Product Mappings let you manually connect Shopify products that were not created by SupplyMaster to a supplier's catalog. This is useful when you already have products in your store — with customized images, titles, or descriptions — and you want SupplyMaster to keep their inventory, pricing, or variant data in sync with a supplier without overwriting your customizations.
Watch the walkthrough — link existing products
Watch the walkthrough — duplicate listings and auto-map variants
Duplicate a mapped supplier listing, connect an unmapped Shopify product, and match hundreds of variants in one click (SanMar, S&S, PCNA, and other PromoStandards suppliers).
When to Use Product Mappings
You have branded or custom-designed products already in your Shopify store.
You've customized product images, names, or descriptions and want to preserve them.
You want SupplyMaster to update only inventory, pricing, or variant-level fields on these products.
You want blank and customized versions of the same supplier product to share supplier inventory and pricing.
Products imported directly by SupplyMaster are automatically linked to the supplier and do not need manual mapping.
Set Update Settings Before You Map
Before you add any mappings, open Edit Supplier > Automatic Sync and set Update Settings to Only Variant Fields (or Only Inventory if you only need stock updates). If you leave a broader option such as All Fields with Images, every sync can overwrite your custom titles, descriptions, and images on mapped products.
After you save mappings, the Product Mappings tab shows an Import Preserves banner listing which fields stay untouched versus which fields sync from the supplier. Confirm product fields and images are preserved before you rely on automatic sync.
Enabling the Product Mappings Editor
Navigate to Edit Supplier > Advanced Settings.
Set Product Mappings Editor to Enable Product Mapping Editor.
Click Save Supplier.
Once enabled, a Product Mappings tab appears on the supplier's product view page.
Adding a Product Mapping
Step 1: Map Products
Go to the Product Mappings tab and click + Add Mapping.
Select the Shopify product you want to link. You can search by product title.
Select the supplier product to link it to. This is the product from the supplier's catalog that matches your Shopify product.
Step 2: Map Variants
After selecting both products, you'll see a variant mapping table. Each row shows a Shopify variant (e.g., "Red / Medium") with a searchable field to select the corresponding supplier variant.
For each Shopify variant, click the supplier variant cell and type to search by color, SKU, or size. Supplier options are labeled Color | SKU | Size (for example
Dusty Rose | B00060336 | XL) so you can match them correctly.Each Shopify variant can only be linked to one unique supplier variant. If you try to map two Shopify variants to the same supplier variant, a warning icon will appear.
Select No Mapping (Preserve) for any Shopify variant you want to keep as-is, preventing supplier data from updating it during sync.
Use Auto Map to match many variants quickly.
Products with more than 50 variants use pagination in the mapping table. Use Previous and Next to review all rows before saving.
The status column shows your mapping progress:
Green check — Variant is mapped to a unique supplier variant.
Yellow warning — Variant is mapped but the supplier variant is used by another Shopify variant (duplicate).
Grey circle — Variant is not mapped or set to Preserve.
Step 3: Save
Click Save to confirm the mapping. The product will appear in the Product Mappings table showing the Shopify product, supplier product ID, number of variants mapped, and status.
Auto Map
Auto Map matches Shopify variants to supplier variants for the product pair you selected in Step 1. Use it when you have many color/size combinations, when a Shopify duplicate still has ComStack metafields from an earlier import, or when SKU and option names already align with the supplier catalog.
Click Auto Map beside the variant mapped badge in the Map Variants step. SupplyMaster shows a summary such as Auto-mapped 515 of 516 variants. Review the table, fix any yellow warning icons (duplicate supplier assignments), then click Save.
Before you run Auto Map
Complete Step 1: Map Products first. Auto Map only works after both the Shopify product and supplier product are selected.
If you already changed variant mappings manually, Auto Map shows a Reset Current Mappings warning. Confirm to replace your current selections with new automatic matches.
Auto Map does not change anything in Shopify until you click Save.
How SupplyMaster matches variants
Each supplier variant can link to only one Shopify variant. Auto Map tries these in order and keeps the first good match:
Existing ComStack link — the Shopify variant was linked before (prior import or mapping).
