Integration Types
1. File Integration (CSV/XML)
Sensefuel downloads your files from a remote location (HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/SFTP) according to a schedule configured in the platform.
This synchronization works in cancel-and-replace mode, meaning that each imported file completely replaces the existing data stored in Sensefuel.
2. Catalog API Integration
Product data is synchronized directly through Sensefuel APIs.
For more information about the Catalog API and this integration method, please contact your Customer Success Manager.
Data Ownership
Within the integration model, Sensefuel is considered the slave system while your information system is the master source of truth.
All product data available in Sensefuel originates from your system and is updated through the configured synchronization process.
Product Feed and Local Inventory Feed
Product Feed (Catalog Feed)
The product feed contains the core catalog information required by Sensefuel, including product attributes such as:
- Product identifiers
- Title and description
- Categories
- Brands
- Images
- Product characteristics
- Various searchable and displayable attributes
This feed is mandatory for all integrations.
Local Inventory Feed (Offer Feed)
The local inventory feed is optional and should only be used when a product must be associated with one or more specific commercial contexts.
Typical use cases include:
- Retailers operating physical stores where inventory, prices, promotions, assortment, or availability differ from one store to another.
- E-commerce websites running a marketplace where the same product can be sold by multiple sellers at different prices.
- Organizations managing prices, promotions, availability, or assortments by customer segment, geographical area, language, or currency.
Offers
The concept of an Offer is carried by the local inventory feed.
Each record in the local inventory feed represents a specific context associated with a product.
As a result, a single product can be associated with multiple Offers.
Examples
- Product A + Store Paris = Offer 1
- Product A + Store Lille = Offer 2
- Product A + Marketplace Seller X = Offer 3
- Product A + Customer Segment Premium = Offer 4
When no local inventory feed is configured, Sensefuel only manages product-level information and the notion of Offer does not apply.
File Import Configuration
The import configuration screen allows you to define how Sensefuel retrieves, validates, and processes your feeds.
1. Configure Feed Sources
Configure the connection details for your feeds:
- Product feed
- Local inventory feed (if applicable)
Supported protocols:
- HTTP
- HTTPS
- FTP
- SFTP
Sensefuel will use the configured location to retrieve the feed files during each import execution.
2. Configure Import Scheduling
The scheduling configuration determines when Sensefuel downloads your feed files.
You can:
- Enable or disable automatic imports.
- Define the execution days.
- Configure the first execution time and the hours/minute of the following ones.
Scheduling Enabled
When scheduling is enabled, Sensefuel automatically downloads and processes the feeds according to the configured frequency.
Examples:
- Every day at 06:00 AM
- Then at 09:00 AM, 02:00 PM, 06:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Scheduling Disabled
When scheduling is disabled, Sensefuel will not automatically retrieve files.
This configuration is particularly useful in pre-production or testing environments, where technical teams often prefer to manually trigger import or upload their feed manually based on their validation needs rather than following a fixed schedule.
3. Configure Alert Recipients
Define the contact(s) who should receive email notifications whenever an import issue is detected.
Typical alerts include:
- File retrieval failures
- File parsing errors
- Validation issues
- Import execution failures
Recipients must have a validated Sensefuel account to receive these alerts.
4. Configure Import Security Thresholds
To protect your platform against incomplete or corrupted feeds, Sensefuel allows you to define minimum volume thresholds.
Recommended thresholds include:
- Minimum number of products (items / articles / SKUs)
- Minimum number of offers (when using a local inventory feed)
Example
If your catalog usually contains 50,000 products and a feed is unexpectedly generated with only 500 products, the configured threshold can prevent the import from being accepted.
When a threshold is triggered:
- The import is rejected.
- Existing data remains unchanged.
- An alert can be sent to configured recipients.
This mechanism helps prevent accidental data loss caused by upstream feed generation issues.
Built-in Volume Protection
If no custom thresholds has been configured, Sensefuel includes a built-in protection mechanism on product and offer volumes.
By default, Sensefuel compares the volume of the incoming feed with the volume of the last successfully imported feed.
If the number of products or offers drops below 10% of the volume of the last known valid import, the feed is automatically rejected.
Example
Previous successful import:
- Products: 100,000
- Offers: 250,000
Incoming feed:
- Products: 8,000
- Offers: 20,000
Because both volumes are below 10% of the previous import, Sensefuel will reject the feed and keep the existing data unchanged.
This safeguard helps protect against major upstream issues such as:
- Empty or truncated files
- Feed generation failures
- Data extraction issues
- Incorrect file delivery
5. Configure the Default Currency
A default currency can be configured directly in the import settings.
According to the feed specification, the price and sale_price attributes should always include a currency code based on the ISO 4217
Example
Valid values:
However, if a feed is delivered without currency information, Sensefuel will automatically use the default currency configured in the import settings.
This configuration acts as a fallback mechanism and maintains compatibility with feeds that do not fully comply with the specification.
Although this fallback exists, we strongly recommend always providing the currency code directly in the feed whenever possible.
Import Monitoring
Once the configuration is completed, you can monitor your imports through the import history and execution logs available in the platform.
Monitoring allows you to:
- Verify that imports are executed as expected.
- Review download and processing details.
- Identify validation issues.
- Diagnose import failures.
- Understand why a feed was rejected.
- Ensure product and offer data remain up to date.
- Relaunch manually an import / upload manually your feeds.
Regular monitoring helps guarantee that the information displayed by Sensefuel services remains accurate and consistent with your source systems.