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First Steps

After the app is installed, the Emersoft onboarding team will guide you through the steps below. This page describes what is configured during your onboarding session.

1. Set up Ingram CDF Lite for automated fulfillment

Emersoft Books is an authorised Ingram data reseller. This means catalog access — browsing, searching, and importing books — works immediately after installation with no credentials required from you.

To enable automated order fulfillment through Ingram, you need to set up an Ingram Consumer Direct Fulfillment (CDF Lite) account and obtain FTP credentials from Ingram. Once you have them, enter them in Apps > Emersoft Books > Settings.

How to open a CDF Lite account

  1. Go to ingramcontent.com/retailers/consumer-direct-fulfillment
  2. Follow the Retailer path to apply for CDF Lite access.
  3. Ingram will provide your FTP credentials once the account is active.
  4. Enter those credentials in the app settings.

Allow up to 2 weeks

Ingram's CDF Lite setup process typically takes up to 2 weeks — this is Ingram's internal timeline, not something the Emersoft team controls. Catalog search and importing work immediately while you wait. The Emersoft team will coordinate with you on timing and verify the connection once credentials are ready.

2. Add shipping rates for the Ingram fulfillment location

When the app is installed, a location called "GetBooks Stock Management" is automatically added to your Shopify store. Every book imported through the app is assigned to this location, and the app keeps the stock count at this location in sync with Ingram's inventory.

You do not need to configure this location — it is created automatically.

However, there is one required step: you must add Shipping Rates for the GetBooks Stock Management location in your Shopify settings. Without shipping rates, books assigned to this location will appear as unavailable at checkout on your storefront.

Adding shipping rates

  1. In Shopify Admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.
  2. Find the GetBooks Stock Management location and add your shipping rates.

You have two options:

  • Use your own preferred rates — set flat rates, free shipping over a threshold, or any structure that works for your store.
  • Replicate Ingram's rates — Ingram calculates shipping by item weight. In Shopify you can set up weight-based conditional rates to mirror this. Ask the Emersoft team for guidance on this during onboarding.

These rates are specific to the GetBooks location

Shipping rates you set for the GetBooks Stock Management location are completely separate from the rates on your other locations. They only apply to orders fulfilled by Ingram — your existing shipping rates for store or warehouse locations are not affected. This means you can set a distinct Ingram shipping method (for example, a dedicated "USPS via Ingram" rate) without it interfering with your own fulfilment shipping options.

Normal and expedited shipping

Shipping options you set in Shopify (standard, expedited, etc.) are mapped and passed through to Ingram when an order is dispatched — so customers get the shipping method they selected.

Flexible fulfillment routing

The app is designed to work alongside your own stock, not replace it. You can assign both the GetBooks Stock Management location and your own physical store location(s) to any product. Configure fulfillment priority in Shopify Admin > Settings > Shipping and delivery > Fulfillment routing — for example, ship from your own stock first and fall back to Ingram when you run out.

3. Import your first book and publish it

Once the app is installed, try importing a book straight away — you do not need to wait for CDF Lite to be set up:

  1. In Shopify Admin, open Apps > Emersoft Books.
  2. Use the search fields to find a title by name, author, or ISBN. Click Search.
  3. Click Add to store next to the title, or click the title to open its details first and import from there.

The book will appear in your Shopify product catalog within seconds, fully populated with Ingram's metadata.

Books are imported as drafts. To make the book visible on your store:

  1. Open the product in Shopify Admin > Products.
  2. Change the status from Draft to Active.
  3. Under Sales channels, add it to your Online Store (and any other channels you use).
  4. Click Save.

See Import a Single Book for a full walkthrough.

4. Run a test buy to verify CDF Lite

Once your CDF Lite credentials are connected and shipping rates are set up, place a test order on your own store before going live with customers. This is the most reliable way to confirm your CDF Lite account is fully active — we have seen cases where credentials were issued but the Ingram account was not yet fully activated or a payment method had not been added on the Ingram side.

