Vendor Item Portal (V (2024)

Couldn't open your file. This can happen with old versions of Excel (pre-5.0/95), or with conversions from other programs to the Excel format.

Solution: Ensure you saved the file as an .xls file or upgrade your Excel version. You can also download free software at www.OpenOffice.org that’s compatible with our systems.

This row has more than the expected number of fields.

Solution: You have information in a column that is not part of the cost file template (see red letters in the example below). Please review the VIP tutorial to see how many columns each type of cost file is contains.

We could not find any valid data in this file. This can happen if the cost field and both the UPC and VIN are blank (or all zeros).

Solution: You must enter data for all fields in the cost file templates. Our system will skip lines that do not have cost VIN and UPC.

This row has the wrong number of fields for this file type (item or promo).

Solution: Upload your file again and ensure you’ve selected the correct file type for upload. The regular cost file has 11 columns while the promotional cost file has 14. If only one row is in error, correct that row and upload the file again.

If you uploaded the correct file, then you should look at the last column of your cost file (EFF_DATE for the Regular Cost File and REG_PACK_COST for the Promotional Cost File) for an empty row. You should enter the appropriate information in that row.
This row's VIN is too long (over 50 characters).

Solution: Determine if you want to keep the first fifty characters of the VIN or the last fifty characters. Move your cursor over the “B” in column B, right click your mouse, select insert.

In cell B2, write this formula: =left (A2,50) and press enter. This will eliminate all characters to the right of the first fifty characters.

If you want the last fifty characters, you’ll type “right” in the formula instead of “left”.

After you hit enter, go back to cell B2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “B” in Column B, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to a number.

Now, go the cell A1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrows appears, and drag the title to cell B1. Finally, place your cursor on the “A” in column A, right click your mouse, and select delete.

This row's VIN is missing.

Solution: You can create Vendor Item Numbers (VIN) and key them in or you can copy the UPC (our system will create a unique UPC/VIN and Vendor combination) into this field by going to cell A2, typing =, placing your cursor in cell B2, and hitting enter.

Go back to cell A2, place your cursor on the lower right corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file.

Then, Place your cursor on the “A” in Column A, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “values”. This will convert the formula to a number.

This row's UPC is in the wrong format. There should be only numbers, spaces, or dashes in this field, and should not be longer than 13 characters.

Solution: If you have any characters besides numbers, spaces or dashes, you should eliminate them by using the “replace” function. Place your cursor on the “B” in column B and press enter. Then go to the edit function, and click “replace”.

Put the character in the “find what” and click “replace all”. This will eliminate the characters.

If you have a check digit in the UPC/EAN/or JAN, you must remove the rightmost digit. Place your cursor on the “C” in column C and right click. Click on insert.

In cell C2, type =left(B2, xx) where xx equals all the number of characters to the left of the last digit. The below example is converting the UPC to eleven digits.

After you hit enter, go back to cell C2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “C” in Column C, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to text.

Now, go the cell B1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrows appears, and drag the title to cell C1. Finally, place your cursor on the “B” in column B, right click your mouse, and select delete.
This row's Brand is too long (over 50 characters)

Solution: You may change the brand by manually keying in an abbreviation or automatically limiting the characters to 50 by placing your cursor over the “D” in column D and right clicking your mouse and pressing “insert”.

In cell D2, type =(C2,50) and press enter.

After you hit enter, go back to cell D2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “D” in Column D, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to text.

Now, go the cell C1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrows appears, and drag the title to cell D1. Finally, place your cursor on the “C” in column C, right click your mouse, and select delete.

This row's Description is too long (over 255 characters).

Solution: You may change the description by manually keying in an abbreviation or automatically limiting the characters to 255 by placing your cursor over the “E” in column E and right clicking your mouse and pressing “insert”.

In cell E2, type =Left (C2,255) and press enter. This will eliminate all characters to the right of the first 50 characters.

After you hit enter, go back to cell E2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “E” in Column E, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to text.

Now, go the cell D1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrows appears, and drag the title to cell E1. Finally, place your cursor on the “D” in column D, right click your mouse, and select delete.

This row's Pack Size is too long (over 10 characters)

Solution: This is a keying error as a pack size would not be 1,000,000,000. Manually key in the correct pack size.

This row's Pack Size is zero.

Solution: This is a keying error as a pack size can not be less than “1”. Manually key in the correct pack size.

This row's Pack Size is non-numeric.

Solution: Only numeric characters are allowed in this column. Please refer to the VIP tutorial under Pack Size for an explanation of this field.

This row's Pack UOM is unknown. Must be EA, CS, or LB.

Solution: Please refer to the VIP tutorial under Pack UOM for an explanation of this field.

This row's Item Size is too long (over 10 characters)

Solution: This is a keying error as an item size would not be 1,000,000,000. Manually key in the correct item size.

This row's Item Size is non-numeric.

Solution: Only numeric characters are allowed in this column and item size can NOT be less than “1”. Manually key in the correct item size. Please refer to the VIP tutorial under Item Size for an explanation of this field.

This row's Item UOM is too long (over 15 characters)

Solution: You may change the item UOM by manually keying in an abbreviation.

Alternatively, you may retain the first 15 characters or the last 15 characters depending on where your key measurement is. In the examples, you can see how to retain either the first or last 15 characters in the cell.

If you want the last 15 characters, type = right(H2,15), and press enter.

