricing rules align with your margin targets
Confirm whether Primary or Secondary feed is the "source of truth" for price/qty

D) Testing & Validation Before Activation

Run Get Inventory Primary test — Run integration, confirm data imported correctly
Verify mapped fields (spot check) — Check a few SKUs for: SKU uniqueness, title/brand/category, images, cost, price, quantity/status
If Secondary exists, test it — Verify pricing/qty updates, schedule more frequently
Fulfillment test order (if routing orders) — Configure Send Fulfillment Requests + Get Shipments, submit a test order, confirm tracking flows back

9. Post-Setup Validation Checklist

✅ Integration Setup Verification

Get Inventory [Primary] configured + credentials saved
Default mapping template reviewed/generated (as applicable)
Primary integration test run completed successfully

✅ Inventory Verification

Inventory visible in Source Inventory
Parent/variant relationships look correct
Spot checked 5–10 SKUs for price/qty/content

✅ Automation Verification (if enabled)

Get Inventory [Secondary] configured (if supported)
Schedule frequency set for both Primary/Secondary

✅ Order Operations Verification (if routing orders)

Send Fulfillment Requests configured and tested
Get Shipments configured and tested
Initial runs monitored and logs reviewed

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Why It Matters
Not confirming supplier supports required integrations	Especially order routing: Send Fulfillment Requests + Get Shipments
Incorrect Source type selection	Leads to misaligned workflows and expectations
Skipping Vendor assignment	Reduces reporting clarity and segmentation
Duplicate Variant SKUs	Must be unique; duplicates may not import as expected
Not testing imports before building catalog/listings	Source Inventory should be validated first
No initial monitoring after scheduling	Errors show up in early sync runs—review logs initially

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