How to Import and Export Magento 2 Requisition Lists

In the following article, we shed light on how to import and export requisition lists – a feature available in Magento 2 Commerce with B2B extension only. Besides, we describe the exclusive functionality and provides several small tutorials on how to manage this type of content. Let’s define Magento 2 requisition lists.

Magento 2 Requisition Lists & Their Features

The Magento 2 B2B extension (which can only be installed to Magento 2 Commerce/Cloud editions) comes with Requisition Lists module which provides store visitors with the ability to create multiple lists of frequently-purchased items and use them for order placement. Note that both logged-in users and guests can leverage the functionality. Thus, you dramatically improve the buying experience of your clients by simplifying the way they order goods.

Although you might have thought that requisition lists are similar to wish lists, there are several differences. At least, we should point out the following aspects:

• Unlike a wish list, a requisition list is not purged after a customer sends items to the shopping cart. Thus, it can be leveraged for placing multiple orders.
• Besides, the UI for requisition lists is adapted to a compact view to display a larger number of items.
• As a Magento 2 merchant, you can configure a maximum number of requisition lists per customer.
  
• Customers can define product quantity and add all products to the cart at once. Making B2B shopping experience faster. For example, when purchasing monthly office supplies.

Thus, the main purpose of a requisition list is to save time while ordering frequently purchased products. A customer can add items to the shopping cart directly from the requisition list. Besides, it is possible to maintain multiple lists focused on products from different vendors, buyers, teams, campaigns, etc.

The maximum number of requisition lists maintained for each company account is 999, but you can reduce it by applying a specific configuration.

Magento 2 Requisition Lists Management

Below, we shed light on how to manage requisition lists. Let’s take a look at how to enable them.

Enable Requisition Lists

To enable requisition lists in Magento 2, go to Stores -> Configuration -> General > B2B Features. Set the Enable Requisition List setting to Yes to allow customers to use requisition lists.

Create Requisition List

There are two ways to create a requisition list. You can either do that from your account dashboard or right from a product page.

From the account dashboard:

1. Choose ‘My Requisition Lists’ in the sidebar.
2. Next, click ‘Create New Requisition List’ on the Requisition Lists page.

When on a product page:

1. Find the appropriate button – Add to Requisition List – and click it.
2. Hit Create New Requisition List.

Despite the selected method, you have to enter the Requisition List Name and Description and tap Save.

Add Product to Requisition List

Now, when you have a brand new Magento 2 requisition list, we should say a few words about adding products to it. There two ways of doing that:

1. From a product page;
2. From an existing order.

From a product page:

• Go to a page of a product you want to add to a requisition list.
• Click Add to Requisition List.
• Choose an existing requisition list or create a new one.
• The QTY of the product customer specified at the product page will also be considered. Thus, if qty of the product is set to ’10’ and customer adds the product to the requisition list – product with QTY=10 will be added.

From an existing order

• In your account dashboard, go to My Orders.
• Click Add to Requisition List.
• Choose an existing requisition list or create a new one.

At the same time, Magento 2 allows adding products to a requisition list from the shopping cart. The procedure is also straightforward.

View Updated Requisition List

To view the updated requisition list, go to your customer account page, select My Requisition Lists, and click View under Actions.

At the same time, you can use the quick links bar at the top of a store page. Click your username and choose My Requisition Lists.

For further information, follow this link: Magento 2 Requisition Lists.

Add Products to Cart from Requisition List

To select products to add them to the shopping cart when in a requisition list, mark the checkbox of each item or use Select All.

Next, you should type the number of items added to the cart for each product.

If you want to change any product options, do the following:

• Click Edit for the selected item;
• Modify options you want to change;
• Hit Update Requisition List.

Next, you should tap the Add to Cart button.

Move Items to Another Requisition List

If you want to move items between two requisition lists, it is also a manageable task. Mark the checkbox of each item to be moved and then click Move Selected. Next, you can transfer the selected items to an existing requisition list or create a brand new one.

At the same time, it is possible to copy items to a different requisition list within just a few clicks. As in the case below, mark the checkbox of each item to be copied and hit Copy Selected. Next, you can duplicate the selected items to an existing requisition list or create a brand new one.

Remove Items from Requisition List

As for deleting items from a requisition list, the procedure is similar: you mark the checkbox of each item to be removed, click the Remove Selected button, and tap Delete when prompted to confirm.

Rename Requisition List

If it is necessary to rename an existing requisition list, use the corresponding option. Click Rename after the list title, enter a new name, and tap Save. That’s it.

