Stores are key to integrating with Marketplace Orders Hub (“Hub”). You build out your Hub integration by setting up stores. The stores you create connect to the Store Assist app and collect customer orders for dispense and delivery. Your brick-and-mortar stores become the fulfillment centers for your online stores.

This document explains how to set up and manage stores on Hub marketplaces.

For information about onboarding, see Onboard to Marketplace Orders Hub.

Store operation

Store operations include the activities that keep a store functioning smoothly and efficiently. The stream of data that must be managed ranges from store contact information to the hours of operation and holidays. The Hub supports different strategies for management.

Aggregated management

Marketplace Orders Hub includes a feature that supports the aggregated management of store information. This feature allows you to make the same change to multiple stores on different marketplaces at the same time. You can use the aggregated management feature from the Hub.

Programmatic management

Marketplace Orders Hub provides REST API operations you can use to automate the creation and update of stores. For information about the programmatic specification of stores, see the Create stores operation in the Marketplace Orders Hub REST API documentation. For information about automating store updates, see the Update stores operation.

Spreadsheet management

After you onboard, you receive a template to use to set up stores in the Hub. This is your "store file." The following sections explain how to get started with store management using your store file.

Store setup

The Hub requires the completion of a one-time setup process to create a catalog of virtual stores that replicate your physical stores. You can either:

• Create a store file with the stores you want to set up and email the file to us at StoreAssistProdOps@wal-mart.com, or
• Use Marketplace Orders Hub REST API to complete the process programmatically.

You must separately complete a one-time store setup process for each individual marketplace.

Store file basics

To work with store files, you need to understand the contents and format of the file. This section provides an overview.

Specify store attributes

You create a store by specifying store attributes in your store file. These attributes include store name, contacts, and hours. You assign these attributes to your stores based on an identifier called the store ID.

Create and use store IDs

The store ID identifies each of your stores in the Hub system, and in your store file. This is a retailer-defined identifier.

Each line in the store file begins with the store ID. In each column on that line, you define the attributes of the store. We upload your store file to the Hub.

You use the store ID to manage your store throughout its lifecycle.

Your store receives a second identifier during the setup process. This is the vendor ID. The vendor ID represents the mapping between the store and its marketplace.

Change store attributes

To change store information, specify your changes in a store file. You can locate the store in the template file by store ID. Use the template file as a guide to the correct format. For information about how to make common changes to stores, see the examples that follow.

You can change your store file as often as you like. Your updates are effective after we process your store file on the Hub and publish the changes to the marketplaces.

Store template file

To create a store, open a copy of the store template file. This is an XLSX format file. Save the file with the .xlsx filename extension.

The store template includes the columns that are listed in the following table, in the order in which they are listed.

Your store file must include the columns that are marked Required. The required columns must not be empty.

Store updates

To change a store, add the changes you want to make to a store file:

• Include the rows of the stores you want to change in the store file.
• For those rows, include the columns that contain information you want to change.

The following topics provide examples of store file updates and the values that are used to make them.

Update store status

This table shows the columns that are used to update the status of a store.

Update store hours

This table shows the columns that are used to update the hours of a store.

Update store holidays

This example shows the addition of a new holiday. Because the holiday was not entered into the system before, this table includes an Operation column that contains the word “ADD”.