Standing service import-keep-supplier-feed-import-correct · revised 11 October 2026
Standing service
Keep your supplier feed imports correct, month after month
We watch the supplier feeds you name. When a new file fails checks or changes shape we investigate and propose a fix, or tell you exactly what only your supplier can change.
This starts a conversation by email. Nothing is charged, and nothing is watched, until we have agreed scope and terms with you in writing.
The responsibility you hand over
Supplier files change without warning: a column moves, an encoding changes, a file is half uploaded, a price swings. Imports then fail loudly or, worse, succeed with wrong data. Teams fix each case between other work or learn to distrust the data.
Who it’s for: Operations or purchasing owner at a distributor or shop whose supplier files arrive every day or week and whose imports break in small ways nobody owns.
Usually starts when: Someone checks each import by eye, a bad file has reached live prices before, or nobody knows who to ask when a supplier changes a column, an encoding or a delivery time.
The result: The named supplier feeds keep importing correctly. Each failed or suspicious file is investigated and ends in a proposed fix, an explanation of what your supplier must change, or a written recommendation to hold the file; each month you see what arrived, what we recommended holding and how each case ended.
What stays true, and what we do about it
Hours are agreed in writing before the service starts. At launch the service is not staffed round the clock, so we do not offer round-the-clock cover. No response-time guarantee is published for this new service; a target is agreed in writing before it starts, set to what a service at this stage can keep.
Hours are agreed in writing before the service starts. The service is not staffed round the clock.
What must remain true
- Each new file from the named feeds that you share with us gets a change report and a written verdict (looks fine to import, hold it, or explained), and your import waits for that verdict before it changes live prices or stock
- Every failed or suspicious file ends in a proposed fix, an explanation or a written recommendation to hold the file
What we watch
- Run results and reject lists for each named feed, shared by an agreed route
- A copy of each new file and of the previous one, with personal data removed, shared by an agreed route
- Your own notes of what you changed after each proposal
When something happens
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| When | What we do |
|---|---|
| A text file reads with garbled characters or a missing first column. | We reproduce it on a synthetic copy and propose the decoding fix, or tell you what the supplier must re-export. Priced as: CSV garbled characters import |
| Rows shift columns or the row count differs from what the supplier states. | We reproduce it, propose a fix to the delimiter and quote handling and list rows to reject. Priced as: CSV delimiter and quote faults |
| An XML file is rejected or items are read without their fields. | We read the first error's position, propose the importer fix or tell you exactly what the supplier must correct. Priced as: XML feed parse errors |
| A scheduled fetch imports a partial or repeated file, or does not run. | We reproduce it on a synthetic server and propose the completeness and failure-alert fix. Priced as: SFTP scheduled fetch fix |
| A new file arrives. | We produce the change report against the previous file and flag price and stock moves over your thresholds. Priced as: Supplier feed change report |
| A month ends. | We send a short written summary: files seen, files held, proposals made and what is still open. |
We do on our own
- Read the run results and reject lists you share
- Reproduce failures on a copy of your import code with synthetic data
- Produce change reports and propose fixes
We ask you first
- Anything that changes how your live import writes data
- Contact with your supplier
- Any access beyond run results and a copy of the code
We escalate to you when
- The cause is outside your code, such as the supplier changing its file or its server
- A change would alter what your store shows, not only how files are read
- Failures pass the agreed monthly number
How you know it held. Each month you get the files seen and how each ended. A passing test on a copy and your own import result are the evidence for each proposal.
How we keep it true
This service is never finished. Each month's summary shows whether the named feeds kept importing correctly, and it continues until you end it.
Get a change report comparing two supplier feed versions before you import Job Each time it fires
For two named versions of one supplier feed you get a repeatable report of every added, removed and changed product, with price and stock moves over your thresholds and counts that reconcile.
One for each new file, as agreed
The same report you can buy on its own.
Make a supplier CSV import keep accented and special characters intact Job Each time it fires
A named supplier CSV with accents, symbols and a leading byte-order mark imports with every agreed test value unchanged and its first column recognised; before and after results attached.
Within the shared monthly number
Each fix is the same job you can buy on its own.
Stop supplier CSV rows splitting at commas, quotes and line breaks Job Each time it fires
A named supplier CSV with commas, quotes and line breaks in descriptions imports at the right column count on every row. Bad rows are listed by line, and a file with an unclosed quote is rejected.
Within the shared monthly number
Read every item in a supplier XML feed, and reject a broken file cleanly Job Each time it fires
A named supplier XML sample imports every well-formed item, with namespaces, CDATA and escapes read correctly; a broken copy is rejected with its line and column and changes nothing.
