Rename product numbers in PIM
Rename the Product Number on many products at once by importing an Excel file, instead of editing each product one at a time. Use this import when you standardize Product Number formats across your catalog in Optimizely Product Information Management (PIM).
Product Number is the business key shared with Commerce and your ERP system, so a mismatched rename can break ERP integration and order history. Because of this risk, the import is restricted to administrators and requires confirmation before it runs.
Before you begin
Only users with the Admin role see and run the Rename Product Number import. Manager, Merchandiser, Asset Manager, and Product Importer roles do not have access. If a non-admin account calls the import through the API directly, PIM rejects the request and does not queue the job.
Download the template
- Go to the Imports page.
- Click Import Templates.
- Download the Rename Product Number template (RenameProductNumberTemplate.xlsx).
- Enter the current value in the Old Product Number column for each product.
- Enter the replacement value in the New Product Number column for each product.
Rename product numbers
- Go to the Imports page.
- Upload the completed file.
- Select Rename Product Number as the import type.
- Click Import.
- Click Confirm in the confirmation message to start the job. The message warns that mismatched renames can break ERP integration and order history. To stop without changes, click Cancel.
- Track progress in the import queue. The progress indicator advances during processing and reaches 100% when the job completes.
After the job completes, run the publish or refresh job to sync the new product numbers to Commerce.
What happens during the import
PIM validates the entire file before it changes any product. When every row passes, PIM renames each product as follows:
- Rows where the Old Product Number and New Product Number match are skipped.
- Rows where both the Old Product Number and New Product Number cells are blank are skipped.
- When a renamed product has a status of published, PIM changes the status to approved. A product with any other status keeps its status.
Troubleshoot import errors
When any row fails validation, PIM does not change products and generates an error file. The error file highlights the offending rows and includes a message in each cell that needs correction. Correct the highlighted rows and import the file again.
The validation messages are:
- Old Product Number is required. – The Old Product Number cell is empty.
- New Product Number is required. – The New Product Number cell is empty.
- New Product Number exceeds the maximum allowed length of 50 characters. – The new value is too long.
- Old Product Number does not match any existing product. – No product uses the old value.
- New Product Number is already used by another product. – The new value is not unique.
- Old Product Number belongs to an archived product, which cannot be renamed. – The product is archived.
- Old Product Number appears in more than one row. – The same old value is listed more than once.
- New Product Number appears in more than one row. – The same new value is listed more than once.