  1. Import a book and publish it to your Online Store (steps above).
  2. Open your storefront, add the book to your cart, and go through the normal checkout using your own shipping address.
  3. Complete the order.

Ingram will dispatch and ship the book to you. You should receive tracking within 1–2 business days. If the fulfillment fails, contact support — the Emersoft team can check the logs and identify what needs to be resolved on the Ingram account.

See Ingram CDF Lite — Test your setup for more detail.

5. Optional: add the Book Details Widget

If you have an Online Store, you can add the Book Details Widget to your product page template. The widget displays key book reference data directly on the product page: ISBN, binding, page count, authors, and publisher (imprint).

Beyond what the widget shows, all other Ingram metadata is stored in product metafields. Metafields of type Single line text can be displayed anywhere on your product template using a standard Text block in the Shopify theme editor — no coding required. More complex metafield types require Liquid code; the Emersoft team can help with this during onboarding.

See Book Details Widget for setup instructions.

6. Optional: configure Pubnet credentials (Omnichannel Pro)

If you are on the Omnichannel Pro plan, connect your Pubnet account in Settings > Providers > Pubnet. You will need your FTP credentials, Bill to SAN, and Mailbox ID. If you have multiple physical store locations, each one also needs its own Ship to SAN. The Emersoft team will help verify the connection during onboarding.

See Pubnet Purchase Orders for more, and Pubnet Setup & Credentials for the step-by-step setup guide.

Enriching an existing catalog

If you already have books in your Shopify store — added manually, via CSV, or through another app — you can use Emersoft Books to fill in missing Ingram metadata across your entire catalog. This is a common part of onboarding for stores that are migrating to the app.

Beyond filling in metadata, the enrichment process also brings consistency and structure to your product catalog. The app enforces a uniform data structure across all imported products — correct ISBNs in the right fields, standardised metadata, and a clear way to identify which products are managed by the app.

How it works

Bulk Import's Create and update mode looks up each ISBN in your CSV against existing products in your store using the SKU field. When it finds a match, it updates that product with Ingram data for the fields you select. If it does not find a match for a given ISBN, it creates a new product instead.

This is why product data cleanup before enrichment is important. Many stores have inconsistent data — some books with the ISBN in the SKU field, others with it in the Barcode field, and some with no ISBN stored at all. If the app cannot find an ISBN in the SKU field, it will not recognise the existing product and will create a duplicate instead of updating it.

If you are not confident about the state of your existing product data, the Emersoft team can review it and handle the enrichment for you — ensuring ISBNs are in the right fields, removing duplicates, and running the import cleanly. This is included in the onboarding engagement for Growth and Omnichannel Pro plans.

Step by step

  1. Export your existing products from Shopify Admin > Products. Click Export and download the CSV.
  2. Check where your ISBNs are stored — open the export in a spreadsheet and look at the SKU and Barcode columns. ISBNs need to be in the SKU field for the app to match them. If some are in Barcode or missing entirely, move them to SKU before proceeding (or ask the Emersoft team to do this for you).
  3. Prepare your ISBN CSV — create a new CSV with a single isbn column containing the ISBN-13 values from your SKU field.
  4. Go to Apps > Emersoft Books > Bulk Import and start a new Create and update job.
  5. Upload your ISBN CSV.
  6. Select which fields to update — choose to pull everything from Ingram, or only specific fields (e.g. cover image, description, BISAC subjects) while keeping your existing prices and custom descriptions.
  7. Click Start Job.

When the job completes, the error report will list any ISBNs that could not be matched or were not found in Ingram's catalog.

The Emersoft team will walk through all of this with you during onboarding — reviewing your existing data and deciding which fields to update.

Concierge catalog setup

Growth and Omnichannel Pro plans include a concierge catalog service — the Emersoft team can build your initial catalog for you. Describe your store and what you sell, and they'll handle the import. Get in touch to arrange this.