Adding hardware to your catalog

If you cannot find a hardware part in Salesbuildr, you are usually not doing something wrong. The manufacturer part number (MPN) is simply not in a connected distributor feed. That is a feed gap, not a broken catalog.

The catalog is what your team is allowed to quote. Distributor feeds are what those distributors publish for the markets you connected. Search the Marketplace first. Only create a manual product or import a one-off bid when the feed truly does not have the SKU.

This article assumes a Professional Services Automation (PSA) connection (or Standalone) and at least one distributor are already set up. If you are still configuring the workspace, start with Set up Salesbuildr in this order.

1. Search the Marketplace by MPN first

Open Products → Marketplace. Type the manufacturer part number, not a marketing name. Exact MPNs rank above a name search and match the same field the feed uses for cost and stock.

Before you import, confirm the part is not already in your catalog:

1. Search Products by the same MPN. Matching is case-insensitive — ABC-123 and abc-123 are the same product.
2. On the Marketplace result, look for a link next to the MPN (list view) or product name (column view). That link opens the existing catalog product. Use that record instead of importing again.
3. If you still open Import product, Fetch info toasts Product already exists with same Manufacturer Part Number when another catalog row already uses that MPN. Saving then asks Continue? if duplicates exist. Stop there. Keep one listed product per MPN.

A Marketplace miss is No results. That is not a catalog error. Reset filters if Only available stock is hiding an out-of-stock feed row, then decide whether the SKU is really absent — see When the part is not in the feed.

Importing from Marketplace needs the Product editor permission. Product viewers can browse; they cannot import.

2. Import with a category, Listed, and dynamic pricing

When the Marketplace result is the part you want and it is not already in the catalog:

1. Click Import product. The create dialog opens on Categories.
2. Assign at least one category. A product with no category cannot go on a quote. Category is also what applies markup, tax, and which product table the line lands in.
3. Leave Listed on. Unlisted products stay in history but are hidden from everyday catalog search and cannot be added to a new quote.
4. Confirm Manufacturer Part Number matches the feed exactly. Use Fetch info to fill name, description, images, and specifications. Fetch info does not overwrite cost, sell price, or markup.
5. On Pricing, leave Price, Cost, and Markup empty so dynamic pricing can run. Empty fields show a From distributor placeholder. If you type a number, that value locks and the feed will not update it.
6. Leave Automatically use preferred distributor on unless you need a specific supplier for this SKU.
7. Click Create.

Do not type a sell price “just in case.” An explicit cost, sell price, or markup on the product wins over the feed until you clear it. Everyday hardware should follow the feed plus your category markup.

Need many SKUs from the same search? Use Bulk import or Import all and assign categories in the Assign Categories dialog. Those jobs stay disabled until a PSA or Standalone setup is complete. They skip MPNs that already exist — they do not update the old row.

3. When the part is not in the feed

Marketplace only searches distributors you have connected. If the MPN is missing, the usual reasons are:

Quick check: look up the same MPN on that distributor’s website for the same country as your connection. If they do not list it, Salesbuildr will not have it either. Some feeds also omit items that are not currently orderable — turn off the Marketplace Only available stock filter before you conclude the SKU is absent.

A product that already exists in your catalog can still be missing from Marketplace. Those are different sources. An Unavailable stock badge on a catalog product means Salesbuildr has no usable quantity to show; it does not mean the feed never carried the MPN. See Stock levels, the Unavailable badge, and low-stock alerts.

4. What to do instead of forcing the catalog

Do not invent a placeholder product just to get a line on a quote. A dummy name or made-up MPN will never match a feed, creates a duplicate when the real SKU arrives, and still requires a category and Listed before anyone can quote it. Quote lines must reference a real catalog product.

Choose one of these instead:

Ask for a standard SKU

If the customer or vendor sent a custom, CTO, or regional part, ask whether a standard catalog MPN exists for the same family. Search that MPN on Marketplace. Standard SKUs pick up live cost and stock; custom configurations do not.

One-off parts: import onto the quote

For a single deal — a special bid, deal-registration file, or a vendor spreadsheet with prices that are not in any feed — put the rows on the quote, not into the everyday catalog by hand.

1. Open the quote.
2. Under the product search bar, click Import products.
3. Upload or Paste data from the supplier file (CSV, Excel, or text).
4. Map at least MPN, Category, and Cost / Sales price. The category must already exist.
5. On Sample data, leave Overwrite pricing information with the values from the import on so the bid prices land on the new quote lines.
6. After import, enter the special bid number on the quote line if you have one. The spreadsheet importer does not write that number.

This path creates or updates catalog products and adds the lines. Matching is still by MPN, so use the real part number from the supplier file. Walkthrough and template: Importing Special Bids and Deal-Reg Pricing.

Starting Import products from Products updates the catalog only. It does not add lines to a quote.

Repeat parts: create one catalog product with the exact MPN

If the team will sell the same non-feed SKU again — a vendor-direct accessory, a house-brand item, a regional part you always buy the same way — add it once as a real product:

1. Click Create product on Products. Do not create it from the quote editor; new quoters should only add listed catalog products.
2. Enter the Manufacturer Part Number exactly as the vendor prints it. Do not invent one.
3. Assign a category. Leave Listed on.
4. Set the cost and sell price you actually buy and sell at, or leave them empty if you expect a feed to catch up later.
5. Click Create.

Use that same listed product on every later quote. If a distributor later publishes the MPN, Fetch info can fill marketing fields, and clearing a typed cost/price/markup lets dynamic pricing take over. A dummy product with a fake MPN will never make that match.

Keep manual parts under control

• Add a label (for example Manual price) to every product without a feed, so you can filter them.
• Review their costs on a schedule, such as monthly or quarterly, because they will not update from a feed.
• When a distributor starts carrying the MPN, clear the typed cost, price, and markup so dynamic pricing takes over, and remove the label.

See also

• Marketplace — search connected feeds and import
• Getting the most from distributor feeds — which distributors to connect, MPN hygiene, and special bids
• Dynamic Pricing — leave cost and sell price empty so the feed plus markup can run
• Importing Special Bids and Deal-Reg Pricing — load a one-off supplier spreadsheet onto a quote
• Product Detail — Listed, MPN, and pricing fields
• Quoting best practices for new quoters — quote from the listed catalog; do not invent products on the deal
• Distributors — connections, markets, and the 24-hour feed delay