Reading supplier API documentation: what to look for
A supplier API can be the best source of current prices and stock, but only if you understand how it works before you connect it. API documentation varies from a polished developer portal to a two-page PDF. Either way, the same questions need answers. Going through them first saves days of trial and error.
Access
- Authentication method: API key, token, login and password, or OAuth.
- Where credentials go: in a header, in the URL or in the request body.
- Expiry: whether tokens expire and how to renew them.
- Test environment: whether there is a sandbox you can use without affecting real data.
Endpoints
- Which endpoint returns the product list, and whether prices and stock come with it or from separate endpoints.
- Whether there is an endpoint for changes only, such as "updated since".
- Which endpoints return categories, images and attributes.
Data format
- JSON or XML, and the structure of a product record.
- Which field is the stable product identifier.
- Currency, VAT and units of the price.
- How stock is expressed: exact number, range or status.
- How variants are represented.
Limits and paging
- Maximum number of requests per minute, hour or day.
- How results are paged and the maximum page size.
- What happens when you exceed the limit: an error, a delay or a temporary block.
Errors and support
- Which error codes the API returns and what they mean.
- How the supplier announces changes to the API.
- Who to contact when something stops working.
Make a test request
Before setting anything up, request a small page of products and compare the response with the supplier's website or price list. Check a few prices, a few stock values and the identifiers. If they do not match, clarify with the supplier first.
Connecting a supplier API to YfiFX
In YfiFX, a supplier API is one of the sources for a supplier's price list, alongside files, links, e-mail and FTP. Once the connection details are entered, the fields from the API response are mapped to your Master price list, just like columns in a file. From then on, the API data is processed in the same way as any other source: products are linked, prices are calculated with your rules, and the result is exported to your store and feeds on a schedule.
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