This guide walks you through how to set up your product catalog in the system, including all sellable products, non-sellable items, and shipping boxes. Proper setup ensures accurate order fulfillment, inventory tracking, and reporting.
Products are organized into three main categories:
Sellable – All products that customers can order
Non-sellable – Items added to fulfillments. Options include:
Packaging: Additional packaging added to the shipping box such as insulated liners, dividers, or specialty void fill.
Marketing Materials: additional non-sellable items added to shipments such as promotional materials or informational flyers.
Coolant – Gel Pack
Coolant – Dry Ice
Coolant – Wet Ice
Shipping Boxes – All shipping boxes that will be used for fulfillment
Products can be added individually through the platform or uploaded in bulk using a .csv template, making it easy to get your catalog set up quickly and accurately.
Shipping Boxes are added separately.
Setting up Products
In the Coldcart portal, click Product Catalog from the lefthand sidebar. Under the Items page, click on the dropdown next to Inbound Receipt and then select Create Item to add SKUs individually, or select Import Items to add SKUs in bulk:
Note: Products include all items (sellable and non-sellable) excluding Shipping Boxes.
Setting Up Products Individually Through the "Create Item" option
Create items individually by providing the display name, identifiers, and physical dimensions.
Fields:
Name = Name that will be displayed on the packing list. Limit to 19 characters
SKU = Your internal unique identifier for each item. This is displayed on the packing list
External ID = ID in the source system. For example, in Shopify, it's the Product ID or Variant ID, which is the last string of numbers in the product URL (For example (https://admin.shopify.com/store/coldcart-dev/products/8804273881325).
Location = used to indicate the physical location in the warehouse. This field to be left blank unless instructed otherwise by Coldcart
Type (dropdown) = one of the following: Packaging, Marketing Material, Sellable SKU, Coolant - Gel Pack, Coolant - Dry Ice
Temperature Requirement (dropdown) = one of the following: Frozen, Refrigerated, Ambient
Length/Width/Height = the physical dimensions of the item itself, in inches (in)
Note: L/W/H are used to determine the packout and shipping box size, including how many of a given item can fit in a given shipping box
Weight = the physical weight of the item itself, in pounds (lb)
Note: The weight field will be used to calculate the weight sent to the shipping carrier
Note: For shipping liners with two components, set up a product for each liner component. Example:
Setting up Products in Bulk Through the "Import Items" Option
You can create items in bulk by selecting Import Items from the dropdown and uploading a .csv file. The file should be a comma-delimited file with the following headers:
ExternalId = ID in the source system. For example, in Shopify, it's the Product ID or Variant id, which is the last string of numbers in the product URL (For example (https://admin.shopify.com/store/coldcart-dev/products/8804273881325)
SKU = Your internal unique identifier for each item. This is displayed on the packing list
Name = Name that will be displayed on the packing list. Limit to 19 characters
TemperatureRequirement = (Frozen = 1, Refrigerated = 2, Ambient = 3)
Type = (Packaging = 1, MarketingMaterial = 2, Sellable SKU = 3, CoolantGelPack = 5, CoolantDryIce = 6, CoolantWetIce = 7)
LocationCode = used to indicate the physical location in the warehouse. This field to be left blank unless instructed otherwise by Coldcart
WeightLb = the physical weight of the item itself, in pounds (lb)
Note: The weight field will be used to calculate the weight sent to the shipping carrier
LengthIn
WidthIn
DepthIn
the physical dimensions of the item itself, in inches (in)
Note: L/W/D are used to determine the packout and shipping box size, including how many of a given item can fit in a given shipping box
ShippingBoxOverrideId = If provided the ID, the shipping box will always be fully used for this item. This field to be left blank unless instructed otherwise by Coldcart
Pactor = how many of an item can fit into a given box. This field to be left blank unless instructed otherwise by Coldcart
You can find a sample .csv file here, or in the Import Items side panel.
Tip for Upload errors: If your CSV won't upload, check for blank rows at the end of your file. Delete any empty lines below your data, save the file, and try uploading again. Hidden blank rows are a common cause of upload failures.
Setting up Shipping Boxes
From the Portal, navigate to the Product Catalog and then the Shipping Boxes page.
Click Create a Box and a side panel will appear:
Within this window, complete the following fields:
Name = shipping box name (e.g. Small box or 10x10x10" box). This name will be displayed on the packing list. Limit to 19 characters
Description = shipping box description (e.g. 10x10x10" Small box) Optional field used in the shipping box list view to help identify different boxes
Include in Dynamic Packout = always check this box unless instructed otherwise by Coldcart
Outer Dimensions (L, W, H) = exterior dimensions of the box, in inches (in)
Inner Dimensions (L, W, H) = interior dimensions of the box, in inches (in)
Important: If using insulated liners in your boxes, please reduce the Inner Dimensions by the thickness of the preferred liner (i.e. the inner dimensions of a 10x10x10" shipping box with a 1" thick liner are 8x8x8" since the Liner is on all sides of the box):
