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Retail source ACA

ACA as a reliable source for images, content, and publication

Items, colors, sizes, barcodes, and inventory from ACA as the basis for images and text.

  • Connection through XML export
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  • GDPR-compliant, data in the EU
  • SLA and a dedicated contact
  • Connects to Shopware, Shopify, and your ERP
  • 13 retailers and brands in production
ACA

This is the route

  1. ACA prepares an export: a ZIP file with XML files.
  2. Photopilot imports items, colors, sizes, barcodes, and inventory from it.
  3. Supplier images, studio photos, and copy are added to those items.
  4. Approved images are sent to your online store or file path.
Explanation

How Photopilot works with ACA

For many fashion retailers, ACA is where products, colors, sizes, and stock are managed. Photopilot imports the webshop export from ACA, uses it as the product base, and builds images and text around it. ACA remains the source of truth; Photopilot makes sure every webshop product from ACA goes online ready to sell.

What Photopilot reads from the ACA export

ACA places a ZIP file with XML files in an FTP or SFTP folder: the basic item data, the extended item data and the stock information. From this, Photopilot retrieves the brand, description, item group, colors with your own color codes, sizes with their barcodes and materials for each item. Only items marked in ACA as webshop items are imported into Photopilot. Nothing is written back to ACA.

Color codes, sizes, and barcodes as the backbone

ACA uses an item number, a color code and a barcode for each size. Photopilot uses that exact structure, so each color gets its own image set and all sizes in that color share it. Supplier images from Fashion Cloud or Stockbase are matched to the right ACA color through the barcode. You match studio photos by item number and color code, exactly as your store team knows them.

What happens to an ACA item in Photopilot

As soon as a new item comes in from ACA, Photopilot looks for supplier images using the barcodes; if none are found, it adds the item to the studio list. Studio images and supplier images get the same crop, background, and order, and where needed, Photopilot creates a ghost mannequin image or AI model photo. The materials from ACA, supplemented with care label recognition in the photos, form the basis for product copy and SEO copy. Everything is reviewed first or passes through autopilot, depending on your choice.

From ACA item to webshop

The approved images and texts go to your webshop, not back to ACA. If your webshop runs on Shopware, Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, Photopilot publishes directly per color variant, including image order and alt texts. For other platforms, Photopilot provides an export via FTP/SFTP, the Webshop Excel file, or the API. This keeps ACA as the source of truth for items and stock, and the webshop as the place where the item is sold.

Stock determines the priority

By default, Photopilot checks every 25 minutes whether a new ACA export is ready and processes each export in full. A full inventory export is treated as a snapshot: anything not included is set to zero afterward. As a result, every morning the team sees a list of items that are in stock but still have no image or text, with the highest-stock items at the top. Reporting shows how quickly new ACA items go online.

Connect without custom ACA work

You set up an online store export in ACA to an FTP or SFTP folder and give Photopilot access to it. Photopilot specifies which files and fields it uses, so the ACA administrator knows what needs to be included in the export. On the first export, the full online store collection comes in at once; after that, changes follow automatically. Nothing needs to be developed on the ACA side.

ACA at a glance

What is exchanged
From the ACA export, Photopilot reads the article base, colors with your own color codes and descriptions, sizes with their barcodes, and inventory. A full inventory export is treated as a snapshot: any article missing from it is set to zero afterward.
How often
By default, Photopilot checks every 25 minutes whether a new ACA export is ready. Each export is processed in full, even if several are ready at the same time.
What you provide
An ACA export to an FTP or SFTP folder that Photopilot can access. You set up the export itself with ACA; we specify which files and fields we use.
Good to know
ACA remains the leading system for items, variants, and inventory. Eleven Photopilot customers use ACA this way, often together with Fashion Cloud and Shopware.

Then in Photopilot

Reliably linked

Let source data flow through to sales-ready product pages

The StoneBerden FashionRinsma ModepleinVan DijkJeroen BeekmanVan Tilburg Mode & SportDuifhuizenSkiHutVan Dal MannenmodeCalico ClubGentiluomoHarper & YveGenti
300.000+ articles processed
9,5M+ supplier images indexed
~3.200 photos automatically edited per day
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I connect ACA to Photopilot?

Have ACA place the webshop export, a ZIP file with XML files, in an FTP or SFTP folder and give Photopilot login access to that folder. Photopilot then imports the export every 25 minutes by default. Nothing needs to be installed.

Which ACA items end up in Photopilot?

Only items marked as online store items in ACA. This way, your ACA selection determines which items get images and copy, without separate lists.

Does Photopilot work with color codes and sizes from ACA?

Yes. Photopilot uses your own ACA color codes and descriptions and links the barcode for each size. Each color gets its own image set, shared by all sizes in that color.

Can Photopilot automatically add ACA items to Shopware?

Yes. Photopilot publishes images and texts for ACA items directly to Shopware, per color variant and in the agreed image order. The same can be done directly to Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

My webshop is not Shopware or Shopify. Can I still use ACA with Photopilot?

Yes. Photopilot then delivers the images and texts via FTP/SFTP, the Webshop Excel, or the API, in the format your webshop imports. The ACA side works exactly the same way.

Does Photopilot use the materials from ACA for product texts?

Yes. Material data from the ACA export is used in product text and SEO text. Photopilot adds what it recognizes on the care label, so care instructions are also included on the product page.

Can my team see which ACA items are in stock but do not have a photo yet?

Yes. Because Photopilot reads ACA inventory, every item with inventory but no image or copy appears in the overview. Items with the most inventory appear at the top.

Can I review ACA items before they go online?

Yes. For each brand or product group, you choose whether images and copy go to review first or continue via autopilot. They are sent to the webshop only after approval.

What if an ACA item has no supplier image?

Then it goes on the studio shot list, or you turn a simple photo into a ghost mannequin image or AI model photo. AI photos cost €0.05 to €0.21 each in the queue and are often ready within an hour.

What data does Photopilot read from ACA?

Items, colors with your own color codes, sizes, barcodes, and inventory from the ZIP file with XML files exported by ACA.

How often does Photopilot read the ACA export?

Every 25 minutes by default. Each new export is processed in full.

What does Photopilot do with the inventory from ACA?

A full inventory export is treated as a snapshot, so anything missing is set to zero. This lets current inventory determine which products get images and text first.

Does ACA remain the source of truth for our article data?

Yes. We define which ACA fields lead for article, variant, stock, and shop selection. Photopilot keeps ACA as a source, separate from the shop destination.

Can I combine ACA with Fashion Cloud or Stockbase?

Yes. ACA works alongside Fashion Cloud, Stockbase, and Shopware, so images, copy, and stock stay attached to the same article.

Knowledge base

Read also

How to start

First the trial route, then the technique

The integration is the starting point. After that, Photopilot keeps linking, editing, writing, checking, and publishing together.

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  1. What is the source of truth?

    Which fields, images, and barcodes define the item.

  2. What can be automated?

    Link, crop, and text, or show an exception first.

  3. Where should it go?

    Webshop, FTP, Azure, or API, before anything is built.