Import errors (PPWR)

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How to read the import result

A PPWR import almost never fails as a whole. After the import, the Import Results dialog shows three numbers (imported, updated, skipped) and below them a table of the errors with the columns Identifier, Type and Error. Valid rows are imported even when other rows fail. File errors are the exception: if the file cannot be read at all, nothing is imported (see Errors affecting the whole file).

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Required fields missing

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Code is required

Code is required

When does this happen? In the components import the Code column is empty (or holds only spaces). The same error occurs on the packaging bill of materials via the API when the componentCode field is missing or empty. How to fix it: Enter a code in every row. The code is — in the components import together with the Supplier column — the component’s matching key; without it the import cannot decide whether to create or update a component. If your file carries the value in a differently named column, map that column once under Settings → CSV Imports.

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Name is required

Name is required

When does this happen? The Name column is empty — in the units import or in the components import. How to fix it: Add the name. It is the label under which the unit or component appears in the lists, and it is required in both imports.

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Reference is required

Reference is required

When does this happen? The reference of an existing packaging unit that the row should refer to is missing — the specInternalRef field on both the packaging bill of materials and the article mapping via the API. How to fix it: Add the packaging unit’s internal reference. It is the unit’s matching key — unlike the component code, the supplier plays no part here. You find the references in the Packaging units list or its export.

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Description and intended use is required

Description and intended use is required

When does this happen? In the units import the Description & Intended Use column is empty. How to fix it: Describe briefly what the packaging is and what it is used for. The field is required because the PPWR Declaration of Conformity has to name the intended use — so the import cannot leave it blank. In older files the column is still called Notes; that header is still accepted.

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At least one material is required

At least one material is required

When does this happen? In the components import the Materials column is empty — blank, only spaces, or only separators (;, ,). How to fix it: Enter at least one material. Accepted are plastic, paper_board, glass, metal, wood, composite and other, as well as their displayed labels. Separate several materials with ; or ,.

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Article number is required

Article number is required

When does this happen? On the article mapping via the API the articleNumber field is missing or empty. How to fix it: Enter the internal article number of the article the unit should be linked to. The article must already exist — this interface creates no articles. In a file the same link is created through the Article Numbers column of the units import; the two doors behave differently on purpose, though: the column skips an unknown number without an error row, the API fails the row.

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Invalid values

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Invalid value. Accepted values: …

Invalid value. Accepted values: {values}. Use a value from the import template or configure a value mapping under Settings → CSV Imports.

When does this happen? A coded column holds a value the import does not know. Affected are Packaging Type, Role, Recyclability Grade, Materials, Polymer, Recycled Source, Recycled Method, Heavy Metals Basis and PFAS Basis. The message always lists the accepted values. Two spellings are accepted per value: the code (plastic) and the label in your interface language (Plastic). Case and surrounding whitespace do not matter; the label has to match exactly, though — Plstic or Paper instead of Paper / board fail. How to fix it: Two routes:

1. Correct the file — replace the value with one of those named in the message.
2. Add a value mapping (file import only) — when your file permanently uses its own spellings (e.g. PE film or an ERP abbreviation): open Settings → CSV Imports, pick the Packaging units or Components tab, expand Custom value mappings under the column and enter your spelling in the field of the matching value. The mapping applies to every file from the next import on. Details under Custom value mappings.

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Invalid yes/no value

Invalid yes/no value. Use yes/no, true/false, 1/0, or x.

When does this happen? A yes/no column holds something other than one of the known spellings — affected are Own Brand, Modifies Conformity, Reusable, Contact-sensitive, Food-contact and PFAS Compliant. How to fix it: Use yes/no, ja/nein, true/false, 1/0, y/n or x (for “yes”). An empty cell is not an error: it means no — for PFAS Compliant, however, unknown.

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Must be a non-negative number

Must be a non-negative number

When does this happen? A numeric field holds a non-number or a negative number. Affected are Width (mm), Height (mm), Depth (mm), Mass (g), Heavy Metals (mg/kg), PFAS Sum (ppb) and Total Fluorine (mg/kg). How to fix it: Enter a number ≥ 0 or leave the cell blank — blank is allowed and means “not stated”. Common causes: a unit carried along (12 g instead of 12) or text such as n/a. On the decimal separator:

• Excel (.xlsx, .xls) — a cell formatted as a number always works, regardless of how it is displayed. A cell formatted as text holding 12,5 fails; format the column as a number in that case.
• CSV with semicolons — the decimal comma is recognised (12,5), provided the header row contains no further separator (comma, tab or |) — otherwise the semicolon is not recognised as the column separator.
• CSV with commas — here the value needs a dot (12.5).