Print Requisition List

The last option we’d like to draw your attention to is the ability to print requisition lists. The corresponding option is available in the upper-right corner of each list. Find it, verify the output device, and click Print.

For any further information, follow this link: How To Manage Magento 2 Requisition Lists.

How to Import And Export Magento 2 Requisition Lists

As you might have already guessed, it is not possible to import and export requisition lists using the default Magento 2 tools. Thus, you need a third-party module to enable the missing functionality. But what tools to choose?

It is hard to find a reliable import/export extension that satisfies all business needs. There are multiple tools limited to import or export processes correspondingly. Besides, some of them are limited than it comes to the number of transferrable entities. Even if the desired content type is fully supported, you may still lack such features as automation or mapping.

The lack of a fully-featured extension motivated us to create our own solution, so meet the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension with B2B Add-on – your number one time saver when it comes to all possible data transfers. Now, let’s figure out how to import and export Magento 2 requisition lists and then proceed to other module’s features.

With the Improved Import & Export extension with B2B add-on, you can easily transfer most Magento 2 entities including requisition lists. If you don’t want to spend time on recreating them on a new store, give our module a try.

To import Magento 2 requisition lists, follow these steps:

• Go to System -> Improved Import / Export -> Import Jobs and hit the Add New Job button.
  
  
• Configure General Settings and proceed to the Import Settings section. Here, you can select requisition lists in the Entity drop-down.
  
  
• When the job is configured, save it and run the update.

As for the Magento 2 requisition lists export, the process is entirely the same. You can configure it under  System -> Improved Import / Export -> Export Jobs.

To get a step-by-step instructions on how to import requisition lists please read a dedicated blog article:

Magento 2 B2B Commerce/Cloud how to import and export companies, requisition lists, shared catalogs and negotiable quotes

We have also composed a B2B Master Google Table where we have put all B2B entity table samples and described every attribute of these entities.

Magento 2 B2B sample Google Sheet

You can look though the full list of the extension features at the Improved Import and Export extension product page:

Get Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension with B2B Add-On

Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension Features

We’ve been working within the Magento ecosystem for years implementing different projects and developing our own extensions that enhance the default functionality of the platform. The module designed to improve import and export processes exists on the market for multiple years, so it is proven by both time and community.

The Improved Import & Export extension has already become a number one time saver for hundreds of merchants who face integrations, data transfers, and synchronizations with external systems. Below, we shed light on its core features that dramatically improve your daily routine. Let’s take a look at the automation of data transfers first.

Automated Import & Export Processes

The Improved Import & Export extension provides two different ways of automating data transfers. The module allows creating update schedules or specifying event-based triggers that launch import and export processes.

Schedules

The magic behind schedules introduced in the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension is based on cron. The technology allows creating any custom update schedule. It is only necessary to apply the default cron syntax, but if you don’t want to do that, we offer an alternative way of achieving the same goal: select one of the predefined intervals. Note that every range can be customized if necessary.

You can also create profiles that have no schedules. They are especially useful if there is no need to run frequent updates, a single data transfer is required, or updates are provided asynchronously. At the same time, every profile can be launched manually despite any automation.

Configuring a schedule is a very straightforward procedure – take a look at the following illustration:

Events

As for events, it is an alternative way of automating import and export processes. The Improved Import & Export extension offers several handy improvements enabling real-time updates. Imaging that a customer places an order. This event can be used as a trigger that export order data to an external system.

Note that you can select not only system events but specify custom ones. After a trigger is defined, create conditions to make its work more efficient. For further information about this feature, follow this link: How to Run Magento 2 Import or Export After Specific System Event or Process.

Advanced Mapping Features

Now, we’ve come close to the problem of different ways data is stored and ordered in various systems preventing you from direct transfers. And while Magento relies on its common data model definition, various external systems are not compatible with it. Furthermore, even Magento 1.x is not an exception. Thus, a seamless connection with tools beyond the 2.x is often hard to achieve. But the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension exceeds the boundaries. Below, we shed light on how our module solves the problem.

Mapping Presets

With the extension, you can solve the problem of different attribute standards within a few clicks. Our module offers a list of presets that match external designations to the corresponding internal ones automatically. Your duties are reduced to selecting and applying a preset related to your integration. After that, the extension analyzes the input data and matches all third-party attributes to the corresponding ones used within your Magento 2 database.