Within the shared monthly number
Make a scheduled supplier file fetch import only complete, new files Job Each time it fires
A scheduled job fetches the latest supplier file over SFTP, skips files still being uploaded, never imports the same file twice, and fails loudly on a changed host key, tested on a synthetic server.
Within the shared monthly number
What is included, and what is not
- A proposed fix, with its test, for each failure we can fix within the agreed monthly number
- An explanation of what your supplier or your host must change, when the cause is outside your code
- A change report for each new file, and a written monthly summary
Included
- Watching the import results of up to three named supplier feeds, from run results and reject lists that you share
- Investigation of each failed or held file, with a proposed fix on a copy of your import code or an explanation with evidence
- A change report between each new file you share and the previous one, with moves over your thresholds flagged, and a written verdict on whether the file looks fine to import
- A written monthly summary of files seen, held, fixed and still open
Not included
- Applying changes to your live importer, store or database, which stays with your team
- Holding supplier credentials, keys or logins
- Correcting the supplier's data or negotiating with the supplier
- Out-of-hours cover or any guaranteed response time
- Personal data of any kind
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
For each proposed fix, the failure is reproduced on a copy and passes after the change using the same synthetic file.
Evidence: Before and after test output attached to the proposal.
Every new file you share from a named feed has a change report and a written verdict, and the report reconciles distinct keys with the previous file (old keys minus absent plus added equals new keys), with the extra rows that repeat a key counted separately for each file.
Evidence: The reports and verdicts, with the reconciliation shown.
Each month's summary lists every file seen, held or failed on the named feeds and how each ended.
Evidence: The written monthly summary, which you can compare with your own import history.
Sign-off. You review each proposal and the monthly summary. A proposal counts as delivered when you accept it.
If it fails. If we cannot fix a failure, we say so, explain what we found and what it would take, and it does not count against the monthly number. If the service is not working for you, you can end it at the end of any month.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- Your imports write a run result and a reject list, or you can add that, and you can share them by an agreed route
- You can share the import code through an agreed company-controlled route
- A person on your side reviews and applies proposed changes
- Your import can be set to wait for our change report and verdict on each new file before it writes to live prices or stock. If it imports automatically, our report arrives after the import and describes what was imported
We stop and tell you if
- Most failures are caused by something outside your control that nobody will raise with the supplier
- Safe checking would need supplier credentials or live production access that we would have to hold
- Failures regularly exceed the agreed monthly number, so we agree a different scope
What could go wrong
Every proposal is a change your team reviews and applies, so you can revert it as you would any other change. Ending the service leaves your importer as it is, with open proposals finished or handed back.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| A proposed fix hides bad data instead of stopping it. | We change how files are read and checked, not what counts as correct, and show before and after evidence. You review and apply every change. |
| A failure is really a supplier mistake that needs the supplier to act. | We tell you so with the evidence and the exact request to send, instead of working round it. |
| Shared run results reveal more than intended. | We ask only for run results, reject lists and non-personal product data. You decide what to share and can stop at any time. |
Each proposal is checked by a reviewer separate from the work that produced it before it reaches you. No human supervisor is included unless your agreement names one. At launch the work is largely automated, and we say so.
Stays with a person
- You review and apply every proposed change
- You approve any contact with the supplier
Access we would need
- Run results and reject lists shared by an agreed route
- A copy of the import code through a company-controlled route
Questions
How is this different from buying one fix?
A one-off job repairs one fault once. This watches the feeds you name and takes each failed or suspicious file through to a proposal, an explanation or a hold, month after month.
Do you change my live importer?
No. We propose changes on a copy. Your team applies them.
Do you need my supplier logins?
No. We work from run results, reject lists and copies of files that hold no personal data.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- The names of the supplier feeds you want kept correct, and how each is delivered and how often
- How often imports fail or need hand fixes today, as best you know
- Who reviews and applies changes. No credentials, supplier files or private code in the first enquiry
Later, once you agree
- Run results and reject lists for the named feeds, sent or shared by an agreed route
- A copy of each new supplier file and of the previous one, with personal data removed, shared by an agreed route as each file arrives
- The import code through an agreed company-controlled route, with local run instructions
- The agreed number of fixes a month and who to tell when something is outside your code
Your importer, supplier accounts, credentials and data stay yours. We read the run results and reject lists you share and work on a copy of the importer code, returning proposed changes for your team to review and apply. We do not hold supplier credentials or write to your systems.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “import-keep-supplier-feed-import-correct” as the subject.