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GTIN must be 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits

GTIN must be 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits

When does this happen? In the units import the GTIN column has a different length or holds characters other than digits. How to fix it: Enter the GTIN as a plain digit string of 8, 12, 13 or 14 characters — no hyphens, no spaces. Leaving it blank is allowed. In Excel, make sure the column is formatted as text: number formatting strips leading zeros and turns long GTINs into scientific notation.

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Market member states must be 2-letter ISO codes

Market member states must be 2-letter ISO codes

When does this happen? In the units import the Market Member States column holds an entry that is not a two-letter country code — e.g. Germany instead of DE. How to fix it: Use two-letter ISO country codes and separate several with ; or , (e.g. DE;FR;AT). Case does not matter. An empty column is not an error — it imports as an empty list and is not backfilled from your PPWR default setting.

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Recycled content must be between 0 and 100%

Recycled content must be between 0 and 100%

When does this happen? In the components import Recycled Content (%) is outside 0–100 or is not a number. A common cause: the share is entered as a fraction (0.3) instead of a percentage (30) — not an error as such, but almost always a data error. How to fix it: Enter the percentage as a number between 0 and 100, without a % sign. Leaving it blank is allowed.

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Quantity must be a whole number of at least 1

Quantity must be a whole number of at least 1

When does this happen? On the packaging bill of materials via the API the quantity field is 0 or negative. How to fix it: Enter a whole number ≥ 1 — it states how often the component occurs in the unit. A missing value is not an error and means 1.

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Business rules for components

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Recycled content needs a source and a method

Recycled content needs a source and a method

When does this happen? Recycled Content (%) is greater than 0, but Recycled Source or Recycled Method is missing. A share of exactly 0 does not trigger the error — no evidence is needed then. How to fix it: Fill both columns: Recycled Source (pcr = post-consumer or pir = post-industrial) and Recycled Method (physical or mass_balance). Without them the recycled share is unevidenced and must not feed a Declaration of Conformity.

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Food-contact components are also contact-sensitive

Food-contact components are also contact-sensitive

When does this happen? Food-contact is set to “yes” but Contact-sensitive is not. How to fix it: Set Contact-sensitive to yes as well. Food contact is, in substance, a special case of contact-sensitive — the combination “food-contact yes, contact-sensitive no” does not exist.

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A PFAS attestation only applies to food-contact components

A PFAS attestation only applies to food-contact components

When does this happen? A PFAS column is filled although Food-contact is not set to “yes”. Affected are PFAS Compliant, PFAS Basis, PFAS Method, PFAS Sum (ppb) and Total Fluorine (mg/kg). How to fix it: Either set Food-contact to yes (if the component really does have food contact) — or clear that row’s PFAS columns. The Art. 5 PFAS limits only apply to food-contact packaging; a PFAS value on another component would be a statement without a legal basis.

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Claim basis missing

Claim basis missing: provide a test report or supplier declaration (required once an Art. 5 value is given)

When does this happen? The row states an Art. 5 value without naming the matching claim basis. There are exactly two triggers:

• Heavy Metals (mg/kg) is filled but Heavy Metals Basis is missing or set to not_substantiated.
• Food-contact is yes and at least one of PFAS Compliant, PFAS Sum (ppb) or Total Fluorine (mg/kg) is filled, but PFAS Basis is missing or set to not_substantiated.

How to fix it: For the value in question, fill Heavy Metals Basis or PFAS Basis with test_report or supplier_declaration. not_substantiated is not a valid basis for a stated value. Alternatively leave the Art. 5 value blank in this file and add it later with its evidence.

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Matching and linking

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Duplicate key in file

Duplicate key in file — first occurrence imported, this row skipped

When does this happen? The same matching key occurs more than once in one file (or in one API request): How to fix it: Merge the affected rows in your file into one row and import again. Important: the import does not merge them — the first row wins, every further one is skipped. Values that only appear in a later row are lost.

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Ambiguous supplier name

Ambiguous supplier name ‘{name}’ — matches more than one supplier; use the exact, unique company name

When does this happen? The name in the Supplier column matches two or more of your suppliers. The match is fuzzy (case, umlauts, punctuation and legal-form suffixes such as GmbH do not count), so two suppliers “Müller GmbH” and “Mueller AG” hit the same name. The import does not guess — the row is aborted without writing. This applies to the components import as well as the units import. How to fix it: Enter the full company name that matches exactly one of your suppliers, or make the names unique in the supplier list. A name that matches no supplier is not an error: the record then lands without a supplier in your own inventory.

