Download a category-specific template.
Identify the SKUs that you want to add to the parentage (both FBA and FBM)
We need to identify the SKUs that we will be adding to the parentage and ensure that both the FBA and FBM SKUs are added to the template upload file to make the catalog more organized.
When you have your complete list of ASINs that need to be parented, go to Inventory > Manage All Inventory
b. Search for each one in the catalog and grab the SKU of each item under that ASIN (make sure that the “Status” and “Fulfilled by” are set to “All”).
c. Identify the variation names to be used for the parentage based on the variation theme provided. (SKUs with the same ASIN will have the same variation name).
d. Open the flat file and fill out the necessary information.
3. Fill out the data needed for Parent and Child ASINs.
A. Parent Listing
I. Product Type
This can be found in the first column of the flat file.
Reminder: Choosing the correct product type on a template, will give you valid values or dropdown options to choose from on some attributes.
II. Parent SKU Create a unique parent SKU by identifying the common elements between all of the child ASINs and adding the keyword "PARENT" Then add the new SKU to the template in the “Seller SKU” section for the Parent ASIN. For clients that have specific naming conventions, confirm if they have a Parent SKU preference.
III. Brand Name
The exact brand of the product. Populate this field so your brand name is displayed on the Amazon.com site.
IMPORTANT: Make sure that the brand name of the parent listing should match the child Asins' brand name.
IV. Parent Title
Sometimes the Parent SKU title is visible on the detail page so we need to make sure that the title is not variation or SKU-specific. Remove all of the terms that would identify the item as a specific variation.
Example:
Child Title:
This is the Way Wine or Coffee Tumbler 12 oz
Updated Parent Title:
This is the Way Wine or Coffee Tumbler
V. Item Type Keyword
Use this to specify what your item is. This field is primarily used for browse classification.
VI. Variation Data For Parent SKU:
Parentage: Parent
Parent SKU: (Leave this blank)
Relationship Type: (Leave this blank)
Variation Theme: Select from the dropdown Ex. Size
NOTE: In the Variation theme field, enter the same value that you entered for Variation Theme on the parent (this value will be the same for all child items).
VII. Update_Delete
Choose "Update" if you're in the process of creating the parent listing, or "PartialUpdate" if the parent SKU you want to use already exists.
VIII. Fulfillment Center ID
Always leave this blank for the parent SKU.
IX. Item Condition - A numerical entry that indicates the condition of the item.
B. Child ASINs
I. Child SKUs
II. Variation Data
Parentage: Child
Parent SKU: WAYTUMBLER-PARENT (this is the unique parent SKU that we created)
Relationship Type: Variation
Variation Theme: Size (variation theme we choose)
III. Variation Name
You will need to find the attribute column that corresponds with the variation name. In this example, we are using "size name". Following this, locate the size column on the flat file and paste the size names of each child SKU.
Press CTRL + F to bring up the Find tool and enter “size” (or your variation theme” to find the size attribute.
IV. Update_Delete
PartialUpdate
This column should be filed with PartialUpdate for all child SKUs. We can use Update on the parent if the parent listing does not exist in the account yet, otherwise use PartialUpdate for the Parent Row. If you use “Update” instead of “PartialUpdate”, Amazon will likely erase the data for attributes that are left blank on the template.
V. Fulfillment Center ID (optional)
Under the Fulfillment Center ID column, use AMAZON_NA (NA for North America, CA for Canada, MX for Mexico, etc) if it’s Fulfilled by Amazon and DEFAULT if it’s Fulfilled by Merchant.
REMINDER:
For any seller-fulfilled inventory, enter DEFAULT in this column. For Fulfillment by Amazon inventory, enter either AMAZON_NA, AMAZON_EU, AMAZON_JP, or AMAZON_IN depending on your marketplace.
This is a sample preview of what your parentage would look like when you completed filling out the necessary information for creating a parentage.
4. Save the flat file and upload it on Seller Central. Go to Inventory > Add Products via Upload > Upload your Inventory File. Refresh the page first before attaching the file and make sure you’re on the right Amazon store. Then click Upload file.
Amazon will process the file and could take 15 minutes to an hour to complete.
Important Note:
Monitor the Upload Status. If it says “Complete Drafts”, download the Processing Report to see what caused the error and fix it accordingly.
5. Verify Parentage Creation
Download your processing report and check for errors. Find the newly-created parentage in the catalog and check whether the child SKUs are connected well.
You can verify the successful creation of the parentage from these options:
a. Manage All Inventory
Go to Seller Central > Inventory > Manage All Inventory and search for the parent SKU.
Make sure that the Status and Fulfilled by are set to “ALL”.
Click the dropdown next to the Parent SKU and verify that all of the child SKUs are present.
b. Variation Wizard
To access the Variation Wizard, follow the steps below:
i. On the Inventory link in your Seller Central account, select Add a Product.
ii. In the Add Products page, click on create variations using Variation Wizard
iii. Click the option “Add to or update an existing variation family” to search for an ASIN
iv. This is how a parentage setup looks like in ‘Variation Wizard.’
c. Amazon Detail Page
Go back to the inventory page and click on the title of the Parent SKU. This will bring up the parentage. If all of the variations appear together, then you have successfully created an optimized parentage!
