This page answers frequently asked general questions about Supplier Data Manager (SDM) — Akeneo's solution for collecting, normalizing, and enriching supplier-provided product data.

Login and access

How do I sign in to Supplier Data Manager?

Open your Supplier Data Manager URL. If your tenant has been enabled for Akeneo Product Cloud authentication, you are redirected to the Akeneo Product Cloud login page and you sign in with your email address and your Akeneo Product Cloud password. 

Otherwise, you sign in on the legacy Supplier Data Manager login page with your email and password. See Akeneo Product Cloud Authentication for details on the Akeneo Product Cloud flow and the one-time first-login steps.

Do I need a separate password for each Akeneo product?

No. With Akeneo Product Cloud authentication, you use the same email address and password to access every Akeneo product your organization has provisioned for you, including Supplier Data Manager and Akeneo PIM. During the transition period, your existing Supplier Data Manager credentials remain valid until your tenant is migrated.

How do I reset my Supplier Data Manager password?

Click Forgot your password? on the login page and submit your email address. You receive a reset link by email — from Akeneo on a tenant enabled for Akeneo Product Cloud authentication, or from Supplier Data Manager on a legacy tenant. For step-by-step instructions covering both flows, see Reset your password.

Supplier Data Manager is asking me to verify my email — why?

On your first sign-in through Akeneo Product Cloud authentication, Akeneo sends a verification email to confirm that you control the address associated with your account. Open the email and click the verification link to complete the sign-in. If you have access to several Akeneo products with the same email address, this step also links your accounts. See Link your Akeneo accounts.

I cannot sign in to Supplier Data Manager — what should I check?

If you reach an error on the login page, verify the following:

• You are entering your email address, not a legacy username.
• You have clicked the verification link in the email Akeneo sent on your first sign-in to the Akeneo Product Cloud.
• If you recently changed password, you are using the new one and not a cached browser entry.

If the issue persists, contact your Akeneo administrator or Akeneo Support.

My SFTP access is expiring — what should I do?

You're receiving this warning because you haven't connected to the SDM SFTP server in over 83 days. If you don't connect within the next 7 days, your SFTP access will be automatically disabled. To keep your access, simply log in to the SFTP server before the deadline. Any successful connection resets the timer — you don't need to upload a file. 

If your access has already been disabled, you won't be able to reconnect on your own. Contact your organization administrator and ask them to re-enable your SFTP access — they can do this from the admin panel.

Set-up

Can SDM be used for a one-time project?

Supplier Data Manager (SDM) is built to handle recurring data flows, such as suppliers regularly providing product updates. While it can assist with initial data preparation and cleanup during a workflow's setup, its main purpose is to manage ongoing data processes beyond a single load.

Can SDM integrate with my other systems?

Yes, SDM can connect to any system that uses structured and complete product information, such as Akeneo PIM.

If you're using another platform, a custom integration would need to be developed by your IT team or implementation partner. A common use case is connecting both your PIM and ERP to sync prices and stock from supplier files directly into your ERP. Connecting SDM only to an ERP is less common since ERPs typically act as data repositories rather than operational systems for product workflows.

Should I create one workflow per supplier?

In Supplier Data Manager, most customers create a small number of workflows, typically one for each data destination (for example, one for the PIM and another for the ERP). Creating a separate workflow for each supplier is not recommended, as it:

• Makes workflows harder to manage.
• Prevents AI training from being shared across suppliers, limiting automation benefits.
• Undermines the efficiency of the Supplier Access feature.

What is the difference between a workflow and a job?

In Supplier Data Manager (SDM), a workflow is a pre-configured set of steps — such as mapping, normalization, classification, and other modules — that your organization and your suppliers use to import, clean, and transform product data. You can have multiple workflows in one SDM account, typically one per data destination.

A job is an individual data processing run within a workflow. When a supplier or your team uploads a product file, that upload becomes a job, which moves through the workflow steps sequentially.

What if I need to proceed with valid products but still have items under review?

In Supplier Data Manager, you can remove products requiring further review at the normalization step, or via extra configuration at any step of the workflow, and proceed with the remaining valid products. At the end of the workflow, SDM generates a downloadable file listing all removed products. This file can be sent back to the supplier for corrections or handled separately.

Can SDM allow only data enrichment and block new product creation?

Yes, Supplier Data Manager can be configured to filter incoming products based on existing product data. With extra configuration, a whitelist or blacklist can be generated using global identifiers such as EAN, SKU, Supplier name, and Supplier reference to either accept data for existing products or reject new product creation. These lists are used at the Match History step.

Can SDM onboard media URLs in addition to product data?

Currently, Supplier Data Manager can pass asset URLs from supplier files to the PIM, but it cannot onboard media URLs directly.

Can SDM automatically guess and create associations?

This functionality is not yet available in Supplier Data Manager.

How can I inform my suppliers of mandatory attributes?

Supplier Data Manager (SDM) provides several ways to communicate mandatory attributes to suppliers:

• Normalization Step: Via a configuration of required, important, or optional validation rules on your attributes, suppliers receive in-app warning messages to proceed with corrections if needed. SDM also retrieves "required" attributes from the Akeneo connector.
• Mapping Step: Descriptions of attributes can be added via extra configuration to guide suppliers on what is needed. Attributes are also organized by their status (required or optional).
• SDM Configuration Tab: Users can upload guidelines or documents (e.g., templates) to explain supplier requirements.

Additionally, SDM's extraction capabilities allow you to fill in missing attributes using available data, such as extracting size information from a description.

Inputs

What happens if a supplier drops a file with only two columns of updated information?

In Supplier Data Manager, required fields remain required regardless of how many columns a supplier file contains. If the file arrives with only two columns and the required fields are missing, the job will encounter blockages at steps such as mapping, classification, or normalization.

Can I compare data quality between Supplier A and Supplier B?

This feature is not yet available in Supplier Data Manager. Use the "Give feedback about this article" link at the bottom of the page to share your specific needs and help prioritize this functionality.

Output

Can SDM outputs be sent to our data hub instead of Akeneo?

Yes, Supplier Data Manager allows you to deactivate the push outputs to Akeneo. Alternatively, SDM can expose a file and/or API endpoint that lets you fetch the data to integrate into your own data hub before transferring it to Akeneo. SDM does not push data directly into external hubs.