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Ambiguous component code

Ambiguous component code — matches more than one component; add a Supplier column to disambiguate

When does this happen? The component code does not match one component unambiguously. There are two different triggers:

• In the components import: the row names no supplier (or one that does not resolve), and the code already exists in a supplier’s inventory. The import then neither creates a second component in your own inventory nor updates the supplier’s component on a guess — the row is aborted without writing.
• In the Component Codes column of the units import and on the packaging bill of materials via the API: the code matches two or more of your active components. Neither place has a supplier field, so there is nothing to distinguish them by — the oldest match is never linked. In the Component Codes column the whole row is aborted, so the unit is not written either.

How to fix it: In the components import, fill the Supplier column with the name exactly as it is stored in the platform — then the row matches that supplier’s component unambiguously. If the component should belong to your own inventory, assign a code that is not taken instead. In the Component Codes column and on the packaging bill of materials via the API there is no way to disambiguate in the file — the one fix is a unique code: rename the affected components to unique codes in the components list and import again.

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No packaging unit with this reference

No packaging unit with this reference

When does this happen? The reference points at no active packaging unit — the specInternalRef field on both the packaging bill of materials and the article mapping via the API. A deleted unit also counts as “does not exist”. How to fix it: Create the unit first — via the units import or manually — and import the links afterwards. Also check the spelling: the reference is compared character for character, EIN-001 is not ein-001. If the unit was deleted, restore it in the Packaging units list via the filter for deleted records.

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No component with this code

No component with this code

When does this happen? On the packaging bill of materials via the API the componentCode field points at a code for which no active component exists. How to fix it: Create the component first via the components import, then the link. This import deliberately creates no components automatically — unlike the Component Codes column of the units import, which creates a placeholder component for an unknown code.

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No article with this number

No article with this number

When does this happen? On the article mapping via the API there is no active article for the stated internal article number. How to fix it: Create the article first (Articles list → Import) and send the mapping afterwards. The number is compared character for character. This interface creates no articles.

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Internal reference already taken

The internal reference is already used by another packaging unit. Assign a different internal reference and re-import.

When does this happen? Rarely. The units import normally recognises an existing reference and updates the existing unit (upsert). This message only appears when the unit with that reference came into being between the import’s read and its write — typically through a colleague working in parallel or a second import running at the same time. How to fix it: Simply import the file again — on the second run the import finds the now-existing unit and updates it. If the row is meant to create a new, separate unit, assign a different, free reference or leave the cell blank — Polygon One then assigns a free PU-n reference itself.

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Code already taken

The code is already used by another component of the same supplier. Assign a different code and re-import.

When does this happen? Rarely. The components import normally recognises an existing code and updates the existing component (upsert); duplicate codes inside the file are reported as Duplicate key in file. This message only appears when the collision arises between the import’s read and its write — typically through a colleague working in parallel or a second import running at the same time. A row that changes the supplier of an existing component can collide this way too: the code has to be unique per supplier, and it may meanwhile be taken in the target group. How to fix it: Simply import the file again — on the second run the import finds the now-existing component and updates it. If the row is meant to create a new, separate component (or on a collision caused by a supplier change), assign a different, free code. The same code for different suppliers is allowed.

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Could not link the component to the unit

Could not link the component to the unit

When does this happen? Rarely. Unit and component were found, but writing the link failed — typically because one of the two records was deleted between the read and the write (for instance by a colleague working in parallel). How to fix it: Check that unit and component still exist and import the file again. Links that already exist are not duplicated.

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Size rows

These messages only concern size rows.

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This row mixes unit and size data

This row mixes unit and size data. A size row may only repeat the packaging unit’s own columns unchanged and must leave Component Codes empty; a Size Label needs a Size Reference of its own.

When does this happen? A row with its own Size Reference describes a size, not the unit. There are three triggers:

• It differs from the unit’s row in one of the unit’s columns: Name, Packaging Type, Role, Supplier, Packaging form, Recyclability Grade, Market Member States, Description & Intended Use, Own Brand, Modifies Conformity, Reusable.
• It carries something in Component Codes — the bill of materials belongs to the unit, not to a size.
• Conversely, the unit row carries a Size Label although it states no Size Reference of its own.

How to fix it: In size rows, repeat the unit’s columns unchanged (or leave them blank) and fill only Size Reference, Size Label, GTIN and the dimensions. Component Codes belong exclusively in the unit row. If a value of the unit really is meant to differ, change it in the unit row — that row applies to every size.

