How to import items from a catalog

Read time: ~4 minutes

Applies to: Admin Portal

What you can do

Import items from manufacturer catalogs directly into CRIBWISE. The catalog fills in the item’s name, description, image, and technical parameters automatically — saving you from entering this data manually.

Before you start

• You need Administrator access to the Admin Portal.
• If using the ToolsUnited catalog service, you need an account.
• Have your item catalog IDs or search keywords ready.

Quick start

Experienced users — import items in 5 steps:

1. Go to Data Management > Items.
2. Click Import items in the toolbar.
3. Select a catalog, search for items, and check the ones you want.
4. Configure vendor assignment and own item IDs if needed.
5. Click Import items and check the Results tab.

Need more detail? Follow the full steps below.

Steps

Step 1 — Open the items list and import panel

1. In the left menu, click Data management (1).
2. Click Items (2).
3. In the toolbar, click Import items (3).

The Item import panel opens on the right side, showing the available catalogs (4).

Step 2 — Select a catalog and search for items

1. Click the catalog you want to search (e.g., Sandvik Coromant). The catalog search panel opens.
2. Type an item name, ID, or description in the Search field (1) (e.g., “CNMG”) and click Search.
3. Select the items you want to import by clicking them (2). Selected items are highlighted in orange.
4. Click Import items (3) to continue with connecting to the catalog service and download the items data.

Tip: Use Load list of IDs when you have a spreadsheet of catalog numbers to import in bulk. This is much faster than searching one by one. In excel use column A for what to search for, and column B for what you like to call the item.

Step 3 — Configure vendor and own item IDs

After selecting items, the Import items panel shows import settings:

1. Choose a Vendor assignment (1): select a specific vendor, use the same as the manufacturer (catalog provider), or leave empty.
2. Review the item list (2) with catalog item IDs.
3. Optionally edit the Own Item ID column (3) to set your internal item ID. By default, it uses the catalog item ID.
4. Click Import items (4) to start the import.

Step 4 — Review results

The Item import results panel shows the outcome of each import:

• The results table (1) lists every item ID and its result (OK or error).
• Green toast notifications (2) confirm each successful import.

Success: Imported items appear in your Items list with the status Defined (imported).

Next steps

After importing, items still need configuration before they are ready for use:

1. Set the own category (optionally) — The catalog does not set your internal category. Open each item and assign it (e.g., “Inserts”, “Turning tools”).
2. Set the price — Prices are not provided by the catalogs.
3. Change the status to Released — Imported items start as Defined and cannot be used in a device until you change the status.

Tip: After importing many items, use Mass edit and Mass assign to configure category, classification, and stock locations for multiple items at once. You find it on the item view page.

Troubleshooting

Related articles

• How to add an item — Overview of all methods for adding items to CRIBWISE
• How to create an item manually — Step-by-step manual item creation guide
• Understanding item types and statuses — Item types, classifications, and lifecycle statuses
• Manage items — Update items from external catalog — Refresh previously imported items with updated catalog data
• Assign item to location — Assign imported items to stock locations