SKU — Shopify and supplier SKUs match.
Exact color and size — option values match.
Close color and size — names are nearly the same (for example Navy vs Nav). Ambiguous cases stay unmatched so you can choose.
Unmatched variants stay unmapped. After Save, they use No Mapping (Preserve) so sync does not overwrite them.
After Auto Map
Check the status column: green check = mapped, yellow warning = two Shopify variants point to the same supplier variant (fix before save), grey circle = unmapped or Preserve.
Unmatched variants can be mapped manually or left unmapped; saving without a mapping applies Preserve for that variant.
Click Save to store mappings and metafields in Shopify.
Run import or wait for automatic sync so inventory, pricing, and other fields update on the mapped variants.
Editing, Duplicating, & Deleting Mappings
To edit a mapping, open Actions and select Edit Mapping. You can change variant assignments or switch the supplier product.
To duplicate a mapped product, open Actions and select Duplicate Product.
To delete a mapping, open Actions and select Delete Mapping. This removes the link between the Shopify product and the supplier — the Shopify product itself is not deleted.
Duplicating a Mapped Product
Use Duplicate Product when you want another Shopify listing for the same supplier product, such as separate blank and customized versions.
SupplyMaster creates the Shopify product and automatically links its variants to the same supplier variants as the original. The duplicate then receives inventory, pricing, and other updates according to the supplier's existing sync settings.
Open the Product Mappings tab.
Find the mapped product you want to copy.
Open Actions and select Duplicate Product.
Review or edit the title. SupplyMaster adds (Copy) to the original title by default.
Choose the Shopify product status: Set as draft, Set as active, or Set as unlisted. Draft is selected by default.
Click Duplicate product.
Keep the window open while the duplicate is created and mapped. When it finishes, the new product appears as a separate row with the same supplier product ID and its own mapped Shopify variants.
Important Sync Behavior
The original and duplicate use the same supplier-level Update Settings and Auto Create settings.
If you customize the duplicate's title, description, or images, use Only Variant Fields or Only Inventory to prevent later syncs from replacing those product-level customizations.
Products duplicated directly in Shopify Admin are not automatically mapped. Use SupplyMaster's Duplicate Product action, or add the Shopify duplicate manually with + Add Mapping.
One Shopify product cannot be mapped to multiple suppliers.
How Syncing Works with Mapped Products
Once a product is mapped, it participates in automatic syncs just like products created by SupplyMaster. The behavior depends on your Auto Sync Settings (configured in Edit Supplier > Automatic Sync):
Sync Behavior | What Happens |
Import Preserves | Fields are not changed during sync. Your customized data stays intact. |
Import Overwrites | Fields are replaced with supplier data on every sync. Custom titles, descriptions, or images may be overwritten. |
Import Adds | New variants found in the supplier catalog are created on the mapped Shopify product. |
To change these behaviors, go to Edit Supplier > Automatic Sync and adjust the Update Settings and Auto Create options.
Recommended Settings for Mapped Products
If you're using Product Mappings to keep customized products in sync, set your Update Settings to one of these options to protect your customizations:
Only Variant Fields — Updates pricing, inventory, weight, and variant attributes but leaves product-level fields (title, description, images) untouched.
Only Inventory — Updates only inventory quantities, preserving all other product and variant data.
Avoid using All Fields with Images or All Fields Except Images on mapped products unless you want the supplier data to fully replace your custom product content.
Tips
You don't need to map every variant. Use No Mapping (Preserve) for variants that you manage manually or that don't have a supplier equivalent.
Product Mappings are per-supplier. If you source the same product from multiple suppliers, each supplier mapping is independent.
Use SupplyMaster's Duplicate Product action instead of Shopify Admin's duplicate action when you want the copy mapped automatically.
Deleting a mapping does not delete the Shopify product — it only removes the supplier link. The product stays in your store.
After adding or changing mappings, run a manual sync or wait for the next automatic sync to see the updated data in Shopify.
Need Help?
If you get stuck at any point, contact support on chat in the bottom-right corner of the app.