In this article, we explain how product duplicates can occur in Pickware, how to recognize them, and how you can resolve them.
What are duplicates and how do they occur?
Duplicates can occur if you assign the same product number (SKU) to multiple products in Shopify or create the same product twice. This is possible because the product number in Shopify is not unique and can be used multiple times.
However, in Pickware a product number can only be used once. Therefore, a duplicate is created for products whose product number is already in use. On the other hand, if you create products with the same SKU in different Shopify shops, e.g. because you sell to B2C and B2B customers in different stores, the product receives a link to both shops.
How can I identify duplicates?
The product number of the duplicate contains the suffix -duplicate-abc. To list all duplicates, open Products (Produkte) → Overview (Übersicht), click on the filter icon and enable Only show product duplicates.
How do duplicates affect stock?
Both products have their own stock in Pickware, which is transferred to the respective linked product during the daily stock synchronization. The problem here is that there is only one physical product, but two products exist in Shopify and Pickware – the original and the duplicate. If one is ordered, the stock of the other remains unchanged. If no stock is maintained for the duplicate, Pickware may transmit a stock of 0 to Shopify, making the product no longer orderable.
How can I resolve duplicates?
If the products with the identical SKU are two different products, it is enough to assign a new SKU to one of the products that is not used anywhere else. Please make this change in your Shopify Admin and transfer it to Pickware via product import.
If it is the same product that was accidentally created twice, delete one of the entries both in Pickware and in Shopify. Then update the remaining product by setting a tag in Shopify. If there are still open orders for the product deleted in Pickware, tag these orders in Shopify as well. This ensures that the correct product in Pickware can be assigned to the order.
Important: When deleting products – whether individually via the three-dot menu or in bulk via the multi-edit feature – all associated storage bin assignments, product-supplier assignments, purchase prices, stock, and stock movements are also removed. Open order line items for these products can no longer be picked afterwards. Pickware shows you in the delete dialog how many unpicked orders still contain the product.
It is not possible to maintain two products in one Shopify shop as the same product in Pickware. In this case, two different products must be created in Pickware.
Cleaning up products with deleted Shopify links
If a product is only deleted in Shopify, it initially remains in Pickware. To find all affected products, open Products (Produkte) → Overview (Übersicht), click on the filter icon and enable Only show products with links to deleted Shopify products.
The filter shows products and variants for which all original links to a Shopify shop have been deleted. Products that still exist in at least one active or inactive Shopify shop are not listed here.