Delivery Tech - Developers

# Q-Commerce SFTP Integration

# Introduction: What is SFTP?

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a network protocol which enables the access, transfer & management of data in a secure manner between a user/client & a target SFTP server. Designed to be compliant with international regulatory standards such as GDPR, files are uploaded & stored on an SFTP server; data is then available to access via several authentication methods (i.e. public key or username/password). Following access, any data is able to be retrieved in a downloadable format.

Within the context of Delivery Hero, vendors have a requirement to transmit updates to their item catalogue at regular intervals (e.g. active/inactive status, price, quantity information); this is needed by the vendor in order to ensure that:

Items are not listed as out-of-stock when they are available Items have the correct price at all times Items are active or inactive based on their availability/at the requirement of the vendor.

In order to fulfil this goal, vendors can choose from integrating either SFTP or the Assortment API.

# What functions does an SFTP integration perform with Delivery Hero systems?

Through integration with SFTP, vendors are able to provide updates to the following item characteristics:

  • Product active/inactive status
  • Item price
  • Quantity
  • Update SKUs (note: you cannot create new SKUs)

# What are the benefits of using an SFTP integration?

If vendors manage their SFTP integration correctly and are complaint with the SFTP integration process, it becomes a key tool to:

  • Reduce out of stock incidence rates
  • Maintain an accurate inventory, therefore streamlining the purchasing process for end users

# What are the Constraints of SFTP?

While SFTP is extremely useful in updating item information, Vendors should take care to pay attention to the following considerations:

Ideally, SFTP updates should mirror the update procedure already being followed by vendors, i.e. if the vendor updates their stock twice per day, vendors should match that frequency using SFTP exports to avoid any errors presenting themselves in their item catalog. Vendors should follow the file format (UTF-8 .csv) & data format of the required updates. SFTP updates are not real time - there is a small delay in the update call taking effect on vendor inventories, therefore it is recommended that vendors export to SFTP servers no more frequently than every 30 minutes Vendors have to send a separate .csv file for each branch Any import will not create new products, it will only update item characteristics for existing products - new products will be ignored.

# Vendors should not proceed with integrating with SFTP in these cases:

  • If the vendor has the capacity to integrate the Assortment API instead of SFTP updates - the benefit of Assortment API being that the updates to the item inventory have the capacity to be both real-time & event-driven rather than periodic
  • If the vendor is not confident in the accuracy of their own inventory management systems, or if the vendor does not possess an inventory management system

# Can Vendors Gain Support for Setting up SFTP Servers?

Regional Delivery Hero contacts will be on hand to guide vendors through the process of setting up SFTP servers if:

  • The vendor does not already have access to an SFTP server
  • The vendor does not have the technical capacity or willingness to integrate the Assortment API (the Assortment API being a preferred usage route for vendors with the capacity to integrate due to its benefits over SFTP)

# How do I integrate SFTP with Delivery Hero systems?

In order to integrate with SFTP, vendors must undertake the following process:

  1. Vendors will generate an export of their own ERP inventory management system which corresponds to the csv framework below
  2. Vendors must either configure their own SFTP server to enable it to connect with Delivery Hero’s Global Catalog system, or vendors request that Delivery Hero complete this step (the latter is a consideration on a by-case basis by regional teams)
  3. Vendors notify Delivery Hero, providing their contact with the URL/host, Username, Password, Directory path (usually one directory is used per chain)
  4. Delivery Hero will ensure Global Catalog connects to the vendor’s SFTP server. Vendors must set both read and delete permissions for files to facilitate this step;
  5. Vendors can then export csv files to their SFTP server, either automatically or via use of an SFTP client. The csv files must follow a specific framework, described in the next section
  6. Once credentials are received and files are uploaded to a directory, Delivery Hero staff will perform a test to ensure everything works as expected.

# CSV Template & Framework

  • CSV files exported by vendors must exactly follow these constraints: The files should have 5 columns - the first two columns should be titled: “sku” & “barcode” respectively. These columns will possess both item barcodes & - SKU numbers for items under those headings (see the table below). One of these columns in every csv file must possess the corresponding item information for each item, as this information is used to identify a product
  • The remaining 3 columns should be titled “active” (controlling whether an item is visible to consumers), “price” (controlling item price) and "quantity" (controlling item quantity - please again see the table below for an example)
  • The ‘active’ column should state the value 1 for active items/products and 0 for inactive items/products
  • When vendors perform their first csv export, information in the cells below both the ‘active’ & ‘price’ columns is mandatory for each item. When updating subsequently via SFTP, information in the cells can be placed below either ‘active’ or ‘price’ columns; in other words, the characteristics of those columns can be updated at the requirement of the vendor
  • Files should be encoded in UTF-8 format only & csv
  • The columns should be ordered using the example below, and as follows: ‘sku’, ‘barcode’, ‘active’, ‘price’, ‘quantity’
  • The csv should follow this file name convention: <prefix><ChainInternalVendorCode>.csv - the prefix element of the file name is configurable for each chain (vendors can amend this directly via accessing Catalog in Vendor Portal & clicking on the the 'integrations' tab), however the csv must use the chain’s internal vendor code in the file name in order for updates to take place successfully
  • Vendors can list every product in their chain in each export, however it is not mandatory to do so

Please see an example csv file format below:

SKU Barcode Active Price Quantity
abc123 4897036691519 1 10.5 22
def456 4897036692158 0 11.2 21

# What is the lead time to full integration?

Integration lead times can vary due to the technical resources available to vendors, and the type/complexity of ERP systems the vendors are integrating, however Delivery Hero estimates a 2-week lead time for integration for most vendors.

# Testing Item Update Functionality

Testing should be carried out both during the integration phase with Delivery Hero Systems, & then following integration by vendors themselves. If any issues emerge during the course of item update testing, please contact your respective Delivery Hero representative.

# Supported Regions & Platforms

Latin America PedidosYa (Guatamala, Chile, Honduras, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Uruguay, Costa Rica)

Asia/Pacific Foodpanda (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand)

Europe Damejidlo (Czech Republic) Foodora (Finland, Sweden, Norway) Mjam (Austria) Foodpanda (Hungary, Romania) Yemeksepeti (Turkey)

Middle East/ North Africa Hungerstation (Saudi Arabia) Talabat (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan,Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates)

# Terms and Conditions

After Integrating with us, partners should inform Delivery Hero about any instances of upcoming system maintenance. It’s possible to do this by sending an email to [email protected] at least 24 hours in advance.

If you have any questions regarding the SFTP documentation, or if you face any issues with the SFTP integration, please reach out to [email protected].