In the case of the default attribute editing, it is necessary to transfer data via files and edit their content manually. The more attributes they include – the more work should be done. But the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 module lets you forget about that. Check the following image that illustrates the speed of the process:

Matching Interface

If a preset for your particular integration is absent, inform us, and we will try to provide it as fast as possible. At the same time, you can map attributes manually using a user-friendly interface. Everything is very straightforward there: you select a third-party designation and specify the corresponding internal one in front of it. Do that for every external attribute. The process has the following look:

And there is an opportunity to set hardcoded attribute values. The grid above includes the third column called “Default Value.” It allows you to set an attribute value provided to all items related to the attribute.

Attribute Values Mapping

And you can freely map attribute values in the same way we’ve just matched attributes. Note that third-party attribute values usually don’t prevent import processes like attributes themselves, but they require lots of time and effort for editing after the update is transferred. At the same time, some values can cause import errors and prevent the procedure.

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 module provides the easiest solution, which is based on the same logic as the attributes matching described above. Of course, it is not as fast as selecting and applying a preset, but much quicker than doing everything in other ways.

So, you only need to select a third-party designation and specify the internal one in front of it. Note that the process should be applied to all external attributes. For further information, follow this link: Attribute Values Mapping.

Attribute Values Editing

To improve your interaction with attribute values, we’ve introduced the ability to edit them in bulk. The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension offers the following rules:

• Add a prefix to attribute values in bulk;
• Add a suffix to attribute values in bulk;
• Split multiple attribute values;
• Merge multiple attribute values.

Feel free to combine these rules and create conditions to increase the efficiency of their use. For further information, follow this link: How to Modify Attribute Values During Import and Export in Magento 2.

Category Mapping

When it comes to moving product data from a third-party system to your Magento 2 store, you may face lots of inconveniences caused external catalogs. Since the update may contain categories unrelated to yours, you add them to your frontend after the import is complete. Next, it is necessary to edit the occasionally modified catalog.

Instead, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension lets you match the external categories to the ones used internally right during the import process. The following .gif image illustrates the procedure:

If necessary, you can even create new categories on the fly: select a parent category and specifying the name of a new one. That’s it! Both features are described here: Category Mapping.

Attributes On The Fly

If the import file lacks attributes, our module lets you create them on the fly. With the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension, you can specify all the necessary parameters using the following general form:

Attribute|attribute_property_name:attribute_property_value|…

The full process is quite complex, so we described in more details here: Product attributes import.

Extended Connectivity Options

The standard data synchronization between Magento 2 and other platforms is based on data files. At the same time, you can leverage several more way of integrating your e-commerce store with external platforms using the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension. Let’s describe the standard procedure first and highlight how our module improves it.

Multiple File Standards

The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension essentially increases the number of supported file formats. While Magento is bound to CSV, our tool adds support for XML, JSON, ODS, and Excel. You can freely import and export data in these formats applying all the extension’s features. It means that all transfers can be fully automated on the basis of cron or events. At the same time, you can efficiently match attributes and their values.

Multiple File Sources

To make file transfers more flexible, the Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension offers several connection points:

• FTP/SFTP connection allows leveraging a local or remote server as a place of transfers.
• The same functionality is possible with a Dropbox account.
• When you want to transfer data to your website, a direct URL is enough.

It is also worth mentioning that our module extracts compressed data automatically, so you no longer need to do that manually.

Alternative Ways of Import & Export

Below, we’ve already mentioned that our extension lets you establish a direct API connection between your website and other external systems. The Improved Import & Export Magento 2 extension leverages REST, SOAP, and GraphQL to synchronize your e-commerce store with any third-party platforms.

At the same time, the module allows using different online sheets for various data exchange purposes. Create a bridge between your Magento 2 website and external platforms using Google Sheets, Office 365 Excel, or Zoho Sheet. Integrations on the basis of the first service look as follows:

Watch the following video to see the extension in action:

Final Words

As you can see, Magento 2 requisition lists are a handy improvement that dramatically simplifies the ordering process. You customers can rapidly add frequently purchased items without surfing the entire catalog.
And if you want to import or export Magento 2 requisition lists, it is no longer a problem. The Improved Import & Export even lets you automate this process. If you have any questions regarding the Magento 2 Commerce feature and our plugin, follow the link below and contact our support:

Get Improved Import & Export Magento 2 Extension

Magento 2 import/export guide list

Firebear Studio team composed a dedicated blog post where you can find instructions on how to import EVERY Magento 2 entity, learn which attributes will be required, how to compose such attribute values and how to use them to your advantage.

Look through Magento 2 import/export guide list