Move the information once, with its meaning intact.

A supplier update contains a stable product code, an abbreviated name and no document field. The public catalogue already has an approved description and a reviewed drawing. Importing the new row should not automatically replace the buyer-facing explanation or decide that the missing document field means remove the drawing. We can build a connection around those explicit catalogue decisions.

Keep the matching key and public explanation separate

For a fictional distributor, retain the supplier code needed to match later updates and the locally approved product name used by buyers. Decide which fields the feed may update and which the product owner reviews. A changed abbreviation is not, by itself, approval to overwrite the public explanation.

The same review covers document references and revisions. A supplier's new file needs a defined relationship to the product and any earlier customer request. Replacing the latest catalogue document must not silently change which drawing was attached to a previously reviewed enquiry.

Distinguish absent, unchanged and deliberately cleared

Prepare three sample updates: one omits a field, one explicitly retains its value and one requests removal. The actual provider's format may represent those cases differently or may not distinguish them at all. Agree an operational rule with the catalogue owner before implementing an automatic mapping. Uncertain instructions can enter review rather than becoming public changes.

A bounded paid first stage can assess the feed and receiving system, document that field map and trial a small batch. Implementation may add a preview of proposed changes and a review route for unknown categories or document conflicts. A larger import follows only after staff can explain the trial's public and internal results.

Inspect the catalogue after a repeat update

Use an ordinary item, an unknown category, a changed supplier label and a missing document value. Apply the supported test exchange twice. Ask the product owner to find the buyer-facing name, original matching code and current reviewed document, and to identify anything deliberately held for review.

The engagement defines account permissions, failure handling and handover; accounting or regulated document decisions remain with your advisers. Bring a safe sample of the actual format. The supplier-feed and trial-import notes show which cases make the first connection useful.