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The size reference is already used

The size reference is already used by another size or packaging unit. Assign a different reference and re-import.

When does this happen? The Size Reference has to be unique company-wide — it may be taken neither by a size of another unit nor by a unit’s own internal Reference. The same Size Reference twice in one file triggers the message as well. How to fix it: Assign a free reference. Prefixing it with the unit’s reference (PU-100-500G) works well — that keeps the references apart for as long as you keep to the convention.

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This packaging unit already has the maximum number of sizes

This packaging unit already has the maximum number of sizes. Remove one before adding another.

When does this happen? A packaging unit can carry at most 50 sizes, the primary one included. The file would exceed that limit. How to fix it: Delete sizes you no longer need in the unit’s Sizes card, or spread the variants across several packaging units.

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No size with this reference on this packaging unit

No size with this reference on this packaging unit

When does this happen? On the packaging bill of materials or the article mapping via the API, a row names a size that does not exist on this unit. The reference is compared character for character, and it has to belong to this unit. How to fix it: Create the size first — via the units import or in the Sizes card — and send the row again. If the row is meant to apply to the whole unit, omit the size field.

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Errors affecting the whole file

With these messages not a single row is imported. The message appears as a title with explanatory text, not as a row error.

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File format not supported

File format not supported — This file can’t be imported. Please upload a CSV or Excel file (.csv, .xlsx, .xls).

When does this happen? The chosen file has an extension other than .csv, .xlsx or .xls — often .numbers, .ods, .txt or .pdf. How to fix it: Export or save the file as CSV or Excel and upload it again.

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File couldn’t be read — differing column count

File couldn’t be read — Some rows have a different number of columns than the header. The most common cause is mixed delimiters (comma and semicolon) in the same file. Please re-export the file with a single, consistent delimiter and no blank rows.

When does this happen? In a CSV file, individual rows have more or fewer fields than the header row. The message names the affected row numbers. How to fix it: Re-export the file with one consistent delimiter (in Excel: Save as → CSV) and remove blank rows at the end of the file. If a field itself contains the delimiter, it has to be quoted. The most robust route is the Excel template (.xlsx) — there is no delimiter problem there.

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File couldn’t be read — unbalanced quotation marks

File couldn’t be read — Quotation marks in the file are unbalanced, so fields can’t be separated reliably. Please check the highlighted rows or re-export the file.

When does this happen? In a CSV file a quotation mark is not closed, or a quotation mark inside text is not doubled. A field then “swallows” the rest of the row. How to fix it: Check the rows named. A quotation mark inside a field has to be doubled ("Plastic ""PET"""). Easier: re-export the file from Excel — or use the Excel template in the first place.

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File couldn’t be read — file could not be processed

File couldn’t be read — The file couldn’t be processed. Please make sure it’s a valid CSV or Excel file and re-export it if needed.

When does this happen? The file has the right extension but could not be opened — for example because it is damaged, password-protected, or in fact a different format with a renamed extension. How to fix it: Open the file in Excel, remove any password protection and save it again as .xlsx or .csv.

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Notes above the error list

These two messages are not file errors: the file was read and the import ran. They stand above the error table in the result dialog and name the likely common cause of many row errors.

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Required columns not found

Required columns not found — These required columns are missing from your file: {columns}. Add them with exactly these header names (see the template), or map your existing columns under Settings → CSV Imports.

When does this happen? The file is readable, but the import does not find one or more required columns — usually because the headers differ from the template (language, additions, typos) or because title rows sit above the header row. Because the column is missing, its value is empty in every row; below it you therefore usually see nothing but messages such as “Code is required”. The real error is the column, not the row. How to fix it: Either align the column headers with the template — or map your own headers once under Settings → CSV Imports in the Packaging units or Components tab. Make sure the header row is the first row of the sheet.

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This looks like a different template

This looks like a different template — The column headers in this file match the “{template}” import template. If that is what you filled in, import it from there instead.

When does this happen? Your file’s headers match a different template from the one you are importing into — e.g. a filled-in units template in the components import. The hint names the detected template (Packaging units, Components, Packaging quantities, Articles, Suppliers, Orders, BOM). How to fix it: Close the dialog and start the import where the named template belongs. The units and components templates have different required columns and are not interchangeable.

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A message that is not on this page

If the import result shows a technical-sounding English text (a database or constraint name, say), it is an unexpected error for which no translated message exists. The message is then passed through unchanged. How to fix it: Try the import again — many of these cases are temporary. If the error persists, send us the message verbatim together with the Identifier from the error table via support.