"Product", "item", "article", "SKU" — same thing here. Sugibana Flow calls the thing you sell a SKU, and its page is the Products tab under Inventory. If you are looking for "add a new product" or "create an item", this is the page.
How do I create a new SKU?
Dashboard → Inventory → Products → New SKU.
Fill in the details in the panel that opens — the SKU code, a name, and whatever else you use (description, price, dimensions). Save, and the SKU exists in Sugibana Flow straight away.
That is the whole first step. You do not need to create it anywhere else first.
Do I have to create the product in my shop's admin first?
No — and doing it that way is the slower path. You can create the product in your shop's own back office if you prefer, and Sugibana Flow will pick it up and offer to link it. But if you sell on more than one channel, that means repeating the same work in every shop admin, one at a time.
The point of creating it here first is that you do it once and then choose which channels it goes to. One product, one form, several shops.
How do I get a new SKU onto my sales channels?
Two things have to be true before a SKU sells anywhere:
- The SKU's status is Active. Only Active SKUs send stock to any channel. A Draft, Paused or Archived SKU stays put, on purpose.
- The SKU is a member of that channel's Online group. That membership is the on/off switch for selling it on that channel — see the sales-channel groups topic for the full model.
What happens when you add it to the Online group depends on what already exists on the store: if the product is already there and linked, its stock starts syncing right away; if it exists there but is not linked yet, you get a Link suggestion to confirm; if it is not on the store at all and that group has auto-publish enabled, a publish is queued and the product gets created on the channel for you. With auto-publish off, joining the group is membership only — the SKU will sync as soon as a listing exists and is linked.
So "create here, publish outward" works, but whether the listing is *created* for you depends on that group's auto-publish setting rather than on the SKU itself.
Can I create lots of products at once?
Yes — Dashboard → Inventory → SKU Import. It creates or updates SKUs in bulk from a catalogue file or a sales-channel export.
You upload a CSV with your product data, and Sugibana Flow shows you a diff first: which rows match SKUs you already have, which are new, and exactly what would change. Nothing is written until you review that and apply it. Unmatched rows are created as new SKUs in bulk when you proceed.
This is the fastest way to load an existing catalogue, and much quicker than adding products one by one in each shop's admin.
What is the difference between SKU Import and the other Inventory tabs?
They do different jobs and it is easy to reach for the wrong one:
- SKU Import — creates or updates the products themselves (the catalogue: codes, names, attributes). Use this to add products.
- CSV import — bulk stock-in from a supplier file (sku, qty, optional cost/note). Use this when goods arrive, not to create a catalogue.
- Manual intake — hand-key received stock: pick a supplier, type SKUs and quantities.
- Stock alignment — reconciles on-hand quantities against a stock file. It changes quantities, not your product list.
A useful rule: if you want new products, use SKU Import. If you want new quantities of products you already have, use CSV import, Manual intake or Stock alignment.
FAQ
Where is the "add product" button? Inventory → Products → New SKU. The Products tab is the SKU list.
I created the product in my shop admin — will Sugibana Flow see it? Yes. It shows up as a Link suggestion for you to confirm on the Channels tab. Sugibana Flow never links silently, so it cannot create a duplicate listing behind your back.
I created a SKU but it is not showing on my store. Check the two conditions above: the SKU must be Active, and it must be in that channel's Online group. If both are true and it is still missing, the store may not have a listing yet — see the sales-channel groups topic for what each case does.
Can I import products from a sales-channel export? Yes — SKU Import accepts a catalogue or a sales-channel file, diffs it against what you already have, and shows you the changes before anything is written.
Does creating a SKU here change my stock? No. Creating the product and having stock of it are separate steps. A new SKU starts with no stock unless you give it an opening quantity.