If you want the first 15 characters, type = left(H2,15), and press enter.

After you hit enter, go back to cell I2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “I” in Column I, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to text.

Now, go the cell H1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrow appears, and drag the title to cell I1. Finally, place your cursor on the “H” in column H, right click your mouse, and select delete.

This row's Item UOM is missing.

Solution: Enter the Item UOM which is the characterization of the items in the retail-selling unit.

This is a bulk item error. If the Pack UOM is 'LB', then Item Size must be '1', and Item UOM must also be 'LB'.

Solution: Bulk items are sold as eaches to Whole Foods and then sold by the pound to customers. For example, a 50 pound bag of pecans would be a Pack Size of “50”, Pack UOM of “LB”, a unit size of “1”, and unit UOM of “LB”. Conversely, if an item can have a Item UOM of “lb”, but still sold as an each. An example would be a 25LB turkey with a Pack Size of “1”, UOM of “EA”, an Item size of “25” and Item UOM of “LB”.

This row's Promo Pack Cost is too long (over 9 characters)

Solution: The cost of the item would not be $999,999.00. Manually input the correct cost.

This row's Promo Pack is either non-numeric or is negative

Solution: The cost must be numeric and can not be negative. Manually input the correct cost.

The SRP is too long (over 9 characters).

Solution: The cost of the item would not be $999,999.00. Manually input the correct cost.

The SRP is either non-numeric or is negative.

Solution: The suggested retail price must be numeric and can not be negative. Manually input the correct cost.

This row's Effective Date is in the wrong format or is missing.

This row's End Date is in the wrong format or is missing.

Solution: The date format must be MM/DD/YYYY. To convert the date to that format, go to cell with the date and right click, click on “format cells”,

Scroll to “custom”, and then scroll to the “m/d/yyyy”. Put the cursor between the “m” and “/” and type “m”, continue to “d” and add a “d”. Press OK.

Put your cursor on the corrected cell, go to the “paint brush” on the menu and click.

Then click on the column header. The entire column will format.

This row's End Date is in the past.

Solution: Change the date so it’s a future date. Key the correct date into the first cell, right click, and then press copy. Follow instructions below next error code to show how to change all dates.

This row's End Date is before this row's start date.

Solution: The end date must be after the start date.

This row's Promo Type is unknown. It must be PROMO (for promotions), OGD (for ongoing deals), or EDV (for WFM Every Day Value program).

Solution: Please review the VIP tutorial to learn about Whole Foods Market authorized promotional codes.

This row's Regular Pack Cost is too long (over 9 characters).

Solution: Solution: The cost of the item would not be $100,000,000. Manually input the correct cost.

This row's Regular Pack Cost is either non-numeric or is negative or is missing.

Solution: The cost must be numeric and can not be negative. Manually input the correct cost.

This row's Regular Pack Cost and Promo Pack Cost are the same. If this item truly does not have a discount, remove it from the promo file.

Solution: Self-explanatory.

This row's Promo Pack Cost is higher than the Regular Pack Cost.

Solution: A promotional cost can NOT be higher than the regular cost. Manual adjust one of the costs to reflect a discount or remove the item from the promotional file.

This row's Promo region is unknown. See this page for list of regions.

Solution: Whole Foods Regions are:

You've included the check digit in the UPC fields. The check digit is the right-most digit for UPCs and EANs.

Solution: You may eliminate the check digit by counting the number of digits in the UPC, subtracting one from that total, and doing the following:

In cell E2, type =Left (B2,12) and press enter. This will eliminate all characters to the right of the first 12 characters.

After you hit enter, go back to cell C2 and place your cursor on the lower right hand corner of the cell until a cross appears, and double click. This will extend the formula to the bottom of the cost file. Place your cursor on the “C” in Column C, right click, press copy, right click again, press paste special, and select “value”. This will convert the formula to text.

Now, go the cell B1, move your cursor to the bottom of the cell until the arrows appears, and drag the title to cell C1. Finally, place your cursor on the “B” in column B, right click your mouse, and select delete.

This row's margin is negative. This occurs when SRP is less than the unit cost (pack cost divided by the pack size).

Solution: Review the unit cost which is Pack Cost divided by Pack Size and adjust if necessary. If unit cost is correct, change the SRP.

This row's UPC is non-numeric.

Solution: UPC must be numeric, so eliminate any non-numeric characters or retype the UPC.

This row's End Date is within two weeks. This is a warning, and may be overridden.

Solution: Verify the end date.

This row's margin is very low (below 20). This is a warning, and may be overridden.

Solution: Ensure your costs and SRP are correct.

This row's margin is very high (over 75). This usually occurs when pack costs and pack sizes do not match. This is a warning, and may be overridden.

Solution: Ensure your costs and SRP are correct.

This row's Pack UOM is missing.

Solution: Type in the Unit of Measure (EA, LB, or CS)

This row's Brand is missing.

Solution: Type in the manufacturer or your company’s name

This row's Description is missing.

Solution: Type in the product name or a brief text description.

This row's Pack Size is missing.

Solution: Type in the number of store selling units.

This row's Item Size is missing.

Solution: Type in the item size.

This row's margin is very high (over 75).

Solution: Ensure your costs and SRP are correct. If you mean to set the margin this high, your cost file will need to be entered by your Whole Foods Market representative. Please contact us at cost.files@wholefoods.com

This row's Item Size is zero.