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Creating Products in Cahoot Setting up your product catalog correctly is essential for successful order fulfillment. This comprehensive guide covers all methods for creating and managing products in Cahoot, from individual manual creation to bulk imports.

Important: Please review the Preparing Inbound Shipment Guidelines before creating products that will be shipped to Cahoot. To update existing products, follow these steps. 

Understanding Product Creation Methods

Key Point: Cahoot offers three flexible methods to create and update your products:

  • Manual Creation: Best for individual products or when you need precise control
  • Bulk Import: Ideal for creating or updating multiple products at once using CSV files
  • Marketplace Catalog Import: Available for certain sales channels through direct integrations

Critical SKU Guidelines

Important: The SKU Name you enter must match the SKU value in your Sales Channel EXACTLY unless it's an alias. The Primary SKU value cannot be changed after the product is created. Learn more about Alias SKUs.

Required vs Optional Fields

Always Required:

  • SKU (Primary SKU)
  • Channel Name
  • Item Name

Required for Cahoot Fulfillment:

  • Barcode (must be unique for each product)
  • Product dimensions and weight
  • Master case information
  • Preferred packaging

Required for International Shipping:

  • Manufacturer
  • Brief product description
  • Harmonized code
  • Country of origin

1Log into Cahoot and go to Products → All Products.

Note: If your Amazon or Shopify store is connected directly to Cahoot, your product catalog will automatically be imported for these channels only. When Cahoot imports an order for a SKU that doesn't exist, the product will be created automatically but will need barcode, item dimensions, and other fields configured manually.

2Click Add New Product.

Tip: You can also access Add New Product while creating an inbound by clicking the button in the Search and Add Items window.

Required Fields

3Enter the required product information:

  • Channel: Select the sales channel where orders will come from. If you sell on multiple channels and one is Amazon Seller Central, select Amazon.
  • Item Name: The product name (max 2000 characters)
  • SKU Name: Must be unique per sales channel

Optional Fields

4Add optional fields that appear on pick lists and packing slips:

  • UPC
  • Size, Color, Flavor, and Scent

 

Fulfillment Settings (required if Cahoot is shipping this SKU)

5Configure fulfillment-specific settings (required only if Cahoot is shipping this SKU):

  • Barcode: Must be unique for each product
  • Item Dimensions (inches) and Weight (pounds):  This data is used for multi-quantity automation to pick optimal packaging so it's important you enter accurate dimensions.
  • Preferred Packaging: Poly Bag, Bubble Mailer, Box, or Ready to Ship As Is
  • Units Per Master Case: For cycle counts and bulk shipments
  • Master Case Dimensions and Weight: Used for bulk handling
  • Special Storage/Handling Instructions: Temperature, fragile handling, etc.
Tip: Use the checkbox at bottom of the page to skip fields that are required for SKUs shipped by Cahoot.
Note: The item dimensions you enter are NOT used for shipping label creation unless the SKU ships via Original Manufacturer Package (SIOC). The package manager data is used for shipping label creation. 
Product Page
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HAZMAT Classification

7If applicable, enter HAZMAT information on the More Details tab.

Important: All hazardous materials SKUs need proper HAZMAT classification if Cahoot is shipping them. Failure to comply can result in refused shipments, seizures, and penalties from carriers.

International Shipping Data

8For international shipments, provide customs declaration information:

  • Manufacturer
  • Brief Product Description (include materials and color)
  • Harmonized Code
  • Country of Origin

9Click Save to create your new SKU.

10Add Package Data only if you're shipping your inventory using Cahoot's Label Software (self-fulfillment). Skip this step if Cahoot is fulfilling your inventory.

CRITICAL: Alias SKUs MUST be added BEFORE orders get routed into Cahoot. Learn more about Configuring Alias SKUs

1Go to Products → All Products, and click Edit next to the SKU you want to update.

2On the Alias SKUs tab, enter:

  • Alias SKU(s)
  • Item Name(s)
  • ASIN (if selling on Amazon)

3Click Save.

Save time using the product import feature to create or update multiple items at once.

Updating Existing Products: To update existing products, follow the steps on how to bulk update products in Cahoot. 

Step-by-Step Process

1Go to Products → Import Products.

2Download the Import Template and Legend.

3Fill out the template file using the Legend as your guide, then Save it to your computer.

Critical CSV Formatting Guidelines

  • DO NOT DELETE any column headers. The system expects all columns to exist.
  • Each product should be on its own line
  • Preserve leading zeros: Excel may remove leading zeros from barcodes. Format cells as "Text" before entering data.
  • Handle scientific notation carefully: SKU or Barcode values may display in scientific notation (e.g., 810098572774 appears as 8.10099E+11). Convert these back to their original format before importing

4Enter I in the Action column for creating (insert) new products that don't exist. 

5Return to the Import Products page, click Select files, choose your CSV file(s), and click Submit.

6Monitor the import status. Processing can take up to 30 minutes.

Important: Check the Status column for any issues. If rows failed, click Download report to review and fix errors for re-import.

Once you connect your stores to Cahoot, product catalogs can be imported in bulk directly through the integration.

1Confirm your approved integration is connected.

2Create a Support Ticket to request product catalog import.

Important Reminders:

  • Not all sales channels offer product catalog import
  • If you ship on multiple marketplaces, only 1 product catalog can be imported
  • Orders containing SKUs that don't exist in Cahoot will be created automatically using Sales Channel information
  • Configure Alias SKUs in advance to avoid orphaning products from parent listings
Download Template & Legend:

Right-click and "Save As" if the file opens in your browser instead of downloading.

* denotes a required field

Field Name Type Description Supported Values
SKU* Text Seller SKU for the Channel Name below Any value excluding special characters
Channel Name* Text Channel Name for the SKU above Acenda, Amazon, B2B, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, Custom, eBay, eBay US, Flxpoint, GeekSeller, Google Shopping, Inventory Transfer, Linnworks, Macys, Magento, MagentoV2, Nordstrom, Pulse Commerce, Sellercloud, Shopify, Walmart, Woocommerce, Zentail
Item Name* Text Name of the item Any alpha numeric value (max 2000 characters)
Weight Unit Text Enter unit of weight (required if adding weight) lbs, oz
Barcode Text Enter product barcode Any value excluding special characters
Preferred Packaging Text Select preferred packaging for the product Poly bag, Bubble mailer, Box, Ready to ship as is
Harmonized Code Text Harmonized code for international shipping Any value excluding special characters
Country of Origin Text Enter country of origin for product Any valid two-character country code
Action* Text Enter I to insert new product, Enter U to update existing product I, U

 

You can also download the import template and legend on the Import Products page. 
Product Import Page
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Complete Video Tutorial

Video Timestamps

Jump directly to specific sections:

Time Topic
0:00 Opening Notes
0:55 Add New Product
2:53 Product Dimensions and Weight
3:36 Special Instructions
3:49 International Shipping
4:40 Alias SKUs
5:33 Package Data

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Next Steps: Once your products are created, you can prep your inventory and create your inbound shipments to Cahoot fulfillment centers.

 

 

 

 

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