Product variants - Guide 5: Combining products into variants

Product variants - Guide 5: Combining products into variants

Don't combine imported products into variants yourself in your webshop. It creates new IDs and breaks the connection with Droppery, even if every variant keeps its original SKU and EAN. You can still show products as variants in your store in two safe ways, explained below.

Why combining products breaks the connection

Products imported from Droppery must keep their original structure.

• Separate products stay separate.
• Variants stay variants.

When you combine products into one product with variants in Shopify, Shopify creates new product and variant IDs. Droppery uses these IDs to stay connected to your webshop. Keeping the SKU and EAN isn't enough, because Droppery doesn't map by SKU or EAN alone. The same applies when you split variants into separate products, and on WooCommerce and other platforms.

A broken connection can disrupt

• inventory synchronisation
• product updates (price, content, images)
• order forwarding to the supplier
• supplier fulfilment

How can I show products as variants in my store?

1. Import products as variants through Droppery. This is available from Selective Premium onwards. When a supplier has set up variants, the products are imported with those variants and the connection stays intact. This works for new imports. See Guide 2.
2. Use a storefront app that links separate products. These apps connect separate products on your storefront, so customers can switch between sizes or colours as if they were variants. Behind the scenes, the products stay separate in your webshop, so the connection with Droppery isn't affected. Apps such as Xpansion Product Connector (Shopify) or MT WooCommerce Fake Variation Links (WooCommerce) offer this. Whichever you choose, make sure it keeps the original product structure and IDs unchanged.

Can I combine products from different suppliers into one product?

Yes. Each variant stays mapped to its own supplier product. When a customer orders variants from different suppliers, Droppery splits the order between those suppliers. Product mapping is included from Premium, or available for a fee on other plans. See I imported products before I had Selective Premium below.

FAQ

Can I combine imported products into one product with variants? Use option 1 or 2, or ask Droppery to map them (see below).

Can existing Shopify products be combined into variants while keeping their SKU and EAN mapping? No. The SKU and EAN stay, but the IDs change, and Droppery uses the IDs to stay connected.

What's the recommended way to convert existing products into variants? Ask Droppery to map your existing products as variants, or remove them and import them again. See I imported products before I had Selective Premium below.

Will stock sync and orders keep working after the conversion? Yes, once Droppery has mapped your products as variants.

Can products from different manufacturers be combined into one Shopify product? Yes, as long as each variant is mapped to its own supplier product.

How do I check which products are connected before I make changes? Go to the Products section of your Droppery account.

I imported products before I had Selective Premium. How do I turn them into variants now? Upgrading doesn't change products you already imported, so they stay separate. You have two options.

• Remove the products and import them again. Delete them in your webshop and in the Products section of your Droppery account, then import them again. They arrive as variants. The old product pages, URLs, reviews and any edits you made are lost.
• Ask Droppery to map your existing products. Droppery maps your existing products as variants based on their product IDs, so your product pages stay as they are. This is included from Premium, or available for a fee on other plans.