Data Shuttle - Notifications if Unique ID is Missing?
Hi all! I'm setting up a data shuttle to automatically update our records when we receive inventory reports from a third party vendor who manages our warehouse. The trouble is, we've noticed that some of our items have fallen off their reports, and we need to keep an eye on this week over week. I'm trying to see if there is a way to set up an alert for when rows in my sheet aren't updated because the item number (our unique identifier) isn't showing up in the report from the vendor. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Answers
-
Hi @RAdamowicz
For your use case, there are a couple of ways to handle missing item numbers using Smartsheet Data Shuttle and Automation:
- If the report comes as an attachment to a row:
- Data Shuttle allows you to map values from an attachment to specific columns in your sheet.
- However, if you update the target sheet with the item number and the item number value is missing, the row in the corresponding target sheet will not be updated.
- A workaround is to use Data Shuttle to update a staging (temporary) sheet, then set up Smartsheet automation to track missing items and send alerts when an Item Number is blank.
- To alert by automation, you need a contact column.
- One approach is to have a contact value in the Summary field and add a column (e.g.,
Vendor
) with the formula=[Vendor]#
. - However, if multiple vendors are reporting, this method won’t work. In that case, you can ask the vendor to use a standardized Excel or CSV file format with the same column (e.g.,
Reporting Vendor
orReporter
) that contains their email address in each row. - Additionally, if you use the "replace all Target sheet rows" workflow action, you must add clear values automation for the successive file attachment at the source sheet.
- One approach is to have a contact value in the Summary field and add a column (e.g.,
- To alert by automation, you need a contact column.
- So, file attachment to the source sheet triggers two Data Shuttle workflows.
- One is to update rows using the item number on the target sheet.
- The other is to alert the vendor regarding the missing Item Number.
- Then, if the vendor attaches a new file with complete Item Numbers, the target sheet will be updated with the first workflow above.
- If the report comes as a new row to a sheet:
- You can use a Smartsheet automation to check for missing Unique IDs.
- Set up a workflow that alerts you when an item number is blank or does not match previous reports.
Sample Workflow (This uses an update request, but an alert should work.)
Data Shuttle Setting is for Uploading to the staging or workflow sheet.
- If the report comes as an attachment to a row:
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