Skip to main content
Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2024-10-04
Import Data

Import Data

Submit a Customer Care Case to enable the
Data Importer
.
You can create new contracts, projects, or suppliers in Workday Strategic Sourcing (WSS) and update existing data in WSS using the
Data Importer
. You can also upload the commodity codes you and your suppliers use.
Workday recommends testing data imports in your Sandbox environment because you can’t mass delete data in WSS.
  1. Select
    Navigate
    Data Importer
    .
  2. Download the template for the type of data that you're importing:
    • Commodity Codes
    • Contracts
    • Custom Options
    • Projects
    • Suppliers
  3. Enter and save your data in the downloaded template. As you complete this step, consider:
    Option Description
    Data Dictionary Tab
    Details settings configuration in the account for use as reference when filling tabs.
    Commodity Codes Template
    Each row represents a new record or updates to an existing record as you add data to import.
    When you have both Workday and Strategic Sourcing, Workday recommends configuring your commodity codes in Workday and exporting the list using EIB. You can then transfer your commodity codes to the data importer template to upload them into WSS.
    Contracts Template
    Each row represents a new record or updates to an existing record as you add data to import. This template contains additional tabs for:
    • Milestones.
    • Stakeholders.
    • Suppliers.
    You can also import contracts in a hierarchy. See Import Contracts with a Contract Hierarchy.
    Custom Options Template
    Custom fields that can be imported into Strategic Sourcing are listed in the
    Field Name
    column of the
    Custom Options
    tab of the template. Current options are listed next to the respective field name. To add a new custom field option, add the name of the field in a new row and the new option. Add each new option to a new row.
    Enter
    Add
    or
    Delete
    to an option in the
    Action
    column. You can't delete options that are currently in use in Strategic Sourcing.
    A custom field must exist in your company settings before you attempt to import its options. Field names are case sensitive and should match what's used in Strategic Sourcing.
    Projects Template
    Each row represents a new record or updates to an existing record as you add data to import. This template contains additional tabs for:
    • Milestones.
    • Savings.
    • Stakeholders.
    • Suppliers.
    When you add or update savings data, the savings amounts are added by line. You can’t change existing savings data using the
    Data Importer
    .
    Suppliers Template
    Each row represents a new record or updates to an existing record as you add data to import.
    When you have the standard onboarding form enabled, more tabs display. The
    Countries
    and
    Regions
    tabs function as data dictionaries for these tabs:
    • Phones
    • Bank Accounts
    • Tax IDs
    You only need to populate the tabs if you aren’t integrated with Workday. You can use the Supplier Connector to populate this information from Workday into Strategic Sourcing.
    • When you delete columns, validation errors occur. You can leave columns blank if there are no values to provide.
    • When importing data for updates, any fields left blank in the uploaded spreadsheet won’t delete existing data.
    • When creating new records, leave the
      Contract ID
      or
      Project ID
      columns blank.
    • When you enter data for a multiselect field, separate multiple values with a semicolon.
    • We recommend contract and project names to be unique per record. No validation occurs on duplicate contract and project names.
  4. (Optional) To add attachments to contract and project records, add the name of the file or folder to the
    Attachments
    column of the record row in the template. As you complete this task, consider:
    Option Description
    Single attachment file
    You can prepare single attachments in 2 ways:
    • Add the filename and extension to the
      Attachments
      column. Example: filename1234.pdf.
    • Put a single file in a folder and add the folder name to the
      Attachments
      column.
    Multiple attachment files
    Put all files in a folder and add the folder name to the
    Attachments
    column.
    Names in the
    Attachments
    column must be an exact match to the file or folder name you're importing. The name of each item being uploaded needs to be unique. Each file or folder size can only be 5GB. You can only upload 1 file or folder per record.
  5. To upload the data into WSS, click
    Start New Import
    . As you complete the upload, consider:
    Option Description
    Upload Type
    When you update existing data, WSS requests a Primary Data Key for edits. Use the System ID in WSS as the primary key.
    When uploading custom options, select
    Add New Data
    .
    Data Type
    Select the data type you're importing.
  6. To validate your data, click
    Continue to Data Editor
    .
  7. Click
    Start Validation
    to validate all data in WSS before uploading the import data.
  8. If the validation contains no errors, WSS displays a
    Data Valid
    check mark on the page.
    • WSS highlights rows with detected errors in red on the data table. Scroll through the columns to see the specific errors. When you click the red cell of a column, a window displays the error that occurred.
    • To address errors, you can directly edit the Excel file or click
      Update Data
      to export an Excel file. This export lists errors in a
      Validation Errors
      column in each tab that contains data.
  9. (Optional) To attach documents to contract and project records as part of the import process, click
    Upload Attachments
    .
    1. Add all individual attachments and attachment folders to a single ZIP file. The file size can't exceed 5 GB.
    2. Select the ZIP file to upload.
    3. Once uploaded, click
      Start Validation
      to validate attachments.
    Some programs use proprietary algorithms to create ZIP files that may not be compatible with Strategic Sourcing, such as ZIP files created with Microsoft Windows Explorer. Strategic Sourcing supports ZIP files created with these popular tools, including but not limited to:
    • 7-Zip (free and open-source)
    • PeaZip (free and open-source)
    • WinRAR
    • WinZip
    • Bandizip
    • MacOS Finder
  10. (Optional) After resolving validation errors, click
    Update Data
    .
    1. Click
      Upload Revised Data
      .
    2. Click
      Start Validation
      to identify any errors that persist.
  11. When validation is complete, click
    Begin Importing Data
    . Then click
    Begin Import
    .
    • Workday recommends conducting a test import on a subset of data to ensure that it reflects accurately once imported into WSS.
    • The import process continues to run if you navigate away from the page or close your browser tab.
    • You can't import any rows with validation errors. The import displays as
      Import Failed
      in the
      Data Importer
      , but WSS still imports any valid rows.
  12. (Optional) To review data as WSS imports it, select
    Navigate
    Reports
    and view the dataset. New records display in the
    Table
    visualization as the import runs.